![A visitor wearing a niqab talks on a mobile phone at the top of the Marble Arch Mound in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. [Hollie Adams/Bloomberg/Getty Images]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-1234756370.jpg)
I wear the hijab. It’s a choice I make every day—a personal, conscious decision rooted in my faith and identity. But recently, I’ve watched with concern as politicians, particularly within Reform UK, have called for a ban on the burqa. This is not a simple debate about clothing; it’s about women’s rights, agency, and how we as a society treat difference. On June 4, 2025, Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin publicly called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to introduce a burqa ban in the UK, citing “public safety” and pointing to bans in France and Belgium as models. But this isn’t the whole story. Pochin’s statement sparked immediate backlash—even from within her own party. Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chairman […]