To ask how many times you have seen anyone wearing a niqab (full face veil revealing eyes) or burqa (full face veil with mesh cover for eyes)?

I don’t recall the exact number but it would be higher than 10.
It makes me feel uncomfortable although it is not my body or face, would it help the women by banning them? Is it their choice? If the answer was yes then I would 💯 support the ban, alongside all face coverings unless required for cyclists or workers.

many times felt like i could have been handing the kids over to anyone

That’s because you could well have been handing the kids over to anyone!

I sympathise with women in Islamist countries where they are treated as subhumans, and not allowed to show their face in public.

But in a free country, no one should cover their face except for medical reasons. It’s unfriendly, it enables fraud (as above), it disadvantages anyone with hearing or communication difficulties, and it reinforces the toxic myth that women have to hide their faces because men can’t control themselves. That’s medieval bullshit that we do not need.

South Wales. Niqab, all the time. Burka, rarely. I don't agree with banning what people wear except for security and public decency reasons (don't ask me how to define that). But, I don't agree with women fully covering up for religious reasons, if men are not also required to do so.

Having said all that, it's not my life or my religion (don't have one) so aside from the public decency and security side of things, I don't feel have a right to decide for someone else.

What is worse? All the major faiths oppress women in their extreme manifestations. The face coverings are no worse than raising women to accept male headship in fundamentalist Christianity, no worse than ultra orthodox Judaism refusing females divorce. The problem is men wielding faith as a tool of oppression. The focus on Islam is a convenient distraction.

1 or 2 a week in Bristol.
What is worse, prepubescent girls wearing a hijab-type head covering as part of school uniform.
While their husbands, father, brothers all wear western clothing.
I would ban it.

Many women opt to wear them and are not forced, nor feel oppressed. It makes them feel safer and more secure, away from the male gaze which I think most women can appreciate to be honest.

They also can and do eat perfectly fine, usually in a female only space or alone.

I see them all over - Oxford Street I assume it’s Arab tourists.

It's very isolating isn't it? I was so relieved when face masks came off, I could read lips and expressions again. I had to guard my own a bit more though😶. As for the discomfort of having face covered during activity or hot weather...airgasm anyone?

I do also agree with pp about the misogyny of face covering. It inhibits integration into wider society. But that seems to be the idea.

Ahh thank you for reminding me the name. Yeah I'm also near a Jewish area so see a lot of kippahs too.

I live near High Wycombe and many women wear them. It's designed to be a symbol of oppression, there is no way women wearing them can participate in society - they must remain hidden and reliant on men. Boys then see their mother's wearing them and think it's normal.
You can't even eat properly wearing one.

I absolutely hate what they stand for and think they should have no place in our society.

This is the sort of thing that has be researched and considered before passing laws. You and I can't realistically assess the balance of interests.

Should our legal system pander to the illegal actions of abusive men? Probably not.

What groups may benefit from a ban, and how? I can think of deaf people who lip-read. There will be other considerations that I haven't thought of, and then the relative balance has to be assessed.

If they were banned I would worry that some of these women would remain indoors and become isolated from society. I am thinking that some may feel pressure from husbands and families to wear them.

This isn’t true. The Quran only calls for “modest” clothing for both men and women, this literally means don’t walk around in hot pants and no shirt. For women it tends to be a case of wearing looser fitting clothing.

Also on the note of hijabs being “mandated” from puberty, the hijab is never mandated hence seeing plenty of Muslim women without them. It’s a choice. Some young girls choose to wear them because they want to copy mum or their sister.

As I said earlier in the thread, I was surprised to see young girls in a niqab last time I returned to Bradford where I grew up. I’ve never seen that before nor since.

Health, but it's my right to wear it for any reason I choose.

I used to see a couple of women wearing burkas fairly regularly while living in Perth Australia about 15 odd years ago. I was in a very multicultural area. I am now in a regional WA town and its not common although there are plenty of women who wear hijabs.

It felt kind of sad because it is hard to interact with people when you can't see their face. I was a young mum and a bit lonely so would regularly chat to other mums at local shops or parks but when someone's face is covered you don't see a smile or any other cues to let you know if conversation is wanted. I felt like it must be very isolating.

Have a word with Nige. I'm pretty sure he'll be happy to impose a ban if Reform ever gain power. And we shall have the government, and the society, that we deserve.

I’d imagine anywhere without men, they will lift it. I have a muslim colleague who doesn’t wear her headscarf when it’s just women on the call.

I live in Surrey, and work in Croydon. I’d say i’ve seen a fair few over the years, but not loads no.

There is not a woman alive who would choose to wear this if they really had a choice and were completely free form any repercussions of making it.

I sometimes wear a mask when I go out. If it's sunny I might have sunglasses too. Should that be banned too, or is it only muslims whose clothes you want to control?

Very rarely, never in my hometown, a few times in Sheffield, mainly in the areas where a lot of Muslim people live like Sharrow or Attercliffe. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with the full face covering in Sheffield city centre or Meadowhall, it might not even be allowed in Meadowhall.

I dislike niqabs & burqas for several reasons but exaggerating the situation isn't helpful.

You baffle me OP. By your own admission, you’ve only seen someone wearing a Niqab at most 10 times in your life. And never seen someone wearing a Burqa. So why the dislike and the endless posts about them being banned as you want to see their facial expressions??

This is just racism.

A government telling a woman what she cannot wear is just as bad as a government telling us what we must wear.