The term “feminist” has been preceded by countless qualifiers since its debut in France in the late 1800’s, but leading up to the November 2010 midterm elections, it has been paired increasingly with a word many believe to be its antithesis: conservative.

Carly Fiorina is a Senate candidate from Calif.

Though their success so far is hardly outstanding, the 144 female Republican candidates in congressional primaries far outnumber the previous high of 104. Big names on the ballot include California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, and South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley. Sixty percent of women House candidates who are challenging incumbents are Republican.

This sudden conservative female presence in politics represents what 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has dubbed as a “pro-woman, pro-life” movement.

“I kind of feel like the old mold—that a feminist cannot be pro-life—has never really been accurate,” explained Bay Area executive and Carly Fiorina supporter Darcy Linn, in a San Francisco Chronicle report. “So many Republican women I know are strong, opinionated, successful earners who have been encouraged to be successful on the corporate front.”

A News Real Blog blogger said, “Conservative women are strong, capable and are fed up at having faux feminists constantly claim that they speak for us as they strive to turn all women into perpetual victims, at the mercy of big strong daddy government.”

But skeptics maintain that these candidates’ ideologies are anything but “pro-woman.”

“If Carly (Fiorina) wants to describe herself as a pro-woman candidate, I’d say presiding over a company where 28,000 people lost their jobs, many of whom were women; working to limit the ability of women to make their own reproductive decisions; and appealing to those who support the idea that climate change is not a significant threat does not seems like a pro-woman position to me,” said pro-choice PAC EMILY’s List director Jen Bluestein.

Several political commentators and journalists have tried to define exactly what makes a “conservative feminist” earn that title.

A Times writer praised Palin in 2008 for creating an “explosion of a brand-new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut at the Republican convention, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before.”

Others have questioned a “feminist” ideology that encourages women to mimic men—at least in the professional arena.
“These women are part of a new wave of conservative feminism, which apparently views women’s advancement in the workplace and politics to be the most important tenet of actual feminism,” said blogger Tasha Fierce. “Basically, these conservative feminist leaders have decided that the advancement of women to the upper echelons of business — something they have already achieved — is what feminism should really be about.”

Many of the Republican women on November’s ballot have a background in business instead of politics. Whitman and Fiorina were both CEO’s.

While business and financial success are evidently integral to this movement, many of these women have said that family values and motherhood are also key principles.

In Slate Magazine, party spokeswoman Rebecca Wales described the Tea Party—whose leadership is dominated by women—as “a lot of mama bears worried about their families.”

Palin used a similar metaphor in her recent political ad Mama Grizzlies. In it, Palin, who recently endorsed Fiorina and Haley, says, “It seems like it’s kind of a mom awakening in the last year-and-a-half, where women are rising up and saying, ‘No, we’ve had enough already.’ Because moms kinda just know when something’s wrong.”

“When people say ‘pro-woman feminism,’ my suspicion is what they mean is ‘pro-traditional, feminine’ feminism,” said author Camille Hayes.

Other critics claim that conservative dismissal of feminism that “victimizes” women and the emphasis on corporate success contradicts this worried-mother rhetoric.

A Huffington Post writer reminded her readers that, though “conservative feminists” are currently in the spotlight, they do not necessarily share political beliefs with a majority of American women, and certainly do not mirror the country’s demographics. “If women made up 50% of elected officials, party leaders, and candidates, we would find them falling on all points of the political spectrum,” she said. “But women are so vastly underrepresented at all levels of office that prominent female figures are often thought to represent a dramatic trend or majority of women.”

Fierce agreed, “If you take a look at those calling themselves conservative feminists, the vast majority of them are white. Conservative feminism hearkens back to the days when more liberal feminists sought to marginalize women of color, lesbian women, and poor women.”

But a Jezebel writer said that, even though current female politicians may not represent the beliefs or demographics of the American female population as a whole, “Generally speaking, feminists are in favor of seeing more women in positions of power.”

—Natalie Orenstein/Newsdesk

VIDEO: Mama grizzlies

CITATIONS:

Carly Fiorina bucks feminist stereotype
San Francisco Chronicle, June 21, 2010

5 ways of looking at ‘Sarah Palin feminism’
Jezebel, May 26, 2010

Sarah Palin: feminist triumph?
The Times, September 14, 2008

No more identity politics; Palin proves old school feminism is dead
News Real Blog, June 2, 2010

Sarah Palin’s ‘Mama Grizzlies’ don’t speak for women or GOP
Huffington Post, July 13, 2010

The new conservative feminist movement
iHaveNet

Feminist does not mean ’strong woman’
Red Vinyl Shoes, June 8, 2010

Is the Tea Party a feminist movement?
Slate Magazine, May 12, 2010

For GOP women, 2010 might not be their year
LA Times, July 24, 2010

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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe

A Zimbabwean magistrate acquitted Ignatius Muhambi, an accountant for GALZ, after prosecution failed to establish a case against him, according to Radio France International.

He was arrested along with GALZ office administrator Ellen Chadema after police found a letter hanging on the office wall from former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown praising the organization for its work. The letter denounced Mugabe’s opposition to homosexuality.

Chadema will face trial on Aug. 2, 2010.

Zimbabwean police accused the activists of “undermining the authority of the president” by hanging the letter in the GALZ office, according to a newsdesk.org report.

Although the pair was accused of insulting Mugabe, no charges were filed, and prosecutors instead relied on supposed “indecent materials,” including a DVD supposedly showing men having sex.

Homosexuality is illegal in all African countries except South Africa, and Mugabe has certainly let his opinions out on gays and lesbians.

GALZ logo

He has been quoted by many news sources saying that same-sex partners are “lower than dogs and pigs.”

In mid-July Mugabe said same-sex marriages were similar to “dog behavior” and has vowed to resist including gay rights laws in a new Zimbabwean constitution, according to the report.

After the pair was arrested, defense lawyer David Hofisi claimed both were forced to squat with arms outstretched and were hit with bottles when they became weak or wobbled while in prison.

Chadema’s case has already been postponed six times. More reports to come in her trial.

—Don Clyde/Newsdesk

CITATIONS:

Gay Rights Activist Acquitted in Country
Radio France Internationale via AllAfrica.com, July 26, 2010

Zimbabwe’s Mugabe in court fight with LGBT … and Willie Brown
Newsdesk.org, May 28, 2010

Homosexual worker trial postponed
ZimOnline, July 20, 2010

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Amazon forest cleared by burning

Using data from satellites, the agency reported clearance from large forest areas was about 580 square miles between August 2009 and May 2010 compared with 1,158 square miles from the previous year, according to guardian.co.uk.

“We are winning another victory over deforestation in the world’s largest and most important biome,” Luciano Evaristo, director of environmental protection, told the newspaper.

Ibama indicated the drop was largely due to new satellite imaging technology that can peer through cloud cover, allowing enforcement agents to spot areas of forest destruction by loggers, farmers and ranchers.

Satellite data manager George Ferreira said those responsible for the forest clearance knew protection agencies couldn’t see their operations during cloudy periods, but with the latest technology their actions were always visible.

But economics may be as much a factor in the deforestation decline as enforcement.

“Deforestation is not under control,” said Philip Fearnside, with the National Research Institute for the Amazon in Manaus. “Prices of commodities will go up after the global recession. When that happens you discover you do not have control.”

Amazon forest destruction by year

He said exports to foreign markets were more expensive because of the strength of the U.S. dollar, as well as a decline in demand for soy and beef.

Deforestation is strongly linked to the economic health of Brazil, according to Mongabay.com.

A report from the site showed deforestation fell from 1988 to 1991, a period of economic slowdown. But forest clearance rose dramatically during the economic boom years from 1993 to 1998.

Amazon forest destruction peaked in 1995 with over 11,220 square miles cleared.

Between 2000 and 2005 over 65 percent of Amazon deforestation was to accommodate cattle ranching, and Brazil has become a huge exporter of beef.

Mongabay.com reported that “between 1990 and 2001 the percentage of Europe’s processed meat imports that came from Brazil rose from 40 to 74 percent,” with about 80 percent of that meat coming from cattle raised in the Amazon.

Small-scale farming, commercial agriculture, logging and infrastructure improvements account for much of the remaining deforestation. Forests as mostly cleared through burning.

But Evaristo told the Guardian that Ibama remains understaffed, and indicated a larger number of enforcement officers could help prevent Amazon destruction.

He said Ibama only has up to 800 enforcement officers for such a large area.  He added that he wished the agency had 4,000 officers.

—Don Clyde/Newsdesk

VIDEO: Greenpeace: Stopping Amazon Deforestation

CITATIONS:

Amazon deforestation in dramatic decline, official figures show
Guardian.co.uk, July 23, 2010

Deforestation in the Amazon
Mongabay.com, Tropical Rainforests: Deforestation in Brazil

Farmers mainly to blame for deforestation in the Amazon
PhysOrg.com, Jan. 30, 2010

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Biddy Martin

Martin last April rescinded the university’s license agreements with the Beaverton, Ore. company, and promised a reinstatement only if Nike would agree to pay reparations to workers thrown out of work by the closures of two garment factories in Honduras.

On April 25, Martin, the workers and other allies won a $1.54 million concession to help 1,800 workers with “a worker relief fund” and to provide vocational training and finance health coverage for workers laid off by the two subcontractors.

In an interview with the New York Times, the executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium said the agreement “may be a watershed moment.” Scott Nova, who leads the group of 186 universities that monitors factories that make college-logo apparel was obviously elated.

'Just Pay It' demonstrators in Washington, D.C.

“Up until now,” he said in the interview, “major apparel brands have steadfastly refused to take any direct financial responsibility for the obligations to the workers in their contractors’ factories. Now the most high-profile sports apparel firm has done just that.”

The agreement followed months of “Just Pay It” protests against Nike.

It might not have happened at all were it not for Martin, who last April 9 severed the school’s agreements with Nike and thus provided national momentum.

“It might seem unlikely that the actions we take here in Madison can have a major impact on a multibillion-dollar industry and corporate powerhouses such as Nike,” she wrote in an Op-Ed column in the student newspaper last December.

“But the efforts and dedication of our students, faculty and staff are on the vanguard of colleges and universities nationally, and we can cite cases in which our combined efforts have made a difference. Policies created here are modeled nationally.”

Certainly Martin is comfortable making tough decisions.

Biddy Martin

The university’s second woman chancellor, and its first openly gay chancellor, took office in 2008 and immediately caused a stir. She proposed a tuition increase in an effort to make the university “affordable to all.”

Her plan featured a supplemental tuition charge that grows over the undergraduate’s four years. Students who come from families making $80,000 or less per year and who qualify for financial aid receive a grant to offset this increase.

In February 2009, Martin voted in favor of the creation of a controversial second-trimester abortion clinic at the UW Hospital and Clinics, angering many anti-abortion alumni, students, and stakeholders. She took on the graduate faculty shortly thereafter, announcing plans for an ambitious reorganization of the university’s graduate and research initiatives.

She won the first proposal, settled for a compromise settlement in the second before scoring a clear victory over Nike on behalf of the workers in Honduras.

“In this Nike effort and in many others, UW-Madison is a leader,” Martin wrote in her Op-Ed column. “I want that leadership to be thoughtful, cognizant of realities on the ground and effective. We want our persistence and engagement to help prevent sweatshop abuses.”

Martin’s victory in galvanizing students and other workers’ rights organizations might have ripple effects.

Clearly, she’s not prone to shy away from policy battles.

—George Shirk/Newsdesk

VIDEO: From Demoracy Now

CITATIONS:

UW-Madison to end Nike licensing relationship
University of Wisconsin News April 9, 2010
Martin looking to resolve Nike issue
Badger Herald, Dec.15, 2009

The swoosh heard round the world
The Economist, July 1, 2010

Nike and CGT Statement
Nike, Inc., July 26, 2010

UW-Madison applauds Nike response on Honduran factories
University of Wisconsin News, July 26, 2010

Pressured, Nike to Help Workers in Honduras
The New York Times, July 26, 2010

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But now, graphic artists at ShiftN.com. have attempted to visualize the system, creating a chart—or map—of the myriad factors that make up the world’s dizzying array of variables that go into the process.

“This map visualizes the global interconnections among food, agriculture, water, energy, soil, and humans that comprise our food system.

“What fascinates me about this map is how I discovered it,”said Danielle Gould, of FoodTechConnect. com.” and how that process demonstrates an opportunity for information technology to connect us with the information, people, and resources necessary to address pressing global food and environmental challenges.”

FoodTechConnect.com is working to establish open agricultural information on a worldwide basis.

“I stumbled upon this graphic in a presentation from the Workshop on Skills and Translation of Agri-Food Research (PDF, 742k,48 pages) in the UK,” wrote Gould on her website in mid-July,”which I located through a Google search for open agricultural research in the UK. In effect, Google enabled me to quickly and effortlessly discover that the open agriculture conversation is already underway across the ocean.”

The ShiftN map spread around the ‘Net rapidly on Thursday, July 22, when food author Michael Pollan picked it up and tweeted it to his thousands of followers.

He described it as a “cool graphic” but offered no analysis.

As readers might agree, that would take quite a bit of time.

Here it is in miniature, so to speak:

And here is the link to the larger chart.

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The next big energy source?

By coating graphite anodes with gold nanoparticles, Oregon State University engineers have been able to extract 20 times more electricity in an electrochemical cell from raw sewage than in previous laboratory experiments.

The electricity is generated when bacteria found in sewage form a film over the anode, and as they break down waste, electrons are emitted.

The electrons flow as a current through the graphite towards a cathode outside of the cell.

“This is an important step toward our goal,” Frank Chaplen, an associate professor of biological and ecological engineering at OSU told Science Daily. “We still need some improvements in design of the cathode chamber, and a better understanding of the interaction between different microbial species. But the new approach is clearly producing more electricity.”

The researchers said gold was obviously not a cost-effective material, but expect to find increased electricity production levels in other nanoparticle metal coatings like iron. Further cost-saving measures would also need to be implemented for large-scale treatment and electricity generation.

While the technology wouldn’t make a huge dent in electricity needs of the United States, it could make water waste treatment plants energy self-sufficient.

“If animal, food industry and domestic wastewaters were combined together, they could provide roughly 500 trillion BTUs of energy” said Penn State University environmental engineer Bruce Logan to Live Science.

The United States uses about 100,000 trillion BTUs of energy every year.

Sewage Treatment plant

Spending in the U.S alone costs up to $25 billion per year to treat about 33 billion gallons of wastewater, according to National Geographic. About 1.5 percent of electricity usage goes into the treatment of sewage.

Hong Liu, an assistant professor of biological and ecological engineering at OSU, said the technology could significantly cut costs in the United States. She added that developing countries, where energy resources are limited and sewage goes untreated, could use the technology as an incentive to treat waste.

But the technology could also be adapted to generate hydrogen gas for usage in hydrogen fuel cells in cars, according to the researchers.

The team’s research was recently published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

—Don Clyde/Newsdesk

VIDEO: Converting Waste Water Into Energy

CITATIONS:

Nanotech Coatings Produce 20 Times More Electricity from Sewage
Science Daily, July 22, 2010

Nanotech coverts sewage into electricity
EE Times, July 22, 2010

Device Uses Sewage Bacteria to Produce Electricity
National Geographic News, March 1, 2004

Powerful Ideas: Bacteria Clean Sewage and Create Electricity
Live Science, Aug. 31, 2009

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Obesity is on the rise for workers

The study, led by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center, interviewed over 2,700 employees at a manufacturing facility in New York.  According to the study, the results can be applied to any workplace environment where workers are concerned about job security and layoffs.   The study, “Association of workplace chronic and acute stressors with employee weight status: data from worksites in Turmoil,” was published January in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

“In a poor economy, companies should take care of the people who survive layoffs and end up staying in stressful jobs,” said lead author Isabel Diana Fernandez, M.D. “It is important to focus on strengthening wellness programs to provide good nutrition, ways to deal with job demands, and more opportunities for physical activity that are built into the regular workday without penalty.”

Isabel Diana Fernandez, M.D.

The workers, who were mainly sedentary at work, told the researchers that they looked forward to watching TV and “vegging out” after work.  The researchers also noticed that snacks high in fat and calories disappeared from the vending machines when pink slips were handed out.

“We are not sure why TV is so closely associated with being overweight in our sample group of people,” Fernandez said. “Other studies have shown that adults tend to eat more fatty foods while watching TV. But this requires more investigation.”

According to the study, 65 percent of the employees interviewed said they watched two or more hours of television on a daily basis.  Fernandez also noted that 72 to 75 percent of the employees were either overweight or obese.  The workers, who volunteered for the study, were mostly middle-aged, Caucasian, college-educated, paid $60,000 a year and has worked for the company for an average of 22 years.

Stress is on the rise in the U.S.

In 2007, the American Psychological Association (APA) released a poll that stress was on the rise in the U.S.  The study, taken by over 1,800 adult men and women, also cited work and money as the main concerns that stress Americans.   ‘Half of all Americans report that stress has a negative impact on both their personal and professional lives,” the APA reported.

The MayoClinic recommends exercising to reduce and manage daily stress.  “Regular exercise can increase self-confidence and lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. This can ease your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life.”

By Lemery Reyes/Newsdesk

VIDEO:

CITATIONS:

Isabel Diana Fernandez, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

University of Rochester Medical Center

The MayoClinic

Rochester Study Connects Workplace Turmoil, Stress and Obesity

University of Rochester Medical Center, March 24, 2010

Stress a Major Health Problem in The U.S., Warns APA

American Psychological Association, October 24, 2007

Association of Workplace Chronic and Acute Stressors With Employee Weight Status: Data From Worksites in Turmoil

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, January 2010

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The Protection of Information Bill (PDF 183 KB) would allow government officials to classify information as secretive, in order to ensure national security and to prevent espionage. Journalists or citizens caught disseminating classified information could face up to 25 years in prison.

South African Parliament Building

In the preamble, the bill recognizes the “harm of excessive secrecy,” stating that the government intends to “promote the free flow of information within an open and democratic society.” It permits the classification of information only when it is deemed a danger to the “national interest of the Republic.”

Critics say that the bill’s definition of such information—”all matters relating to the advancement of the public good” and “all matters relating to the protection and preservation of all things owned or maintained for the public by the State”—is dangerously vague.

“I am concerned that if turned into law, this bill will permit the concealment of a vast range of information that is in the public interest, while at the same time leading to the erosion of investigative journalism,” said International Press Institute Director David Dadge.

“The government cannot seek to avoid all possible harm that might arise from the disclosure of sensitive information,” said lawyer and former member of the South African Ministerial Review Commission on Intelligence Laurie Nathan in a Times Live report. “Some risk of harm has to be tolerated in a democracy because the dangers posed by secrecy—lack of accountability, abuse of power, infringements of human rights and a culture of impunity—can imperil the democratic order itself.”

The bill was initially introduced by the Ministry of State Security in 2008 but was rejected by a Parliament committee due to the risk of excessive government secrecy. It was amended and re-introduced on July 22.

Journalists could face years in prison

“Corrupt officials may well ‘abuse’—differentiable from ‘use’—the bill to conceal their wrongdoing,” said lawyer Paul-Michael Keichel in a Business Day opinion article. “(However,) if the bill is read in its entirety, it is clear that these abuses have been anticipated and guarded against.”

Responding to concerns that journalists could be punished for the publication of secret information, Keichel said, “No judge would convict a person for disclosure of information that should never have been classified.”

In a Reuters report, Member of Parliament Benson Fihla agreed, “The security of the country is paramount to any government, and therefore I don’t see any excesses on the bill that we’ve made.”

The Promotion of Access to Information Act of 2000 allows citizens to request declassification of information or to request personal access to specific information. Skeptics have noted irony in this process—such requests are sent to the government institute that originally classified the information.

There has also been much debate about whether the bill is constitutional. “This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Constitution, whose approach to security requires openness and access to information,” said Nathan.

—Natalie Orenstein/Newsdesk

CITATIONS:

Media slam protection of information bill
Eyewitness News, July 22, 2010

Markets and media worry over S.African info bill
Reuters, July 22, 2010

‘Secrecy Bill’ no more threat than a blunt paper shredder
Business Day, July 21, 2010

IPI concerned that South Africa information bill may impede flow of news
International Press Institute, July 22 2010

Information bill ‘like apartheid secrecy’
Times Live, July 19, 2010

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Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom tested five spices found in common curries on bacteria from sheep stomachs and found up to a 40 percent reduction in the production of methane (CH4).

Methane is about 20 times more noxious at affecting global warming than carbon dioxide (CO2). One sheep can burp out over 0.7 cubic feet of methane per day, while a single cow can belch out about 18 cubic feet per day, according to popsci.com.

“What my research found was that certain spices contain properties which make this digestive process more efficient so producing less waste – in this case, methane,” Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry from the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development told The Independent.

Chaudhry said the spices, coriander, turmeric, cumin, clove and cinnamon, act as natural antibiotics, killing off “bad,” methane-producing bacteria while allowing “good” bacteria to act in its place.

Introducing spices to livestock feed could be an effective natural means of reducing methane production. The European Union banned the addition of antibiotics to livestock feed in 2006, according to The Independent.

Coriander was found as the most effective in methane reduction — up to 40 percent.  Turmeric came in second at 30 percent and cumin third at 22 percent.  The researchers found that cinnamon and cloves were less effective at methane reduction.

The research group tested the spices in-vitro on sheep gut bacteria, but they said the effect should be the same on cows and goats.

“Since antibiotics were banned, the hunt is on for new, safe, cheap ways to reduce methane production in ruminants. Plants like coriander are an ideal solution, especially in parts of the world where expensive treatments are not an option,” Chaudhry said in the report.

—Don Clyde/Newsdesk

VIDEO: Dairy Cattle and Global Warming

CITATIONS:

Curry spices for cows and sheep could cut methane emissions
The Independent, July 19, 2010

Seasoning Livestock Feed With Curry Spices Cuts Methane Emissions 40 Percent
Popsci.com, July 19, 2010

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Several European nations are considering following suit, and many countries have previously passed legislation restricting the use of the Muslim face veil.

On July 18, Syria ’s Education Ministry announced a ban on niqabs—full face veils and robes, similar to burqas—in all of the country’s public and private universities.

“We have given directives to all universities to ban niqab-wearing women from registering,” said an anonymous government official in an Associated Press report.

The ban is intended to secure Syria’s identity as a secular nation. Bassam Qadhi, a Syrian women’s rights activist, said that while many describe the choice to wear a niqab as a “personal freedom,” she believes the religious practice of requiring women to wear niqabs is oppressive.

A 19-year-old student told Arab News that “the niqab is a religious obligation,” and that she will not be able to study if she is prohibited from wearing the veil in class.

The French ruling also inspired neighbor nation Spain to heavily consider banning burqas as well. The Spanish Parliament began debating a proposal shortly after France’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly passed its ban.

Spanish Justice Minister Francisco Caamano has said that burqas “are hardly compatible with human dignity.”

In June, Barcelona banned burqas and niqabs from government buildings, issuing a statement that asserted that the garments “hinder personal indentification.” Several smaller town in Spain, which has a Muslim population of 47 million, have similar laws, though city officials do not have the power to prohibit veils in public places.

Barcelona’s ruling was met with much resistance. “To legislate against (the use of burqas and niqabs) undermined civil liberties,” said Spanish Islamic Commission’s Mansur Escudero in an Arab News report. “If a woman wants to wear one, then why shouldn’t she?”

In April, Belgium was the first European country to ban burqas. Bruno Tuybens, one of just two Members of Parliament who voted against the ban, told Al Jazeera English, “This law disturbs me. I believe in freedom of expression and I don’t think it should be restricted unless it’s in very exceptional circumstances.”

French Muslims protest burqa ban

On the difficulty of identifying someone wearing a veil, Tuybens said, “There is no link at all between crime and wearing the burqa or niqab.”

Less than a week after Belgium’s law was passed, an Italian woman was fined $650 for wearing a burqa. Though there is no Italian law against the veil, the woman was fined for breaking a 1975 law that prohibits people from covering their faces in public.

Hijabs—Muslim headscarves that do not obscure one’s identity—are still legal in most of Europe. They have been banned for decades, however, in the Muslim nations of Turkey and Tunisia. In 2004, France banned hijabs in public schools, additionally prohibiting students from wearing other religious symbols, such as the Christian cross or a Jewish yarmulke.

Though many nations have been following Belgium’s lead, the United Kingdom is adamant about avoiding a ban. “Telling people what they can and can’t wear, if they’re just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do,” said Immigration Minister Damian Green in a Telegraph report. “We’re a tolerant and mutually respectful society.”

—Natalie Orenstein/Newsdesk

VIDEO: BBC: Is burqa ban Islamophobic?

CITATIONS:

Syria bans full Islamic face veils at universities
Arab News, July 20, 2010

Spain to consider banning burqas in public
Arab News, July 19, 2010

Barcelona to ban face veils
Al Jazeera English, June 16, 2010

Italy fines Muslim woman over veil
Al Jazeera English, May 4, 2010

Anger at Belgian face veil ban
Al Jazeera English, April 30, 2010

Spain considers burqa ban
The UK Telegraph, July 20, 2010

Hijab by country

What’s the difference between hijab, burqa, etc
Christian Portal News, July 16, 2010

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