aibu to feel slightly on edge when I come across women in the full black burka?

[caroleharolde]

I just always feel slightly threatened, I know the vast majority of Muslims are lovely nonviolent people but.just this sight always unnerve me. Be honest, who hadn't felt a bit uncomfortable when passing by a huddle of the burqa wearers? Not trying to be racist, I'd feel the same if it were Christians or Jews or any other religion wearing it.

My only experience was when I had to ID a lady wearing one as she was buying spray paint. She was fully ready for me to be not sure how to proceed.

She was lovely and smiley! Even though I could only see her eyes

I queried afterwards with my supervisor, but I used my judgement and was fine

Also, please can the better informed people tell me about the French legislation? Is that applied to headscarves or just the full face covering?

think it's just full face covering isn't it?

Baies74 - a burka is the whole blue total sheet thing they had to wear in Afghanistan, a niqab is the long black robe this scarf and veil, a hijab is just a scarf.

Why is the OP getting such a hard time?!

There's nothing racist about her post and I bet the people attacking her feel just as she does, but are afraid to admit it!

The French legislation applies to full face covering only.
Headscarves are banned in schools and public servants are not allowed to wear them at work.

Thanks Shandy I had a google in the meantime and now realise I'm referring to both the burqa (and yes, plenty of those in West London) and the niqab in terms of covering the face.

I couldn't care less about hijabs, in fact I think they're really pretty .

sads Is there similar French legislation about Sikh turbans, Catholic wimples, Buddhist saffron, Hindu dupattas etc?

Or is it just singling out Muslims for racial discrimination ?

I am uneasy around anyone who has their face covered, be that masks, bike helmets, children's entertainers or welders. Dh wants to take the kids to Disney. I don't want to go. Is Pluto governed by the no covered face rules now?

Religious, not racial. Sorry.

Hijabs can be very pretty. I've recently been seeing a more dramatic style about - it's very wow, think it might be North African style. Its very different from what my friends (Pakistani origin) wear.

OP, I've not read the whole thread but can see from the bit I have read that you've taken a bit of a battering for your post! I am Muslim, I don't wear a burka, but do cover up very thoroughly, and have even covered my face in Muslim countries (but not here). I don't find your post racist or offensive. I think it's better that people can speak about what they feel. I am glad though that the majority of people don't seem to feel threatened by burka wearers, that's very reassuring.
Just remember that those women go home, whip off the burka to reveal jeans and a t-shirt (or more likely pyjamas if you're seeing them on the school run), and then go and put the kettle on, just like everyone else! Also, the level of strictness of clothing that a Muslim woman wears in no way reflects any allegence to extremist views. For example, most of the women I know here who where the face veil are well educated and also well educated in their religion, and so are less likely to hold those views.
Oh, and I thank God I live here and not in France!

It's done more harm than good with many young girls being kept indoors and not allowed an education.

And your evidence for this is...?

I support wearing of the burka which I cannot spell as much as I support page 3 which is to say not at all. For me they are the 2 ends of patriarchal societies spectrum and I think both are wrong. As for the individuals participating in wearing them that to me is cultural not personal so I do not for one minute have issues with them on an individual level. The society that normalises it is wrong though.

baies kippas, big crosses, turbans... are also banned in schools (not universities) and for public servants at work.
They do not prevent from identifying the person wearing them so they are not banned in the streets.

Thanks Sads. If everyone is treated the same regardless of their religion then is it necessarily problematic? I don't know what I think so would be interested to hear others' views.

I would much rather live in a country that encourages tolerance and artistic expression, whether that's through hijabs or mohawks, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the French insistence on separation between church and state. Given their history, you can understand why.

About 200 women in the uk wear the burqa, even if all these 200 people live in the same town it's still not possible for it to be common or everywhere in that town!

Niqab, which I suspect we're talking about is a bit more common but still in the low thousands.

Fact is, we get a lot of communication and information by watching peoples facial expressions, eye contact, body language etc. If that avenue of communication is cut off, it will make you feel uneasy. Your cavewoman spidey sense won't like not being able to interpret the intentions or mood of a whole group of people. Of course, our 21st century brain will know that these are just women chatting, but our instincts will still, in most cases, be screaming at us. So it's not unreasonable per se to feel uneasy when passing a group of people whose faces, eyes and body you cannot see enough of to reassure yourself.

Sorry or the incessant questioning Sads, but what's the deal with obscuring the face in other ways when in the street, as discussed above, so balaclavas, helmets and masks (like the Pluto example above)?

hardertokidnap Interesting statistic. Source please?

I do not see anything 'racist' about the OP, tbh I think she/he is just voicing something that many people feel but cannot voice for fear of just this reaction , everyone howling 'racism'.
The problem with the burka is that it makes the woman 'other', separated from society, a blank 'non' person. if all those who think it is 'racist' to express that - have you addressed the 'sexism' of the burka?
in addition, it could be anybody under there, judging from some recent newspaper pics of various protests supporting sharia law (off licence owners in the East End being threatened with flogging) , those burka clad 'women' have got enormous feet and v lumpy hands.

baies it would not be tolerated either if the aim is to hide your identity. So dressing up as Pluto on Mardi Gras is OK, wearing a ski mask on a ski slope is OK, dressing up as Pluto to enter a bank is not OK.

I think it's reasonable to feel on edge when you can't see a person's face for whatever reason. (Does anybody wear a balaclava still?). We read people's faces all the time to identify whether a person is happy, sad, angry, a leopard, scared, etc. So if you take away that ability it will make people feel uncomfortable.

mmm though i am a little suspicious of the op i can understand to a degree what is being said

the niqab was designed to hide women, to make them invisible to the outside. reading peoples faces is part of the way we communicate if that is taken away it can feel unsettling imo there is nothing wrong with feeling that way if you feel you are unable to communicate with someone but feeling threatened ties in with the fear that many right wing groups instigate