This one paragraph brilliantly sums up just how misguided the burkini ban is

By Rafi Schwartz  |  August 31, 2016 | 2:15pm
Latest

While France grapples with the question of whether or not to criminalize Muslim women, simply for wearing certain kinds of swimsuits, Mr. Henry Stewart of London, has a much better plan.

In a delightfully droll letter to the The Guardian, Stewart pointed out that, for all the hubbub and rancor generated by efforts to ban burqas, burkinis, and hijabs, there’s another, much more insidious form of dress wrecking havoc right under everyone’s noses: The business suit.

“No woman in a burqa (or a hijab or a burkini) has ever done me any harm,” Stewart explained. “But I was sacked (without explanation) by a man in a suit.”

He continued:

Men in suits missold me pensions and endowments, costing me thousands of pounds. A man in a suit led us on a disastrous and illegal war. Men in suits led the banks and crashed the world economy. Other men in suits then increased the misery to millions through austerity.

“If we are to start telling people what to wear,” Stewart concluded, “maybe we should ban suits.”

Since its publication on August 29, Stewart’s letter has become a bona-fide sensation, and has been shared thousands of times on Twitter. There, at least one user noted its similarity to an comic from Australian illustrator Michael Leunig.

Will men in business suits ever become scrutinized and regulated the way women in traditional Islamic clothing are now? Unfortunately, probably not. But at least heroes like Henry are keeping an eye on things.

 
Join the discussion...