I’m a Muslim woman – France’s latest clothing ban makes no sense

It is a shame to see the French court uphold the ban on wearing abayas in schools, and also just a bit absurd.

I am a British Muslim woman who has been happily accommodating her needs for a loose outer covering – and from UK stores at that – for years. Just get me a trench coat from M&S or a shirtdress from Uniqlo and I’m good to go. Am I dressing in a religious way, or a secular way? You tell me.

As a Muslim, I believe that it is our duty to obey the laws of the land in which we live. On the other hand, I don’t think anyone can seriously believe that wearing what is essentially a slightly slack maxidress is breaking the law.

Of course, I also object to the ban on the basis of religious freedom.

But what’s partly so jarring about all this, is that the French understand fashion. Before France was known for this awkwardly oppressive brand of secularism, it was better known and respected throughout the world for its influence on fashion and style.

Therefore, the idea that France would take such an authoritarian approach to the clothing of young women is unfortunate, to say the least.

Religious fashion is still fashion. It has its own history, evolution, and iterations of style. It requires skill and craftsmanship to achieve a certain effect. Modesty and beauty can coexist, and even complement each other. But beauty can’t coexist with bad taste, and that’s what this ruling leaves in my mouth.

Yusra Dahri

Surrey

Conservatives really have brought the country together – to tell them off

I have only been reading The Independent for a decade but I have rarely, if ever, seen the whole content of Voices/Letters decrying the Conservative government from so many perspectives as in yesterday’s issue.

There is little to add to the contributors’ opinions except to say that it was the conservative lies and subterfuge used to secure a positive vote for Brexit that ended continued membership of the Horizon project. Rishi Sunak is merely righting a grievous wrong his party inflicted on British development.

Nothing of any consequence has been gained in the past 13 years that wasn’t already in place while we were members of the EU. Our standard of living has been severely eroded since David Cameron jumped into bed with the Lib Dems. Mr Sunak may be a sharper negotiator than the failures that are Lord Frost and Boris Johnson, but he is simply putting right past failed policies.

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Britain has lost perhaps a whole generation of development and progress due entirely to the mismanagement and incompetence of the Tory party. Why should we trust them to work for the British people in the future instead of business and the rich one per cent? Just look at who have benefited while we are in this period of high inflation, war in Ukraine, Covid-19 and financial crisis in Britain.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

As Friday’s editorial points out, Rishi Sunak has done well with such things as Horizon and the Windsor Framework. Unlike some others in his party, he seems to be a competent politician and a pretty decent sort of chap. The same can be said of Sir Keir Starmer.

What a pity that our political system causes them both to be shackled to two parties which are each a coalition of fairly reasonable people and a relatively small (but regrettably influential) group of extremists.

The result is that, instead of getting on with what needs to be done, the leaders spend time and energy putting each other down, wooing voters with populist policies and trying to hold their party together by placating the immoderate factions.

There must be a better way, mustn’t there? The solution isn’t simple. But the first step must be a reformed voting system. Some form of proportionality would mean that every vote counted, and no one party would have a huge majority over all the others. In a coalition, the vote of each MP would therefore count for more and the wisest heads of all parties could, when appropriate, cooperate instead of indulging in petty, meaningless squabbles.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

We have nobody to blame for Tory incompetence but ourselves

We’re all now wedded to the reality of what happens when an inept, venal, and blatantly self-interested bunch of politicians are left to hold power over us for 13 or so consecutive years. We mock their desperate attempts to lay the blame for all our woes on the previous Labour regime and their ability to delude themselves that things are looking up.

The letter from Paul Atkins epitomises our growing exasperation with the length of time they’ve ruled us and, while 13 plus years is a long time, there is little point in pretending that somehow we’ve had a series of Tory governments forced upon this country like some immovable dictatorship. We voted them in, time and time again, like dogs endlessly returning to their vomit, a gullible electorate has put them back in power.

If Labour can’t pull it off this time having been presented with an open goal, I suspect the world will regard the British public as an even greater laughing stock than our hideous government.

Steve Mackinder

Denver