The niqab is a misogynist monstrosity

I agree with vampire that the photo heading up the Sun campaign, for which she provided a link, is tasteless and puerile. I suppose that's only to be expected from a newspaper that delights in reducing every debate to its lowest possible form.

deliberate anti-social behaviour. (to bags)

OK, perhaps, just perhaps, it's not deliberately anti-social. But it is anti-social.

The reason they gave was that they wanted to follow Islam more closely. But as several people have said, Islam doesn't require them to be totally covered.

I'm not a fan of the niqab but have to admit, against my instincts, that it's perfectly possible to develop good relations/rapport with a wearer.

When I worked in Saudi Arabia I was able to relate very well with the young Saudi nurses who were fully-veiled, even those whose faces I never ever saw because it just happened that I was never in the break room at the same time as them.

They were very jolly girls and would come up and kiss me on both cheeks if they ever saw me off duty on the campus, in the supermarket, etc - I always knew who was approaching me by her style of face covering, voice, and gestures.

Of the many Saudi female doctors only one covered her face.

So if more men decide to walk around naked and refuse to wear clothes that will be OK. In a free country we should be free to wear whatever we wish in any situation no matter how much it affronts society norms.

I suppose a completely naked medical operative could claim that they were following hygiene rules to the letter.

Wouldn't they have to be completely hair-free as well, though?

That seems reasonable.

Hijab, the illusion of choice, created to mask the oppression Muslim women suffer. Another article from Pakistan.

It was definitely a doctor I heard being interviewed.

Why is face covering anti-social behaviour? Are you against the wearing of the niqab because it makes you feel uncomfortable? I feel uncomfortable in summer when men walk around the town with no tops on. Shall we put a law in place to stop that too?

Surely if a woman shows her face in certain official circumstances and at work (if they have an occupation where someone needs to see your face) why can't they wear what they like the rest of the time.

Bags you seem to be particularly irritated by hijabs/niqabs - do you have many where you live and do they have an impact on your daily life?

Thanks to flickety who pointed out to me that there was already this thread running re burkas. as I had tried to start my own.
My point was security, be it in hospital, bank, anywhere where employees have to wear security badges- how on earth can you tell the difference between 2 burka wearers?
Also, as demonstrated by the man in a burka mentioned at Heathrow, and the jewellry raid mentioned by another poster, the anonymity given by the burka is extremely dangerous.
And as for the nurse (or was it doctor) who made the remark about "giving out tablets" to a patient etc . etc, she is definitely in the wrong job.

There are many situations where it is essential that people can be identified properly - in court, in an exam, at immigration control etc. No-one should be exempt from this on any grounds.

Within the health service it should also be banned on several grounds, not least those of infection control. A study some years ago showed that a lot of infection was transferred between patients via male doctors' ties. How much worse a full face covering.

In any professional situation where proper communication is required in order to function, the face covering should be banned - e.g. lawyer to client etc.

However much we might wish to be tolerant of others' views and beliefs, fully covering the face negates one of the basic aspects of human communication and has no place in a civilised society.

I do think that it is important that people make an attempt to fit in with the society in which they live. When in Europe I drive on the right.

river, no, it isn't their impact on me personally that makes me want to speak out against face-coverings. I just believe in one law for all and I detest oppression of women.

So I agree with mishap and others who says no-one should be exempt from rules which apply to everyone else because that kind of exception means there isn't one law for all but that some people have a privileged position in front of the law where most people don't. It's a simple idea of equal justice whoever you are.

Here is a rather shocking article illustrating the ridiculous sort of things that can happen when there are different rules for different sets of people in the same country.

So, in short answer to riverwalk's question, no, my concern is universal rather than selfish or personal.

I believe in fairness.

Good one.

Oh look! Here's something from the front page of mumsnet. If eleven year old girls have to wear a burka, why not boys too?

For me, that question says it all really.

So, that is a school in Britain, insisting that eleven year old girls wear full covering? That's child abuse. No less. The local authority needs to step in.

I fear any religion which states that anybody who gives it up should be put to death. Does that make me Islamophobic?

Dunno.

I'm not sure about the hygiene in a hijab/ niqab. A friend who was a medical secretary in Saudia Arabia had to borrow the full outfit from someone until she had her own to go around in. She said the shocking part was that people didn't bother to root around for a tissue to blow noses but used the niqab from the outside as a handkerchief . She borrowed it from a nurse.she said the inside was stiff with snot. She may just have been unlucky.

Of course it might work like wearing a medical mask.....