With the probability that the "Arab spring" will result in militant Islamic fundamentalism controlling all of the Mideast, we should pay attention to controversies such as this one:
TEHRAN — In the Islamic republic of Iran, the law requires women to cover their hair and bodies in public. But how to do so remains up to them, and the result is persistent confusion in the streets.
[. . .]
Now, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is stepping into the dispute. He wants to settle it by promoting government-approved apparel for women, garments intended to introduce an array of clothes that are “Islamic and beautiful” at the same time.
Hard-liners are not amused. They say that the new designs encourage “Western values.” But at a recent government-sponsored fashion show, young women and their mothers gazed approvingly at the plastic mannequins showcasing the new coats and scarves.
What a compassionate government Ahmadinejad is trying to run! Women can be required to keep their dirty, filthy, repulsive, horrible bodies covered so that decent, devout men don't have to be tainted by the view of them, yet they can still be beautiful!
