"To get those, one word: assimilate."

Posters are taking the position: this is my country love it or leave it.

Wrong for closed minded conservatives. Wrong for closed minded progressives.

Marriage is oppression but burka is freedom.

If you say a dirty joke in the workplace, you are creating a hostile environment for women. But a burka is not a hostile environment.

Old-fashioned people who label "loose women" as a wh*res are male chauvinistic. People who label women without burka as a wh*res are not male chauvinistic.

Virginity is a symbol of the patriarchy. Burka is not.

High heels, make up are oppressing women. Burka is not.

Limiting sexual options of women is bad. Limiting sight options is good.

Defining a woman in function of men is oppresive. Wearing a burka for men not to get "frisky" is a symbol of freedom.

Conservative women who want to be stay-at-home moms are misguided and brain-washed by the patriarchy. Women who want to wear a burka are exercising their freedom.

Western women are oppressed. Islamic women are free.

Thank you, excellent points!

"What if she wears it of her own accord, though? Certainly, that's the case for some of the small minority of women in France who wear it"

Well, keep in mind that there is a consensus among the french political class: A woman cannot wear a Burqa on her own accord, period. If she does, she forced to wear it, if she claims to do it willingly, she's lying because she fears to be beaten to death when she comes back home. That is what nearly every politician in France believe and claim, and that's the reason why Sarko can easily win a few political points by following this group of legislator (led by a communist deputy: I am not making this up).

The main problem is, "can you prove it?"

I tend to agree with my country's politician: you cannot wear a burqa without being under the heavy pressure of your family and/or neighborhood, but this is nothing more than a personal conviction: I cannot prove it in front of a court.

The banning of the veil in schools worked because it targeted middle and high-school girls: kids and teenager, who were more fragile against parents and peer pressure that adults, so it was possible to say "There is no way that this 12 years old girl choosed to be veiled without being forced by someone" and be taken seriously the young age of the veiled girls was the strongest argument in favor of the law. Try to say the same thing about a 30 years old woman wearing a burqa: even if you're right, proving it will be nearly unpossible.

Funny how so many progressives on this thread are willing to dismiss these traditional women as "brain washed" and "oppressed". some of my conservative peers are all too willing to dismiss progressives as "brainwashed" and "deceived". Too many people on both sides have no ability to stand in the other's shoes and see through the other's eyes.

Sad. I expected better from my progressive peers.

Obviously, you haven't read my archive or you would know that I believe children over the age of twelve should be allowed to skip religious services. Children over 18 should be allowed to vote Libertarian.

Well, I've got to sign-off. Wish me luck. I am driving home in a car. Dangerous!

Sarkozy is absolute right. Those who tolerate misogyny in Islam under mulit-culturalism are just as bad as the misogynists who create these 7th century rules.

No woman born under Islam has a "choice" about what she wears; she was raised under theocratic brain-washing. As for those very rare women who are free but choose to wear burqa's - I'm not interested in other peoples neurotic behavior.

If you are wearing one you can't work, drive, be self-sufficient. And burqa's are to keep "men from being sexually excited" so your whole identity is based on keeping men from looking at you.

Bravo Sarkozy!

To be French is to accept French ideas of liberty.

You don't have to be French.

Face it, the Islamists in France want the perks, the system, the wealth.

To get those, one word: assimilate.

A ban on burqa does NOT equate an attack on women's freedom. Women are oppressed in almost ALL societies and unfortunately, some women have settled into this oppressed way of life and it's all they know - so, wearing a burqa means that they are being 'good' women, appropriate women, decent and moral women - but by who's standards? The answer is: The men who oppress them.

It's a form of Stockholm Syndrome and plenty of women in THIS country (the USA) suffer from it as well, albeit in the form of high heels, makeup and panty hose.

If the world was a place where women were truly treated as equals, then your argument would make a little more sense. But it's not - not by a long shot. And until it is, the burqa is a monument to how little women are valued and respected.

Also, a safety hazard most likely.

Mascara? Did you watch Julia Roberts separate her mascara-ed lashes with a safety pin in that movie? Absolutely scary. But you have to separate them with something or they look too clumpy. I used to use a toothpick.

The world is fraught with personal choices that constitute a personal hazard.

Who knows what Splenda does to you long term?

Riding a bike in auto traffic?

Bearing a child?

Drinking to unconsciousness?

Voting Republican?

For God's sake, outlaw that last! It's a hazard to us all.

Some do experience the Burqa as a symbol of oppression. These women should not be forced to wear one. Some women experience the Burqa as a profound and empowering expression of their faith. These women should not be denied.

I find nothing more patronizing and paternalistic than to suggest that conservative or traditional women have simply internalized their oppression. Many of the conservative values and mores embraced by these women originally honored and elevated women's status. The problem with these structures is that they were too restrictive and denied women the opportunity to participate in the so called male sphere and what has not generally been recognized is that these same structures have prevented men from being a part of the so called women's sphere (Part of the reason die earlier, go to jail more...)

The object of a liberal society should be to increase and honor the choices of all individuals female and male liberal and conservative. All people should be free to pursue the life they find most meaningful and fulfilling.