By IRNA,
London : Conservative MP Philip Hollobone has controversially introduced a private member’s bill, seeking to outlaw the wearing of Muslim face veil in public in Britain.
Although the bill has little chance of being passed because of the lack of parliamentary time allowed for non-government legislation, Hollobone said he was wanted to make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public “which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils”.
“I think it’s inappropriate to cover your face in public, whether it’s a burka, a balaclava or anything else,” he said, claiming that it was stopping Britain from having a fully integrated society “if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else.”
Shaista Gohir, of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, described the moves as “completely disproportionate” and warned that the Islamophobic move would “play into the hands of extremist parties.”
“The majority of Muslims do not believe it is a religious obligation,” Gohir said. “There are million Muslim women in the UK and only a few thousand are estimated to wear a veil.”
Last year, France provoked controversy by taking the first legislative step in Europe towards banning the full Islamic veil when parliament adopted a formal resolution describing the burka as an affront to French values.