Brendan O'Neill: The West’s betrayal of the women of Iran

The morally emaciated West has failed to offer solidarity to the brave rebels against the hijab.

It’s the first anniversary of the Iranian people’s valiant revolt against the mandatory hijab law, and what is Britain doing? Erecting a vast monument in praise of the hijab. Building a colossal steel statue of a hijab-wearing woman titled Strength of the Hijab. Sixteen feet tall, a tonne weight, imperious and imposing, the statue is designed to bring ‘visibility’ to this apparently misunderstood Islamic garment. Take that, ladies of Iran – you burn the hijab, we build monuments to it.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Hassles over headscarves – again

 

I had to groan when the BBC newsreader a couple of weeks back announced that there was a renewed dispute over the hijab, the ‘Muslim headscarf’. As though that were news, having been a bone of contention in Western societies for years now.

The way Muslim women dress seems to be of immense interest to some people to the point of fetishism. Remember the row about the ‘burkini’?  There was a furore in France when women and girls were being accosted by police on some beaches for wearing this bathing outfit.