I refer to a letter from Being Honest entitled 'Why hijab should not be a matter of choice ' I have heard this argument before and am quite disturbed by this opinion for two reasons.

1) A woman who chooses to wear hijab is deciding to keep parts of her body private. Saying that she does not have a right to do that is saying that she does not have a right over her own body.

2) Being religious is a way of living. For a government to tell you to change the way you live is simply wrong (Did this belief not bring us to malaysiakini ?)

I believe that hiding religion will only cause further segregation and fear. The exposure to the different ways people live fosters understanding.

However in a Malaysian context, I do understand the frustration over a certain religion being 'pushed' in certain schools but I think parents can take an active role in educating (or re-educating) their children on a lot of the junk they are fed in school, not just religion.

I also think that only certain teachers and schools 'push' religion and parents should know who their children's teachers are.