When one comments about sexism, notably against women, one can't help but conjure up words like 'opression' and 'domination'. Women are being kept down by being made to conform to stereotypes: to be beautiful one has to be skinny and wear the right clothes, for example. Few would disagree that such practices are misogynistic regardless of whence such social edicts came. The question I wish to pose to you today, though, is whether or not the burqa (or burka) - the full-body covering used by women in Islam - is just as sexist as fake boobs and stereotypical supermodels? I think there's sufficient evidence to say so.

It must first be said that not all women are made to wear the burqa, and do it off of their own backs. This is no less insulting to a modern liberal nation (such as our own) than not allowing women to occupy certain roles in society or any suchlike discrimination based on gender. The truth is that the burqa may well be a cultural norm, but it is certainly not a religious one. I challenge anyone to give me a verse of the Qu'ran that explicitly states that women must be covered at all times. It does advocate decency and moral fortitude in both men and women, but I'm not sure what sort of perverted game of chinese whispers went on to turn that into the need for women to walk around fully covered.

Though this issue has been one that I've considered absent-mindedly for a while now, it is only recently, with Egypt proposing to ban the burqa that I find myself writing this. In addition to Egypt, France and Italy want to make a strict point that any ostentatious religious paraphenalia will not be allowed in state buildings, should they get their way. Monsieur Sarkozy has even gone so far as to say that burqas are 'not welcome' in France. Throw into the mix the political turmoil that gripped Turkey a short while ago with the Prime Minister, Gul, allowing headscarves in state buildings and Canadian muslim groups also vying for attention to get the burqa outlawed and one soon has a recipe that leads to one clear conclusion: the burqa being seen as an outdated mean of repression.

Fashions change - such is evident when you take a look at any high street and see an absence of ruffs and men in tights. With fashion changes social mores, especially concerning modesty. What was immodest in the heights of Victorian prudishness is tame by modern standards. My point? Religions need to adapt to avoid being seen as outmoded and out of touch. The burqa is the prime exemplar of the failure by certain orthodox Islamic sects to do so.

In a nutshell, the burqa has no place in a modern, liberal, western society. In a time of unprecedented social integration and multiculturalism, certain sects should not be erecting barriers between faiths and cultures, but should rather be tearing them down. Multiculturalism is, after all, a two-way process.

Gaz out.