Ghost of a flea

To give her the sack would be redundant

Ahh, the face of tolerance. Once again I am reminded of the personal, inner struggle I experience whenever I read news from England. The BBC reports on the recent threatened sacking₁ of a niqab-sporting teacher in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. This is how they miss the point.

Ms. Azmi of Cardiff counters that "children are aware of my body language, my eye expressions, the way I'm saying things." This as opposed to children being petrified by her lunatic Hallowe'en get-up.₂ Perhaps they are made of sterner stuff in't North. But the issue is hardly sartorial let alone anything as prosaic as expecting a teacher to be able to teach; that latter is a hurdle we laughingly circumscribed decades since. I propose a more important issue to pose of Ms. Azmi considering the children in her care:

Do you believe God sanctions adult men having sex with nine year old girls?

Do you believe British law should be amended to allow men to marry six year old girls?

Lest any leap to conclusions I hasten to explain these questions have nothing to do with religious bigotry let alone racism. Regular Flea-readers will know I am all in favour of lunatic Hallowe'en get-ups, for example. If Ms. Azmi's answer to both the above questions is "no" then there is less cause for concern than might meet the eye provided, of course, her answers are public and in writing.₃ In fact, no reason to single out burqa clad teachers when anyone acting in loco parentis could be asked for their thoughts on grown men marrying six year olds and engaging in penetrative sex with nine year olds. You know, on the off chance anyone has trouble with the simplisme of not raping children as a religious injunction or quaint cultural practice and folk-way. Call me insensitive but if your ideology/pathology/deen sanctions sex with nine year old girls you have no more business teaching children than followers of a NAMBLA "religion".₄

According to this BBC World Service discussion of the niqab, 22% of British Muslims in Britain approve of the London Underground bombings; that is to say of mass murder, treason and insurrection. Knowing this what can there possibly be left to talk about. I may not be able to see your face but your intentions could not be more clear.

- - -

₁ If you will forgive the pun.
₂ Next up is a Klansmen insisting on his "traditional dress" as a complement to teaching pre-schoolers.
₃ Though follow-up questions about executing people for casting horoscopes, beheading gay men and divine sanction of rape when it comes to war-captives might also be in order. Or some exposition on those fine-grain distinctions in Iranian law about non-penetrative and penetrative-anal sex being all right with a girl younger than nine provided she is "undamaged" by the experience or, if damaged, some compensation paid to her father for the "infraction". For reasons of cultural sensitivity taqiyya should also be taken into account. Perhaps those choosing the taqiyya option could tick a box to that effect in order to avoid any messy follow-ups with their more ardent co-activists.
₄ Unless, of course, you are in Iran in which case Canada's former Prime Minister should arrange oil deals with your government. Or, say, "Saudi" Arabia in which case various democracies will sell you weapons systems or, in a pinch, those 8000 cattle-prods British Aerospace managed to part with some years back for the thriving "Saudi" cattle industry. All part of the rich tapestry of human cultural diversity.

Not your mother's feminism Update: Tim Blair shares my sometimes limited sense of humour.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at October 16, 2006 07:27 AM

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Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge at October 17, 2006 07:10 AM

Posted by: Ghost of a flea at October 17, 2006 08:16 AM

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