Ban the burqa call by MEP

Woman in a burqa

North West MEP Paul Nuttall, UKIP’s deputy leader, has called for a ban on burqas and niqabs being worn in public buildings in Britain.

There are three main types of Islamic dress relating to women when in public:

• Hijab: This is the most common type of Islamic dress, which covers the woman’s body, leaving only her face and hands visible.
• Niqab: This type is like the hijab, except it also covers part of the face, leaving only the eyes visible.
• Burqa: This type is the least common, and involves covering the whole body as well as covering the face with mesh, so that the eyes are not visible.

Mr Nuttall said: “It is International Women’s Day and what better opportunity to call for the empowerment of women and free them from the tyranny of the veil.

“We live in dangerous times when security is all important and it is vital that people’s faces can be seen.

“And just as importantly we live in a civilised liberal society and why should women be anonymised in this way? All free thinking women should be supporting a ban on full face coverings in public buildings.

“There are laws in place in France, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as other countries in the world, restricting the wearing of such face coverings and such a prohibition should be introduced in this country.

“You cannot stroll into a bank wearing a crash helmet or balaclava for eminently sensible security reasons and it is just common sense that the same should apply to the burqa and niqab. Why should they be exempt?

“Also such face, and in the case of the burqa, body coverings are not conducive to integration within our society and it inhibits communication.

“The International League for Women's Rights has said that ‘the full-face veil, by literally burying the body and the face, constitutes a true deletion of the woman as an individual in public.’

“Some wearers say it is for religious reasons but how many cases have we heard of where Christians have been forbidden from merely wearing a crucifix at work? There must be consistency in such matters.

“In reality we all know our government is scared silly of offending any minority and bends over backwards to accommodate them, however at odds their ways may be to British traditions and wishes.

“Polls have shown that the majority in this country favour a ban on face coverings. It is time their views were put into action.”