I'm all for airport security, but should there be alternatives?

Like most people I would rather not have the outline of my bits on show if I had to be scanned before I went on holiday. However, if I was made to do it I would, just for the pure reason that I wanted to get on the plane.

For those who have strong views whether moral or religious about the full body scanners in airports, there should be another option open to them. Although I agree that more should be done to eliminate terrorist threat in the skies, authorities have their hands tied as we are all protected by fundamental human rights.

The case today widely reported in the press about two muslim women refusing to be scanned, and therefore not allowed on their plane to Pakistan, came as no surprise. Muslim women are subject to harsh sanctions should anyone but their husbands see their body, this is why they cover up. For them to be scanned at an airport where the picture pretty much reveals anything goes against every moral fibre of their culture.

As the Timesonline reported: "She was warned that she would be stopped from boarding the plane but she decided to forfeit her ticket to Pakistan rather than submit to the scan. Her female travelling companion also declined to step into the scanner, citing “medical reasons” for her refusal."

Fair enough, they didn't want to go through it so forfeited their tickets willingly. Good for them. However, it does make you wonder why they were picked 'at random' to go through the scanners in the first place. Manchester Airport claim that 15,000 people have been through the scanner since it was put in place after the events in America on Christmas Day. It would be handy to know the statistics of who exactly had been picked to be scanned. Surely to make it fair there would be and even number of people from different races going through the scanners at Manchester and Heathrow. You would certainly hope so anyway.

The point though is that there is obviously no alternative procedure in place for those who have a legitimate reason not wanting to go through the scanner. A private room with a couple of female staff patting the women down would have been more than enough. What about those who have been terminally ill and truly believe a scan could put their health at risk, there should be alternatives for them too.

I'm all for security at airports, but not everybody that goes through the terminal is a potential suicide bomber and there should not be treated as one. However, there should be alternatives for those who have deep rooted reasons as to why they should not go through the scanner.

The most worrying thing about the whole article were some of the comments left by readers. I sincerely hope they get to know what it feels like to get a body scan. Bet they feel violated, and we live in a democratic society where sexuality is encouraged.