I agree that many people in the West have made it a symbol (that was a major point of what I wrote). And I strongly agree that women should wear what they want.

But I think that by making it a symbol, we create more problems:

* It's become part of the narrative used by hateful and scared people to promote the dangerous, oppressive prejudice against Muslim people. Inflaming that evil is dangerous and leads directly to harm for a very large number of people.

* Many people feel so strongly about the symbol that now they impose their view of the hajib on the same women, forcing them not to wear it (which is law now in some places in the West). That's no better than forcing them to wear it.

Everyone needs to stop telling women what to wear. Hyping up this symbol isn't helping, it's doing more harm.

> Yes, it happens in the West too, albeit to a much lesser degree, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't call it out when it happens elsewhere.

I agree on all points.

Is it acceptable to ban hijabs?

> Don't you think that's part of the reason the West is averse to the hijab?

Some of the West. Other parts of the west are fine with it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02vk6bj/high-street-hi...