Respect the decisions of others
Respect people’s privacy and their faith (‘Saudi husband hides wife using headscarf in restaurant’, Gulf News, March 28)! Just like people have the right to express themselves, this couple can have the privacy they want and cover themselves. What is so special about this that it has gone viral? Such regard for privacy is common in Muslim countries. It’s called the freedom to practice one’s religion. How does this scene disturb others?
Did this woman make a complaint that she was forcefully covered up? Of course not. We must learn to respect people the way we want ourselves to be respected, instead of looking down upon them for something that we think is unnecessary.
From Mr Fayyaz Mohammad
Dubai
Facebook comment
Let the woman be comfortable
Why don’t these people on social media stop to think that maybe she requested her husband to use his ghutra (cotton headdress) for more privacy? I wear the niqab (full face veil) and it really annoys me when people assume it’s restrictive. As a human being, not just as a woman, we should be respected. My philosophy is that since you are not the one wearing the niqab, there is no reason for you, or anyone for that matter, to be affected by it.
This couple did not interrupt anyone else’s meal, they simply sought privacy and comfort. Most people don’t realise how uncomfortable it is for women to be leered at by men. Some places refer to this as sexual harassment. As usual, on social media, it is a matter of people trying to make others conform, in order for themselves to feel comfortable.
I experience this daily. Many men do stare in restaurants — that’s a fact. I know the gesture well and know it from both sides, as I grew up in the West, not wearing the niqab. Western society deems oppressive what they feel uncomfortable with, without considering the views of the people affected. Yes, it’s a restaurant, yes, her husband is there, yes, the glass partition is frosted but, come on, surely the woman has a right to eat in peace without feeling uncomfortable.
From Ms Safieyah Ismail
UAE
Facebook comment
She’s already covered
Come on, Ms Safieyah Ismail, it’s not about the niqab. Firstly, she wears the face veil and is well covered already, with her husband. Secondly, she is in a restaurant. There is no reason for civilised people to stare at a well-covered woman, especially one who is accompanied by her husband. I hope you understand my point. However, there’s nothing wrong with that. We just have different points of view.
From Mr Tio Nugroho
UAE
Facebook comment
Why get involved?
Firstly, Mr Tio Nugroho, she might have entered the restaurant with niqab, but she might also have wanted to remove it and eat comfortably. So why did other people gawk at the diners? If they felt that it was more comfortable this way, why were others getting involved?
From Mr Mohammad Sadakathulla
UAE
Facebook comment
Why bother?
It’s perfectly normal. I wear the niqab and prefer screened rooms so that I can eat in privacy. I can understand her situation. Maybe she wanted to eat in privacy and remove her face veil. Her husband obliged her by making a screen. What’s wrong with that? Why should people be bothered when it’s normal for someone?
From Ms Umm Mehs
UAE
Facebook comment
Don’t assume
There is nothing unusual in this gesture. There are many restaurants in the region that offer screens so that women can have their privacy. People should stop making assumptions.
From Ms Angela Tye
UAE
Facebook comment
To what end?
I don’t understand people’s obsession with clicking pictures of strangers without their consent, and then uploading them on social media to start a war of words from behind computer screens.
From Ms Annie S. Khan
Dubai
Facebook comment
A beautiful gesture
Why would one click a picture without the person’s permission? I find the husband’s gesture beautiful. Maybe his wife requested it so that she could eat without a third person staring?
From Ms Manal Alex Montgomery
UAE
Facebook comment
Seems practical
It is the best practice, as far as their culture is concerned. At least the wife can comfortably enjoy the food without covering and the couple could have their privacy.
From Mr Sobere Francis Jeronimo
Barzangi, Afghanistan
Facebook comment
This isn’t cruel
Ignorant people always see covering up as oppression against women in Islam. My wife refuses to eat in restaurants, as she would have to remove her niqab to put food in her mouth by lifting the veil. She claims she would rather eat at home. All my reasoning — that we are in a private compartment — is not comfortable enough for her. This man was simply making it easy for his wife, so he offered her some privacy. People can’t blame him for being cruel.
From Mr Shahab Tailors
Manama, Bahrain
Facebook comment
Don’t plan on voting
I am not against Rodrigo Duterte, but I have no intention of voting for any of the presidential candidates in the Philippines, because I don’t want to regret voting for any one of them (‘Philippine mayor guns for presidency’, Gulf News, March 28). Let us wait and see the sweet promises of Duterte. I hope he doesn’t fail in his goal of changing the Philippines. Good luck to him.
From Mr Eignav Vibar Navales
UAE
Facebook comment
Every vote counts
Mr Eignav Vibar Navales, every vote is a big help for the Philippines. Please give your last word. Perhaps you will regret it more that you didn’t vote, after all.
From Mr Jay Hilado
UAE
Facebook comment
Vote this time
Just try it, Mr Eignav Vibar Navales, and give it a chance. I was the same as you, but now, this is my first time voting for the next President of the Philippines. Earlier, I didn’t like to vote because all the running candidates made the same promises and had the same propaganda – all of them failed due to corruption and other reasons. Now, I see Duterte and I think that he is deserving. Change is coming. I give my vote for free.
From Ms Yanix Masamloc
Dubai
Facebook comment
This time I’ll vote
Every vote counts. It might be the one vote that could be a win for the right candidate. All of us are looking for change. I can see that he honours his word and citizens have nothing to lose if they try. It’s been a long time since I voted, but this time, I will.
From Mr Hadji P. Soriano
UAE
Facebook comment
Well researched
I admire the writer of this article. It must have taken a lot of research. Definitely, Duterte will have my vote.
From Ms Angeline Verganio
UAE
Facebook comment
Do your part to stop air pollution
Breathe in, breathe out - it seems as easy as that, but unfortunately, it isn’t for thousands of inhabitants on our planet. While some of us are lucky enough to wake up to the sound of birds and step out of their homes to get fresh air, others have to bear the honking of cars and, worse, go to work enduring a thick layer of smog enveloping their city. It is sad to learn that people are being denied their basic right – oxygen to breathe. Is that fair? Even breathing doesn’t seem to be life giving anymore. Rather, it is snatching away people’s lives due to lung and respiratory diseases. Air pollution has reached an alarming point. Simple steps like carpooling, reducing the use of aerosols and regularly checking the family car for pollution can go a long way in reducing air pollution in overpopulated residential areas. It’s time for all of us to do our share for cleaner air and work together towards a toxic-free world.
From Ms Madiha Ahmad
UAE
Consulate needs to help!
This is a sad story of the man in a coma, knowing that the Philippine Consulate here in Dubai said that they cannot do anything and they said that their hands are tied (‘Filipino transit passenger in coma for five months’, Gulf News, March 27). The Philippines government officials should understand that we, the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), are the ones who give good remittances and that poor man is one of them. He should get good support from the government.
I just hope that the government officials in the Philippines can do something about this.
From Mr Sai Ballera Soliveres
UAE
Facebook comment
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