The Importance Of Saving Muslim Women

Improved Essays
Spradley, James, and David W. McCurdy. "Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?" In Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, 208-16. 14th ed. Pearson, 2014. James Spradley and David W. McCurdy do an excellent job of engaging with the readers in a meaningful way regarding the topic of saving Muslim women and the introduction of the burqa. From this reading, it intrigued me to learn more about the true meaning of the burqa and the importance of the burqa not only in history, but also in the daily lives of Muslims. Is the burqa really that bad and are the historical symbolic nature of the burqa relevant to our current day situation? These questions kept replaying through my mind whilst reading this chapter. The authors were able …show more content…
In this article by Human Rights Watch, Gauri van Gulik and Liesl Gerntholtz draw the attention on the counterargument for Western authorities’ stance on the burqa. This articled challenge me to think of the flaws of many arguments and policies created by authorities that we feel are trustworthy and credible. It also highlights the contradictory nature of the burqa law which was created to free the Muslim women from oppression and for them to gain their freedom yet the law itself violates the basic human rights of freedom of choice, expression, and religion for the Muslim women. It focuses on the notion that there is no absolute right answer for many of our socio-political issues and raises the question of the burqa as a political-ethical issue in our …show more content…
The first half of the article discusses the governments’ and the public’s opinion on the burqa ban in Belgium and the possibility of it happening in the UK. It shows the argument that Western leaders have might on the restraint of movement the burqa causes which suggests a need for the banning of the burqa. I especially enjoyed reading about how there are many online articles on what it is like to wear a burqa written by non-Muslim authors which indicates the presence of a form of ethnocentrism. This section of the article forced me to think about the reality of trying to use a native’s point of view and also how it can be biased and disrespectful. In the last section of the article, Sprague writes about the experiences of Muslim women with the burqa and the importance of the burqa for them. This last section of the article is essential in dissecting what Muslim women really think about the burqa which is vastly different from the opinions of non-Muslims. They tell the story of the burqa as a way of enriching their daily

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