Lady Gaga's increasingly daft and desperate attempts to be "shocking" and "thought-provoking" have reached a new nadir. The Italian-American singer/conceptual fashion embryo has been trying to make "burqa swag" happen for a while by traipsing around in burqa-like garments; now, a track that's allegedly leaked from…
Two groups claiming to be affiliated with al-Qaeda left notes on mosques in Kashmir promising to douse any woman who dares uncover her face in public with acid — and, for good measure, kill anyone using a cellphone.
Hind Ahmas, a 32-year-old French mother, is facing two years in prison and a $42,000 fine because she refuses to accept the government's new ban on wearing the burqa or niqab in public. Ahmas was banned from her own trial yesterday because she wouldn't remove her veil, and during the proceeding she was ordered to…
Air France has decided that the misguided French ban on wearing face coverings in public is only in effect on land. According to the company's lawyers, flight crews can't tell a Muslim woman to remover her religious garb since, "The law can only be enforced by police and other public officials on the ground." Airline…
France instituted a ban on wearing face coverings in public in April, and the first fines may be handed down this week. In the past six months, authorities have been hesitant to enforce the measure, and many police officers are simply looking the other way when they see a woman in a veil. While the ban was ostensibly…
This morning, two women were detained at a protest of France's veil ban outside Notre Dame Cathedral. France's ban on women covering their faces — effectively preventing women from wearing the niqab or a burqa — goes into effect today. Violators of the ban must pay a fine of 150 Euros.
Princess Hijab is a street artist in Paris who uses dripping black paint to cover models in subway ads, giving them niqabs. Veils.
None of us ever completely independently choose what to wear. Culture (into which I put religion), existing technologies, and the responses to our dress all affect our choices. Most importantly, what others expect us to wear affects our choices.
The vote was 246 to 1, banning any veils that cover the face. A person wearing a veil can be fined 150€ ($190). Force a woman to wear a niqab or burqa and spend a year in prison.
On Tuesday, a man wearing a burqa and armed with a gun robbed a bank in Maryland. Montgomery County police described the thief as a man of unknown race with a "Middle Eastern" accent.
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel are about to issue an edict banning a particular outfit adopted by a few women — because it's too modest. That outfit? A burqa.
• As expected, the French Assembly has indeed voted in favor of banning the full facial veil in public spaces; the measure extends to both burqas and niqabs. The bill is expected to be ratified by the Senate in September.
Today the French parliament will vote on whether to ban women from wearing full veils in all public places — even in the street. Once passed through the lower house, the ban will be examined by France's constitutional watchdog.
• On Wednesday, the Obama administration will change a 1993 law, which will allow employees to take time off work to care for the children of their same-sex partners, regardless of whether they have legally adopted the child.
A French government spokesman has said that France will consider banning the burqa, "if it were determined that wearing the burka is a submissive act, and that it is contrary to republican principles." •
