My Invisible Friend Is Better Than Yours
Europe is once again debating freedom — by regulating what women wear.
Yes, the burka and niqab emerged from deeply patriarchal tribal traditions. That much is obvious. But here’s the awkward question: does banning them liberate women, or does it simply replace one authority with another?
Years ago, I taught in Sana’a. My classroom was filled with veiled women whose eyes were the only visible part of their faces — and some of the sharpest minds I’ve ever encountered. They were navigating patriarchy with strategy, humour and ambition.
The cloth was real. So was the complexity.
What sits beneath the current debate is older than any garment: the conviction that one’s deity is the real one, and that certain very earthly men have been entrusted with interpreting His dress code for everyone else. My invisible friend outranks your invisible friend — and, naturally, has strong views about hemlines.
Religious belief is a right. Religious authority over public life is not.
If liberal societies truly care about freedom, the answer is not to police wardrobes but to challenge ideas — openly, rationally and without granting faith diplomatic immunity from scrutiny.
The full essay (in Spanish) can be seen here in El Salto Diario. The English version was subsequently published in Counterpunch here.
Freedom is not a dress code. And neither is reason.
