AIBU to think face coverings in public should be banned?

[OpheliaWasntMad]

Should all types of face covering in public be banned? I think they should. Mainly I’m concerned that people in balaclavas and face coverings are shoplifting and stealing phones etc with impunity.
People with balaclavas on marches look threatening and sinister.
Women with niqabs create a barrier between themselves and others as it’s hard to form connections if you can’t see someone’s facial expressions.
I think all face covering should be banned. It contributes to a society that feels more unsafe and divided.

Do I get to put my scarf over my nose in the icy cold winds or would that go against western norms too? Not a rhetoric question

so say you ban niquab’s.

now those women aren’t allowed in public or in the vicinity of non-related men because their culture requires them to be covered.

so your attempt to reduce isolation actually results in increased isolation.

then what?

I don’t think so.

I agree some professionals don’t lend themselves to someone with their face covered - primary school teaching being an obvious example. But banned entirely doesn’t seem right.

The problem is, not so much for those
women who choose to wear them, but for those who don’t, who ironically are often the people the “ban face coverings” brigade say they want to protect.

These women wouldn’t then miraculously be able to go out without a face covering. Many would then not be able to go out at all, or be severely restricted, as male family members would then not allow them.

The better thing is education.

Faces are routinely covered in airports - many East Asian travellers wear face masks when flying to minimise the risk of catching or transmitting infections. I’ve never heard anyone have an issue with this but presumably OP would think it prevents them from ‘making connections’.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crime-and-policing-bill-2025-factsheets/crime-and-policing-bill-public-order-factsheet#:~:text=Current%20legislation%20gives%20police%20the%20power%20to,for%20the%20purpose%20of%20concealing%20their%20identity.

There is already some legislation around this. I think it should be extended to include people in public urban spaces / shopping centres etc

Updated in Feb 2026
Concealing identity at a protest
Current legislation gives police the power to direct people to remove face coverings in designated areas and to seize face coverings where they reasonably believe people are wearing these wholly or mainly for the purpose of concealing their identity. Individuals may therefore follow the direction of an officer to remove their face covering but then move to a new area and put the face covering back on. In some circumstances, using a face covering to conceal identity may be used for the purpose of avoiding conviction for criminal activity in a designated area.
The new criminal offence will prohibit the wearing or otherwise using of an item to conceal identity in an area designated by the police under the new provisions. The offence will carry a maximum penalty of one month imprisonment, a £1000 fine, or both.

Well, their faces are covered so it's hard to tell age 😉 but yes, have seen them with presumably mothers, aunts etc. also in niqab. It's a tiny minority but have seen from time to time.

YABU

What is your obsession with icy cold winds and pulling your scarf up from the cold on a walk?! 😆

That really, really isn't the same as having to wear the niqab every single day when out in public because men might otherwise get sexually arosed by the very sight of you.

People who shoplift and ride stolen bikes are already breaking the law, @OpheliaWasntMad . If the police can't respond adequately to those crimes they are hardly likely to be able to respond to the illegally adjusted clothing that accessorises the criminality.

And regarding the niqab, you seriously think it is ok to make something illegal on the grounds that it reduces the opportunity for body language and creates social barriers? So presumably you'd also like to make it illegal to wear headphones/ear buds in public? Or sunglasses with mirrorised lenses?

@OpheliaWasntMad Does your proposed ban stop me putting my scarf over my nose in the icy cold winds?
My child also wears an adorable blue dog style balaclava hat with floppy brown ears, shall I just let his face freeze on the school run?

No - I think travelling in an airport is a bit different to walking around your own neighbourhood.
By “making connections” I just meant the opportunity to have casual chat with someone on the bus etc … I think it’s part of what makes people feel they live in a community. I do think people wearing niquabs miss out on that to some extent. I DO NOT think niquab wearers are criminal- but I do think there is a chance they are victims of oppression. Obscuring your face makes you anonymous. I don’t think that’s a good thing.

I've been to a couple of feminist events, where the protestors against us (held back by police) were mainly masked/balaclava-d. We weren't. And I have to say, it is really intimidating and frightening to have people yelling abuse at you from behind masks. It presumably does make them less easy to identify by the police. I'd be very keen to ban them but I can't imagine it will ever happen.

Tiny minority - that might explain why I truly have never seen any such thing.

How tiny?

You may not have seen their faces but surely from their size you could take a guess at their age?

Believe me, I am not a proponent of the covering of women never mind schoolgirls but I find your argument disingenuous

🤣

And a huge number of people (me included) have hearing issues (not deaf though) and lip read.

I agree balaclavas should be banned from 1 April til 30 September. You simply don’t need them in this country and they are blatantly worn to intimidate.

If, as you suggest, some of these women are only allowed out if they cover their faces then there is a much bigger and more worrying problem to address.

”Culture” should not be used to defend practices which have a harmful effect on women.

This might be of interest to some people:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/3333714-I-wear-a-niqab-AMA

I can understand that would be very intimidating - but those balaclava-d arses would just resort to camo face-painting or similar disguise

Is that a no? Or did you not think about the climate before making this post? I guess even the geographically challenged have internet access 🙄 Funny how you won't actually answer the question though, almost as if you realise your stupidity in real time

Well, it is known to be problematic for young kids to learn how to read emotions if teachers wear niqab and way harder for people with hearing disabilities who rely on lip reading.

I haven't RTFT but YAB very U.
I wear an FFP2 mask for health reasons.
What you are suggesting is massively albeist and would actually be discriminatory against disabled and clinically vulnerable people.
It's bad enough people don't have any regard for others as it is but to take away our only means of protecting ourselves from nasty infections would leave us unsafe in society.
It's not up to you to dictate what other people wear.
As long as people are behaving lawfully when they have their faces covered it's frankly none of your business, same as it's none of your business what type of shoes they wear or if they are wearing a hat.
If they are not behaving lawfully that's fine, arrest them. For their behaviour - not for their face covering.

What a vile racist thread. It couldn’t be any more thinly disguised if it tried.

ETA I’ve reported this thread so hopefully it’ll be gone soon.

Yes , absolutely. Just like France did . What religious reason could there be for covering your face ? It doesn't make sense and is all about repression of women . Men don't cover their faces .

🙄
Got anything else to worry about?