In war, divide and conquer doesn’t just keep your enemies at bay, it can also act as a good distraction. And in modern times this tactic is very much alive. Take, for example, the debate about the Islamic burqa; an outer garment worn by some women which covers most of the body. Is the burqa a security threat and a shackle to womens freedom? - or a challenge to liberty and tolerance?

Should people also refrain from wearing hats, scarves and sunglasses? Is wearing a motorcycle helmet any more suspicious than a car with dark windows? Is a frail person with a walking stick, or a mother with a pushchair, anymore visible than a terrorist deploying sarin gas? It should be clear, terrorists don’t need to cover their faces, they walk among us.

Post 9/11, not forgetting imminent danger from Weapons of Mass Destruction, what we have is governments instilling fear and dividing opinion amongst it’s own. Apparently, it’s good for our democratic freedom to debate the repression of women because, after all, these women don’t have real voices, they are being suppressed by their husbands, right? So what happens when one day the government denies YOUR voice because, apparently, YOUR voice is being suppressed and it’s only right they liberate you?

Seems to me, the political machine has turned the burqa into a uniform and a symbol of “the enemy”. That society is silently blind to the uniform of a nun which is somehow more acceptable than the burqa. We live in a society that struggles with the dual role of masks and body paint; great at carnivals but a nuisance and security issue at democratic protests.

If it’s not already clear, I think we need to ignore the political rhetoric and learn to live more at peace with our neighbours; integrate, tolerate and respect. What really counts is good intention.