Niqab Debate: Human Rights, Social Division and Responsibility

Single person, not a single woman has said to me, "My husband has forced me to wear a niqab." What the issues they do have as regards to niqab, "I am fearful to go out.

I'm at home, I'm lonely, I'm depressed. I f- I, I don't even wanna go out because I feel like I'm not accepted." And the other thing I really wanna express is that where is the humanity?

You know, at the end of the day, uh, you know, a- as a woman, as a, as a person, as a human being, where's my right to be who I am? This is my identity.

Mariam, you pick up on that one. You have that right. You have that right, and you exercise it- Um- ... and so are all of the other ladies in this room.

But the question is whether or not, and I w- I would s- ask this of, of I think everyone in the room who's covered, do you think that by covering your face from everyone else in society, you are exacerbating difference or, or,

or making it less bad? Mariam, would you cover that for me?

Would any of you at least recognize that you are exacerbating a difference?

Do you, are you exacerbating difference? Is this divisive?

Okay. Well, first and foremost, I think we need to look at human rights, okay?

In 1998, there was the Human Right, uh, Convention, okay?

Under Article 9, it specifically says we all have the freedom of expression, we have the freedom of belief, and we have the freedom of so many things that, you know, like in this country, I feel great- Mariam, on Douglas Murray's point- Can I just, can I j- Sorry, on Douglas Murray's point, that this is, uh, you know, i- do you

understand that many people feel this is divisive?

It is a curtain between you and the rest of society.

Well, to be quite frank, I think people are free to feel how they want.

It does- I don't- I don't care how you feel.

Mariam, Mariam, there is something- It's really ... No, no, no. Wait. Really and truly, it's about my human rights. My human right, I am allowed to cover.

You don't have to agree. Just very briefly on the point that- Could I?

... that many people in the survey said that they feel unease, they feel uncomfortable, they feel anxious.

Well, to be quite frank, I feel like that towards emos, but that's all right.

Can I, can I just point out that- That's all right ... can I just point out, there is something fundamentally ludicrous about somebody dressed as you are talking the language of modern human That's absolutely right.

What's a bit- Absolutely. Well, that's, but that's in your mind.

What? That's in your mind. Kola Hassan. This, this lady is constantly talking about rights.

As a Muslim, you should know that responsibility is there as And duty.

You have a responsibility to society around you.

Exactly. Look, look, I hated that. I'm a, I'm a community organizer.

I can't stand that. I'm a scientist. I'm a matron.

I am engaged with the community, so I'm not isolated.

And what about that point that you have a responsibility?

I'm, I'm, I'm a very isolated- Sorry, one second.

You have a responsibility in wider society.

Read that sequence back. Murray asks whether covering your face from everyone else makes the divide worse.

The answer is a human rights convention.

Then, "I don't care how you feel." The country's unease gets compared to emos. That's when he calls it fundamentally ludicrous, the language of modern human rights, equality, and the individual, used to defend a garment Yasmin says tells women to stay hidden, and the one who reminds the room that rights come with

responsibilities isn't a politician. It's Kola Hassan, a Muslim scholar.

Then a voice from the audience says the real problem is ignorance.

Well, obvious- wait, obviously speaking, as a Muslim woman right now, you know, all this talk about there being no, uh, uh, there being a fear of us, well, fear stems from ignorance.

For them to be fearful, they need to understand us and them