Pictures of women in war play a pivotal role in the battlefield of political ideas, argues a feminist historian who examines how images and attire are used and seen in war zones and occupied lands.
Some argue the former foreign secretary’s remarks about Muslim women are a play to win support from certain parts of his party. But he really isn’t that organised.
Moha Ennaji, International Institute for Languages and Cultures
The recent burqa ban in Morocco highlights tensions between radical Salafists and a moderate Islamic government that has taken steps to further women’s rights.
It may be politically convenient, but the ban by some French cities on the burkini bathing assumes all Muslim women view covered clothing in the same way.
Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and Senate President Stephen Parry have reversed their decision to segregate veiled women watching parliamentary proceedings – but the women will have to show their faces on entering…
Parliament’s presiding officers, Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and Senate President Stephen Parry were hung out to dry by Tony Abbott over their ill-judged plan that veiled women would be segregated behind glass…
So leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives want to ban the burqa in open parliamentary chambers on the grounds of “security”. They would relegate wearers to a glass box usually reserved…
A call to ban the burqa has permeated Australian political discussions since police raided the homes of suspected Islamist extremists in Sydney and Brisbane on September 18. Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi…
The “ban the burqa” campaign which has dominated Canberra this week has been one of the ugliest displays of religious intolerance and parliamentary ignorance in recent years. It has culminated in a particular…
For a prime minister who says he wants to promote Team Australia, Tony Abbott made a right mess of it this week. Somehow he managed to let the burqa, which as he correctly says no one actually wears to…
The burqa and niqab are often viewed as symbols of extremism. In the wake of the rise of Islamic State, it is unsurprising, therefore, that in recent days a number of Australian politicians have called…