The predictable reflexive reaction to the hijab incident has many calling the referee, and those who agree with this Muslim man, a racist, against our multicultural values, bigoted.
But what I want to know is why is an 11-year-old girl wearing a hijab, an article of clothing that is worn so that the wearer will not draw sexual attention to herself? An 11 year old is a child, whether she has hit puberty or not; adults who perceive children of that age as sexual beings and objects of sex are considered deviants, perverts, sick, in short pedophiles. Yet if we are to tolerate a child wearing a hijab, are we not endorsing the idea that if a female child is Muslim, then simply by virtue of her gender and culture, notwithstanding her age, she naturally draws sexual attention to herself, attention that she is responsible for preventing? Are we saying that this non-Muslim 11-year-old girl was innocent of drawing sexual attention to herself and was in no way responsible for her rape and murder, but that this Muslim 11-year-old girl is responsible for calling upon herself any kind of sexual attention if some male can see her hair and therefore must be exempt from the Soccer Federation rules? And taking that to its logical end, that this girl differs from native Canadian girls in that if she has not covered herself modestly and that if she is assaulted, then she is partly if not wholly responsible for attracting the pervert?
The very notion that an 11-year-old is a sexual being is antithetical to our culture. Why are we ashamed of that cultural more and won't stand up for it when it comes to Muslim girls?
But what I want to know is why is an 11-year-old girl wearing a hijab, an article of clothing that is worn so that the wearer will not draw sexual attention to herself? An 11 year old is a child, whether she has hit puberty or not; adults who perceive children of that age as sexual beings and objects of sex are considered deviants, perverts, sick, in short pedophiles. Yet if we are to tolerate a child wearing a hijab, are we not endorsing the idea that if a female child is Muslim, then simply by virtue of her gender and culture, notwithstanding her age, she naturally draws sexual attention to herself, attention that she is responsible for preventing? Are we saying that this non-Muslim 11-year-old girl was innocent of drawing sexual attention to herself and was in no way responsible for her rape and murder, but that this Muslim 11-year-old girl is responsible for calling upon herself any kind of sexual attention if some male can see her hair and therefore must be exempt from the Soccer Federation rules? And taking that to its logical end, that this girl differs from native Canadian girls in that if she has not covered herself modestly and that if she is assaulted, then she is partly if not wholly responsible for attracting the pervert?
The very notion that an 11-year-old is a sexual being is antithetical to our culture. Why are we ashamed of that cultural more and won't stand up for it when it comes to Muslim girls?
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