What is a burka and what are the rules around wearing one in the UK?

Yahoo

4 hours ago

Employers should be able to decide if their staff can wear burkas in the workplace, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said, amid a debate on the face coverings and whether they should be banned in the UK.
The issue was brought up by Reform's newest MP Sarah Pochin, who asked Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions whether he would support such a ban.
Starmer said he would not "follow her down that line", but the question has sparked what Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said is 'a national discussion'.
A burka is a veil worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through. Other face coverings include the niqab, which leaves the area around the eyes clear, while the term hijab refers more general to headscarves that cover the head and neck but leave the face clear.
Badenoch said her view is that people who come to her constituency surgeries must remove their face coverings 'whether it's a burka or a balaclava'.
The Telegraph asked me about Burqa Bans.I don't like these sorts of face coverings in fact I won't hold my constituency surgeries with people in face coverings….but burqa bans won't fix the problem of cultural separatism. There are better ways.More in my response below👇 https://t.co/L7qdjyAPzx pic.twitter.com/7UE7ISfGSG
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 8, 2025
She shared a segment of an interview with the Telegraph via X, in which she said: 'I personally have strong views about face coverings. If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering, whether it's a burka or a balaclava. I'm not talking to people who are not going to show me their face.
'Organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear for instance, it shouldn't be something that people should be able to override.'
Her comment on the post said: "I don't like these sorts of face coverings in fact I won't hold my constituency surgeries with people in face coverings….but burqa bans won't fix the problem of cultural separatism. There are better ways."
Yahoo News look at what a burka is and what the rules are around wearing them.
There are various different headscarves worn by Muslim women as a sign of modesty, with different names referring to different styles.
The burka is the most concealing and is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving a mesh screen to see through.
A niqab is a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear, and is worn with a headscard.
Hijab is used to describe headscarves in general, with the most common type in the West covering the head and neck but leaving the face clear.
Other face coverings include a shayla, chador, khimar and an al-amira, all of which are different and cover the face and head in different ways.
Islamic dress is not banned in the UK, but schools and employers are allowed to set their own rules around dress code.
However, an organisation would have to demonstrate its ban is "proportionate" and for a "legitimate aim" or it could face a legal challenge on the grounds of discrimination under equality and human rights laws.
Several countries have restrictions in place on where the burka or niqab can be worn.
France banned the wearing of veils intended to conceal the face in public in 2010, with similar bans in place in countries including Denmark, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
When she asked her question in PMQs, Pochin cited other countries, saying: "Given the prime minister's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he - in the interests of public safety - follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others, and ban the burqa?"
Banning the burka was not part of Reform UK's policies at last year's general election.
But asked about the issue on Sunday, the party's deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'We've triggered a national discussion. I'm very concerned about them (burkas).
'Frankly, I think they are repressive. I think that they make women second-class citizens.
'We're a Christian nation. We have equality between the sexes, and I'm very concerned, and if someone wants to convince me otherwise, well come and talk to me.
'But at the moment, my view is that I think we should follow seven other nations across Europe that have already banned them.'
He called for a debate on the topic to 'hear where the country's mood is'.
Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said 'employers should be allowed to decide whether their employees can be visible or not', when discussing face coverings.
Asked on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme if the Conservative Party's position is not to speak to people who cover their face, Philp said of Badenoch: 'Well she was talking specifically about her constituency surgery I think, and it is definitely the case that employers should be allowed to decide whether their employees can be visible or not.
'But I don't think this is necessarily the biggest issue facing our country right now.
'There's a legitimate debate to have about the burka. You've got, obviously, arguments about personal liberty and choice and freedom on one side, and arguments about causing divisions in society and the possibility of coercion on the other.
'That is a debate I think we as a country should be having, but as Kemi said, it's probably not the biggest issue our nation faces today.'
Women should not be veiling their faces in Western society (Telegraph)
Reform UK chairman quits after calling question from party's newest MP 'dumb' (PA Media)
New Reform UK MP Stuns The Commons With Outrageous Request In PMQs (HuffPost)