I read a lot of memoir and this summer brought two remarkable women into my life.  The first is Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize award winner from Iran.  Shirin Ebadi grew up during the Shah’s government and lived in Tehran during his overthrow and the subsequent rule of the Islamic Republic under the ayatollahs.  [...]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out strongly today to lawmakers about banning Muslim women from wearing burqas or niqab in France.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/22/sarkozy-burqas-are-not-we_n_218920.html I agree with the President’s sentiments that the burqa is demeaning and degrading to women.  However, I don’t know that such a grand public denouncement and forceful legislative action are the most effective [...]