Clothing ‘choice’
I would like to express my delight at Rachel Thomas’s experiment to prove she lives in a tolerant country and can wear what she likes (August 27).
However, you recently published an article about Iranian men donning the hijab as a protest about the lack of choice in that country for women to choose, and the ‘‘morality police’’ who enforce the standard. Surely it would have been more constructive for Thomas to have visited one of the more militant states without a hijab, to demonstrate solidarity with women who want a choice?
And wouldn’t it have been a good gesture from the Muslim women in the picture to have removed their hijabs as proof that they can do so in New Zealand without the sky falling on them?
Islam is the only religion that requires women to wear such a uniform, a Sharia rule which is often savagely enforced. Religions are man-made, and almost all place women at a disadvantage – which is what hijabs, niqabs, chadors, and burkas are all about.
Incidentally, ‘‘Islam’’ in the religious context means ‘‘submission’’, not peace. Obvious, really, that Islamic State is enforcing submission to its beliefs, as Sharia is their manifesto. ANTONY D PRICE Carterton [abridged] solving Wellington’s road traffic congestion has been the Basin Reserve and nothing has been achieved.
Moreover, even if the Basin’s problems were ‘fixed’ there remains the even bigger bottleneck of the Terrace Tunnel.
A ‘smart’ solution to double the tunnel’s inbound morning capacity whilst keeping the outbound afternoon capacity the same would be two sets of bollards on either side of the middle lane that rise and lower into the road surface ‘on command’ from an NZTA monitoring station.
Traffic would need to be stopped during the lane changeover and this would require a set of traffic lights on the Thorndon side for southbound traffic.
The existing Karo St traffic lights would provide the same ‘stopping’ facility for north-bound traffic.
The time-savings to inbound traffic should massively outweigh any delay to outbound traffic and to traffic stopped during the changeover.
With the investment NZTA has already made in overhead gantry signs which would alert drivers to the changeover and to how many lanes are open, being able to double inbound lane capacity without widening the tunnel itself could be a truly smart move for Wellington’s urban motorway.
NEIL DOUGLAS Thorndon [abridged]
This is a hunting family. Good on them for getting into nature, doing something to control an introduced pest as well as providing food for the family. This isn’t being done for entertainment or trophies.
The eating of the heart of the first kill is a hunting tradition. I’m sure that isn’t to Bull’s taste, but no one is asking him to do it, or be involved in any way.
There are too many people in New Zealand these days who seek to limit other people’s freedom based on their own values. Values that not everyone shares. ANDREW ROUPPE VAN DER
VOORT Porirua [abridged]