Faisal Al Yafai's carefully worded article (Hatred of the hijab is part of a broader anger against women, May 18) seems somewhat skewed.
Firstly, the man on the flight asked the lady to “undress her head”, rather than completely undress. This distinction is probably the prime reason why the court did not find the request to be a sexual assault.
Few cultures in the world would deem the forced revealing of the head to constitute sexual assault. Even the Quran does not specify the head as sexual, and only requires a woman to dress modestly to avoid harassment.
And although women covering their head is most commonly associated these days with Islam, it has been common among all Abrahamic religions, including Christian nuns today.
But the real tragedy of this article is suggesting it is men desperately trying to stop poor helpless women from wanting to wear their hijabs, when in fact laws have been created to enforce the wearing of head covering in some countries.
The recent arrests of Iranian women who posed on Instagram with their heads uncovered are just one example. A woman should have the right to dress however she feels appropriate.
Name withheld by request
This seems like an incredibly basic view of the issue. Wearing a hijab in no way removes a woman from the pressures of fashion and peer review.
It seems this article was written more about the wearing of a niqab or an abaya. Just because a woman wears a hijab doesn’t mean she doesn’t wear jeans, a blouse and make-up.
Ela Jayne, Abu Dhabi
This dreadful attack on a Muslim woman is, unfortunately, another example of fitting an isolated incident to a destructive global narrative – that the West is out to vilify Muslims everywhere.
My mother was raised as a Catholic and wore a veil at church and whenever she went out of the house. Nobody ever attacked her and she certainly wasn’t singled out as being “different”. Many women in the 1960s in the West wore a headscarf.
What we are seeing here is an example of when a society’s norms and values become misaligned or unlinked.
Very subtle anti-Islamic messages are being broadcast every day via conservative TV channels and websites that portray Islam as a religion of violence. The aim is to isolate its adherents.
Iconography runs deep in humans so the hijab has become a symbol of the fear experienced by many in the West of the ultimate intentions of Islam.
Let that stupid ignorant man be punished, but let’s not allow him to drive us further into the dark labyrinth.
Name withheld by request
Age bias stops me from contributing
Having read your article, Drive for workplace equality in the UAE an ongoing battle (May 15), I would very much like to be working in the UAE in the education sector and believe I have much to offer.
Unfortunately I’m disqualified solely by age. I’m Australian and often get asked to consider positions in the UAE but sadly I have to inform the recruiters I am over 60 years of age.
For the past 30 years, I have ignored my age and concentrated on my abilities. Today I am super fit and healthy and believe I should not be judged on assumptions or age prejudices.
In Australia, a huge percentage of our teachers and principals are over 60 and still very devoted to the job.
Catherine Blackmore, Australia
Commuting ‘is therapeutic’
With regard to the advice column, Workplace Doctor: Commute from Abu Dhabi to Dubai or relocate? (May 17), the upside to living in Abu Dhabi and commuting to Dubai is you are going against the flow of traffic, the bulk of which goes in the other direction.
I’ve been doing it for three years now and I have no plans to move. I think Abu Dhabi is much more family friendly and has a more laid-back lifestyle, which my wife and I love.
I actually find the drive somewhat therapeutic – in the afternoons, it helps me unwind from work. For now, I’ll keep commuting.
Steve O'Brien, Abu Dhabi
I have been doing this commute for eight years because I didn’t want to uproot my family from Abu Dhabi.
I would say try it for a school year before you decide whether to move. You will know halfway through how it is working out and you can plan for the following school year accordingly.
What we did was move off the island, which makes my commute shorter. Now it’s just part of my routine.
Deirdre Stewart, Abu Dhabi
