Q. If burkas should be allowed in the UK, why shouldn’t bikinis be allowed to be allowed in Pakistan?

What is the law? A small (and in no way complete) definition of the law is a set of rules and
regulations decided to control the way in which a society should be run. Now, in democracies it’s the
society itself (people representing the society) which makes these laws.
A handful of democratic countries such as Pakistan have openly declared themselves to be Muslim
states, with their society being dominantly Muslim. Thus, their laws will be based off religious
scripture and teachings, mainly the Quran and Sunnah. In Pakistan’s constitution, it states that no
law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. In relation to the question, one of Islam’s
teachings is that men and women must cover their Awrah. For women, their awrah is from the head
to the feet. Therefore, allowing anything as revealing as a bikini to be worn in public would be a clear
violation of the law and unacceptable in society. Even if public opinion was a factor in this matter,
the masses, predominantly Muslim, would not be in favour of bikinis due to them being forbidden in
Islam.
In the previous paragraph, I stated that Pakistan is a Muslim majority state, therefore their laws will
be based on Muslim teachings. However, countries like the UK and the USA are predominantly
Christian, so why haven’t their laws been based off Christian teachings? That is because these
countries are secular and haven’t declared themselves religious states. The definition of secular is
literally ‘not connected with religious or spiritual matters’ and this principle is applied in their law.
Wearing something as revealing as a bikini isn’t illegal in most Western countries purely because
their society considers it an acceptable thing to do. Before 1933 it wasn’t acceptable to wear bikinis
at all in public. As a matter of fact, a women got arrested in the US for a wearing a one piece
swimsuit in public. Men weren’t even allowed to go shirtless on beaches! But as fashion trends
changed, so did their laws. Bikinis became popular near the 1960s when an American fashion
designer introduced them into the market. Now western society deems it acceptable to wear bikinis,
and their laws have changed with their views.
Pakistan also has laws that change (precedent), but modest clothing is one that will remain the same
due to it being a base teaching in Islam.
Burkas should not be banned in the UK as they represent a religious practice. Since it has no direct
effect on the public, such as wearing a ceremonial sword, banning it would go against a basic human
right (freedom of expression) as set by the United Nations declaration of 1948.
Even if public opinion was against Muslims wearing Burkas, it still wouldn’t be justified to ban them
as they fall under basic human rights (freedom of expression) and constitutional law. This law, as
discussed in class, cannot be affected by precedent, politics or become outdated and is an integral
part of any country’s running. To ban it would mean that all the other human right laws, such as
prohibition against torture, would lose their importance. Banning Burkas would give politicians the
power and initiative to go further in their dilapidation of the state. Deportations to dangerous
countries would be done without a second thought. Simply running on the will of the public rather
than given principles would lead to unfathomable damages and return us to the dark ages.