Tonight 60 Minutes had a segment on Air Force Lt. Col. Martha McSally. She's the highest ranking female fighter pilot in the Air Force. She's suing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over the military policy requiring her to wear an abaya off base. An abaya is the traditional female Muslim garmet that covers women from head to toe.
McSally, one of the few women on track to make general in the armed forces, says the dress code requires female military personnel to dress while off the base in "host nation attire" - a traditional Muslim head-to-toe garment called an abaya. This is unconstitutional, she says, because military men are not required to dress like local men.
As a matter of fact men are prohibited from dressing in Muslim garb. Women at the US embassy aren't required to wear an abaya. They are only required to "dress conservatively". Madeline Albright certainly didn't wear one we she visited Saudi Arabia. Saudi policy doesn't even require women to wear them. The Air Force gives conflicting reasons for the requirement. Their main reason seems to be that American women won't stand out for terrorists. Of course, she's required to be escorted by a male in civilian clothes at all time. I'm sure a crew cut man in collared shirt and jeans with a woman in an abaya woudn't stand out at all. I'm sure the terrorists would never figure out they're Americans.
If this is something you feel strongly about, please write your elected representative. You can do so on the Internet at www.house.gov/writerep/. All you need to know is what state you live in and your zip code. Take a second and tell them what you think of this policy.