AIBU to think face coverings in public should be banned?

I have no time for Islamists, parents who put primary-aged girls in hijabs, Pakistani politics playing out on the streets of the UK, balaclava-wearing hoodlums careering around the streets and pavements on electric bikes, etc. but have even less time for those who are trying to equate shoplifting and anti-social behaviour with women's dress

Banning face coverings is not going to help Muslim women who are being coerced into wearing them. Quite the opposite.

Iran once banned veils and what happened was that many women were confined to their homes because they either didn't want or weren't allowed to go out with their faces uncovered. If they did go out in public with their faces covered they were beaten and had their veils torn off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashf-ehijab

Women should be able to choose.

As an aside, I’d welcome a ban on all face coverings.

Have you ever walked your kids to school in the icy cold winds in the Yorkshire Dales?! Even in my pink fluffy balaclava style hat my nose is still painfully numb Dec - Feb and the school is only a 15 minute walk each way. Why should I not be able to keep warm in the winter?!

OP isn’t talking about Jewish or any other women that wear wigs, head scarves and/or long, drab dresses. This is specifically about face coverings.

I lived in Whitechapel – PLENTY of niqabs. I now live in a shire town and work in central London – I see a lot less niqabs in the shire, mainly hijabs. In fact, it's rather jarring when I do see niqabs because, in this town, it's unusual but is increasing in a town that has a sizable Muslim population. I most definitely see young schoolgirls regularly in London wearing niqabs and plenty of women wearing them.

I've never heard of niqab-wearing women involved in hooliganism in the UK

Women should never have their clothing choices be decided by the goverment.
The goverment telling women their banned from wearing a niquab is just as much oppression as making it law that women have to wear one.
Why can't we just trust women to choose the clothing style they like?! Why does the goverment have to get involved at all?

Have you ever actually spoken to a woman and asked? I have and the answer I got is that this was a quite normal way to dress in their community and they were quite happy with it.. Over time some women indeed do choose to change the way they dress having lived in the UK for a period of time. Some do not. Again personal choice.

Is the Earth flat or round? What do you think of 15 minute cities?

Do you genuinely think that the hooligans are going to care if it's against the law? They're already breaking laws, or they wouldn't be hooligans!

If it's only a very small minority why would you want legislation, which is a serious matter, to ban the wearing?

Absolutely agree faces should not be covered in shops or airports for whatever reason whatsoever. As an aside, I spend a lot of time in Austria where there is a ban on face coverings. Saudi and Kuwaiti women actively break this rule by permanently wearing medical type face masks. They even expect the poor Filipino nannies to do the same but that is a whole other thread….

I think in future they may well be banned in certain circumstances, if they aren't already, because they interfere with the operation of face-recognition software in the fight against crime.

Your reply makes no sense to my post - did you mean it for someone else?

And you get to choose who is a regressive Muslim I suppose? Basically a message to make Muslim lives uncomfortable.

I didn't 👍

@Cyclebabble "but it is a matter of choice. Although only a small number of muslims where a full face covering, the purpose in any ban would be to make their lives less comfortable and to send a message that Muslims are not welcome."

Disagree. Many Muslim women don't have a choice and wearing the niqab is entirely cultural, not religious. Banning face coverings wouldn't be anti Muslim. This isn't a proposal to ban the hijab, jibab or abaya and surely that is sufficient for modesty and a declaration of one's faith. Nobody is proposing compulsory mini skirts or hot pants. Women should never feel uncomfortable about showing their faces in public.

My local Coop is regularly thieved by unmasked guys - they just walk in, Lime Bike outside at the ready, grab what they want and off they go. Nothing to do with mask and niqabs

Have you ever seen a woman in a niqab shop lift? I expect not, but you want to throw that in the mix

Totally agree (see my above comment).

The amount of people who don’t see it as a tool to control women is amazingly naive.

Always amazes me that people (especially women) support religious garb that is used to oppress women. To cover their face so other men can control themselves sexually, control the woman and all under the guise of modesty and choice. Let’s be honest, it’s not a real choice for these women.

I couldn’t imagine having to cover myself head to toe every day, any religion that expects that is misogynistic and patriarchal. Any woman who supports that is batshit in my eyes and welcoming her own oppression under the misapprehension of being kind.

As an aside, I’d welcome a ban on all face coverings. We’ve seen a rise in protestors from all sides using them to commit violent acts under the guise of protesting. It’s being used to shoplift or commit crimes. It makes it far harder for us to track down and ID criminals.

Frankly, I find face coverings intimidating and I don’t like that Covid normalised it and it’s now often used for nefarious purposes and very rarely for medical reasons.