Rating 3 out of 5 (Fairly platitudinous)

President Sarkozy has caused outrage by calling for the burka to be banned. "Women shouldn't be forced to dress according to the dictates of an ancient Middle East man," he said. "They should dress the way I tell them to, with little left to the imagination. How else are we going to tell whether they are ugly or not?"

But it's not just Muslim women who remain hidden, not that they are hidden because that would imply a slight on another religion, which I would never do on Thought For The Day, even though it is the wrong religion. Susan Boyle was mocked for her appearance too. Then there's the disabled law student forced to hide in the stock room because of her prosthetic arm.

The tales of these women are summed up in Jesus. Jesus, as the visible bit of the Invisible Magic Friend, and founder of a global church that has championed women's rights throughout it's history, can clearly be seen as a role model for all women. The prophet Isaiah, speaking 500 years before, although he may have forgotten to mention some of the specifics, prophesied that a man called Jesus would be crucified by a Roman governor called Pontius Pilate and be mocked by passers by. "You're just far too disabled and ugly to be a Messiah. Loin cloths are just so unfashionable."

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