Should the veil (niqab) be banned? Panel discussion on Five news
Over a week ago on a Sunday afternoon I saw that a not so well known MP from Totnes, Sarah Wollaston, had tweeted about the niqab (face covering worn by some Muslim women for religious reasons). I immediately responded, see photo below:
I also tweeted responses to a few more of her tweets, which were simply inflammatory and problematised Muslim women who choose to wear the niqab. Now I personally do not wear the niqab or necessarily agree with it, however I felt compelled to defend the right of those who do wear it. All too often we see or hear Muslim women being talked about in a disparaging and negative way, with no recourse to answer or defend themselves. Certainly there lacks an equal mainstream platform from which Muslim women can speak. And to be honest I felt annoyed that their voices are being silenced, yet again, and by a fellow woman no less, who rather comically appeared to take the very act of covering ones face as a personal attack.
What I did not anticipate was the resultant media interest in my views on the niqab, the right to wear it and whether or not a female defendant had the right to wear it in court. The following day (Monday) was an enormously hectic day with a total of eight media appearances and further requests which did not materialise.
The day ended with a Five news panel discussion debating Anne-Marie Waters of the National Secular Society, on whether the niqab should be banned.
You can watch the discussion here: http://youtu.be/9qtDDDmQXtA.
Akeela Ahmed MBE 