Much has been said and argued recently about the problem of Muslim women wearing a veil, and whilst one can accept the religious reasons for this, it seems to me one important point seems to have been left out: Since birth, the first method of our communication is by our facial expressions - indeed, the facial expressions of many other animals other than mankind is a vital method of communication as well as an important indication of mood (dog and cat owners will readily testify to this - particularly if they have a number of pets, when they can very accurately spot a change of behaviour and/or mood within the group or 'family'). The human face however is capable of much more expression, and a whole science has evolved about the 'reading' of a face, which has a multitude of practical applications - from the theatre to the courtroom, and the family to the job interview. It has even entered our vocabulary - there can't be many people who haven't either used or heard the expression "It was written all over her/his face". Subtle things also - of which the blush is perhaps the best example, and whilst some folk can 'turn on the tears' to order, I've yet to learn of a person being able to turn a blush on and off! It's not just the face either that we use to express our inner feelings; the whole head coordinates with the face - just try having a hearty laugh without moving your head and you'll see what I mean! In fact our whole body works in coordination with our mind to give emphasis to, and 'underline' our emotions - a whole 'language' in fact that operates in conjunction with our speech, and is known as 'Body Language'; which again has been studied and used effectively for a variety of purposes. One has only to observe our Prime Minister at the Despatch Box for a wonderful demonstration of this art!
It follows from all this that the more our face and/or our bodies are concealed, the less we will be understood and/or the heartfelt feelings behind our words will be fully comprehended and/or recognized as being important. Gosh, even our pets know this! (Your dog will 'insist' s/he's 'desparate' in many more ways than just their bark!)
To go back to the begining - the very begining I mean, which started this whole thing off; I really believe that was what Jack Straw had in his mind when he asked that woman in his surgery to kindly remove her veil - I think racism was the last thing on his mind. He simply wanted a normal, 'face to face' interchange and was confused/bewildered when he found himself speaking to a faceless human being - he couldn't 'connect'. The pity is that he did not explain this to the lady at the time (maybe he just couldn't find words to say this - we'll probably never know). Now the whole thing has turned into a 'Religious' issue, which is a great shame as I don't think it's the real problem, which has it's roots in Psychology and basic human relationships.
What do others think?
