Sarkozy promises to defend women forced into burqa

The French president-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said in his victory speech that "France will not abandon the women condemned to wear the burqa" (BBC).

But France has already abandoned the women -- the Frenchwomen -- who wear the hijab. Excuse me, but who is France to lecture others on how people should dress, when its own citizens do not have the freedom to choose their clothes without hindrance? This is a rather unimpressive start for Sarkozy, and it shouldn't come as a surprise.

Girl tries burqa, gets insults

Connecticut high-school student Caitlin Dean, a non-Muslim, went to school in a burqa for a day as an experiment. As a result, she was exposed to 50 hateful remarks from fellow students, including "Hey, we rape your women!" On the positive side, after this incident was revealed to the school population, interest in a Middle Eastern studies class soared (Hartford Courant).