Wearing veil should be the woman's choice, says Theresa May

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/17/veil-womans-choice-theresa-may

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The government should not tell women what to wear, the home secretary has said, amid ongoing debate over the use of full-face veils.

Theresa May said it was up to women to make a choice about what clothes they wear, including veils, although there would be some circumstances when it would be necessary to ask for them to be removed.

Her comments came after a judge ruled that a Muslim woman will be allowed to stand trial while wearing a full-face veil but must remove it while giving evidence.

The ruling followed calls by the Home Office minister, Jeremy Browne, for a national debate on whether the state should step in to prevent young women having the veil imposed upon them.

Asked if parliament needs to issue formal guidance to courts and schools on whether women should be allowed to wear a veil, May told Sky News: "I start from the position that I don't think government should tell people, I don't think the government should tell women, what they should be wearing.

"I think it's for women to make a choice about what clothes they wish to wear, if they wish to wear a veil that is for a woman to make a choice.

"There will be some circumstances in which it's right for public bodies, for example at the border, at airport security, to say there is a practical necessity for asking somebody to remove a veil.

"I think it's for public bodies like the Border Force officials, it's for schools and colleges, and others like the judiciary, as we've recently seen, to make a judgment in relation to those cases as to whether it's necessary to ask somebody to remove the veil.. But in general women should be free to decide what to wear for themselves."

Judge Peter Murphy, sitting at Blackfriars crown court in London ruled it was "crucial" for jurors to be able to see a defendant's face when giving evidence.

The 22-year-old defendant from London, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said it was against her religious beliefs to show her face in public.

Referred to in court as D, she entered a not guilty plea to a charge of intimidation last week while wearing a niqab after the judge backed down from a previous decision that she would have to show her face to be properly identified.

Browne earlier said he was "instinctively uneasy" about restricting religious freedoms, but added there may be a case to act to protect girls who were too young to decide for themselves whether they wished to wear the veil or not.

"I think this is a good topic for national debate. People of liberal instincts will have competing notions of how to protect and promote freedom of choice," he said.

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