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)?

[Jane379]

I've seen recent talk on UK Reddit about banning them, and I think we should, for several reasons, but I also think in some ways banning is easy but actually integrating people leading a very conservative Muslim lifestyle is much harder, and should be the main discussion.
European countries that have banned found not many women wore them. What about here? Some estimates say 1%-2% of Muslim women, but we don't really know.

I live in S London in an area with quite a few Muslims and have only seen about 10 niqab wearers in my life. Most in more central areas. I've never seen anyone wearing a burqa.

How typical is this?

I live in a city in the Midlands, so everyday I see multiple women wearing full Niqab or burka some with gloves too to ensure every mm of skin is covered. We are a very diverse city with a high population of Muslim residents and visitors.

Hardly any where I live and a small % if I go to predominantly Muslim areas. I think many people think a scarf is a niqab!

Loads every day.

Loads everyday. Im unsure how i’d feel about a ban though. This is for some a woman’s identity.

I've never seen anyone wearing either where I live.

Thanks, that's really sad. I feel like this is one of those issues where the answer can vary very drastically depending on area.

More than I can count, especially when I lived in East London. It depends where you live.

I’ve only seen them worn in Central London when on Oxford Street but even saying that, it has been less than a handful
of times in a decade. I’m in Oxfordshire and see many women with a hijab but not a burqa or a niqab.

I see at least 1 person daily.

This is going to be deleted, and rightly so.

I dont care what someone looks like under their face coverings - nor under their face mask, under their helmet, under their wigs, under their make up

Live and let live - people can cover themselves however they choose 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

A fair number. I work in Manchester and live in a neighbouring town with a high Muslim population. It's changed in the last 30 years as I never saw women in the town I live in wearing them. I also see teenage girls with them on too. I dislike it a lot but I also don't feel comfortable with banning it.

Daily

Hundreds of times, lived in multicultural area and one of my clients was a madrasah!

I have never seen it in the UK. I did see it in The Maldives.

I see them every day.

A few here and there.

None.

I've seen both perhaps a handful of times. I live near an area in Glasgow where there are a lot of new immigrants.

I can't say I'm keen on the full face covering but I'll defend their right to wear it, in the same way that Sikhs wear turbans etc.

I used to live/study near Tower Hamlets in London and saw them a fair bit there. I live more north London now and don't see them as often here, I see them around Knightsbridge sometimes.

I wouldn't particularly want them banned but if it was proposed I wouldn't really object to a ban either, it makes no real difference to me.

Every time I go into Gloucester

I live in an area of East London with a high concentrated Muslim population, so I see a lot of women with full covering including face. It has literally no impact on my life at all.
What is the purpose of “banning”? What is it supposed to achieve, other than yet another way to control a woman’s life by telling her what she cannot wear?
In warmer weather I also see a lot of other women out with very low cut tops, and school girls with their skirts rolled up barely covering their pants, men with only shorts and no tops on. Should we “ban” exposing too much of the body as well as coving up too much?
Wouldn’t life be easier if we live and let live.

I saw a lady today in a pharmacy, Berkshire Poor bloke had to keep asking her to repeat herself as she sounded so muffled. I live in a diverse area and went for lunch with a muslim friend of mine from college, she’s never even wore a hijabc she often says God looks at the heart not your face. Personal choice. I’ve been to middle eastern countries and I was told by Muslims themselves that it’s not Islamic to wear the full burka. It’s cultural. Freedom to do what they want but I personally think it’s a shame a woman feels she has to hide away like that. It makes me even more against religions as it’s obviously man made. I don’t feel comfortable banning it either, if they want to wear it fine but personally I would be seriously wondering why I think God will give me brownie points for hiding my face that he created.

Also live in S London and work in healthcare (so see women who wouldn’t be out and about). Also used to work in Whitechapel and obviously you see huge numbers of Muslim women there.

I have seen a fair few Somali women in niqabs. Maybe one or two full purple Afghan burkas in my life, and it was years ago.

Really not common, though of course that might well be because these women do not leave the house (you would be really surprised how many women don’t, even for shopping, especially older women who don’t speak English).

East Anglia here. I see them every time I go to any of the nearest cities (Cambridge, Ipswich etc)

It varies wildly depending on area I would say.
Not many at all in North Wales (more with hijab rather than full niqab/burqa)
I would support a ban though