Why Boris Johnson should not be telling women how to dress, Muslim or not

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Boris Johnson, British foreign secretary until he quit in July in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit policy, has said Muslim women in burkas look like bank robbers and letter boxes. Photo: Twitter

Published: 2:02pm, 1 Sep 2018Updated: 2:01pm, 1 Sep 2018

I refer to the report on the former British foreign secretary being accused of “dog-whistle” Islamophobia over his remarks about Muslim women in burkas (“Theresa May calls on Boris Johnson to apologise for burka remarks”, August 8).

I strongly disapprove of Mr Johnson’s comments saying women in burkas looked like “letter boxes” or “bank robbers”. As Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “It’s up to a woman to decide how to dress, it’s not up to other people to tell a woman how to dress”.

People should respect each other in terms of their culture, religion and beliefs. Those who follow different religions can have different behaviour and dress codes. There is no need to make value judgments about other religions, or to criticise women in burkas.

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Basic human rights apply to all, regardless of religion. Sharing our opinions with others or choosing our own clothing is one of the basic rights people should have. There is no right or wrong in making our own choice as it is part of our rights and freedoms. It was a shame for Mr Johnson to insult all Muslims and women in this way.

Nelson Yu, Tseung Kwan O