A Mark of Separation

That's what Tony Blair has called the veils worn by Muslim women, and he's right. I haven't spent a lot of time in the past agreeing with the man, but this time he's got it bang on.
Wearing those hijabs, burkhas and niqabs all serve to set the women apart from the rest of the world; from the rest of the western society so many of them have chosen to live in; from the rest of every one of their sisters worldwide.
The wearing of those veils is a habit dictated by misogynists and meekly accepted by far too many of the sisterhood. To talk about the potential danger inherent in any refusal to don the disgusting items is no different than to talk about the perils involved in any other refusal to go along with societal wrongs. Slavery, genocide - any of the evils that humankind might perpetrate can only be stopped by those brave enough to fight them. If the women of the Mulslim world could somehow organize themselves to rise up in unison against this leftover from the dark ages, the veils would become a thing of the past, overnight.
Since the beginning of time, men have feared women and their perceived magical powers. Before science explained the human body to those of us who dwell in one, man was left to wonder mightily about the power of the other half of his species. They could bring forth life, like no man could. They could sustain it with milk from their own bodies, like no man could. They could even bleed every month, for days, without bleeding to death, like no man could. A wound that would cause a man to bleed for that long, no matter how sustained, would kill him. Surely beings with such abilities were capable of mighty magic. It is no wonder that man feared the possibility of ever finding this magic directed against him. No wonder either, that they sought to control this magical being with every power at hand.
Since our days in caves, man has had the musculature that would allow him to win most pitched battles fought hand-to-hand against a woman. The obvious next step, once it occurred to them, was for man to invoke the otherworld in their search for control mechanisms. If the general populace could be persuaded to believe that something was the desire of the creator, it always made it an easier concept to sell. Get people believing that the angels might take offense at the sight of a woman's hair blowing loose and free and bingo! you've found the fast track to the niqab.
Power is enticing and ensnaring. Of course, many of the males of the Muslim world would be loathe to relinquish the power they perceive themselves as worthy to hold over half of the world's population, but there are examples of Muslim men with a brain. You only need to look to Tunisia, a Muslim country where the state religion is Islam. There is a long-standing policy in Tunisia banning the hijab. If reason can prevail there in Tunisia regarding this issue, surely it is a sign of hope for other areas, as well, but we need more voices raised in protest.
Keep voicing your opinion on this one, Tony. This time, it's worth listening to you.