Should doctors/nurses wear a full veil?

Well that sucks, but attempting to befriend non-Muslims is not the only way to integrate

You do mate, if you care about your quality of life, the quality of life of those in your community, the cohesiveness of broader society, and the future of Muslim-Non-Muslim relations in this country, Europe, and the West

Sure, non-Muslims can be more accepting/accommodating and friendly too - I wasn't suggesting that it's a one way street, but that in terms of improving relations and treatment of women within their communities, it's better to encourage Muslims to make progress than for the rest of society to start dictating new terms to them

Well, I'm not a doctor to really verify this illness that renders communication obsolete without seeing the person's face.

What I will say is, your situation sounds like a minority and not enough to make a blanket generalisation. Patients can choose their doctors, so I guess it wouldn't be much of an issue for you any ways. Still a shame you're so much against the veil.



It's a part of someone's [mainly female Muslims] religious practice. That's reason enough.

The same way a tie and long sleeves could be a hygiene issue, I guess. If you're wearing the same veil/headscarf all day you could risk contaminating people with bacteria that are on your clothing, but if you wear disposable ones then that would eliminate the hygiene problem. It's still an issue with security, though, as each patient that comes in would have no way of knowing whether that is or isn't their doctor as they cannot see their face.



I have no problem regarding hygiene issues then if there is evidence that cross-contamination risks are low, that seems to have sorted that problem out. Thanks for clarifying!

It's quite sad that based on one experience you had, you'd generalise that all doctors would allow their feelings to get in the way of their judgements.



A shame doctors can't choose who they serve.

Also, a veil isn't going to stop someone from building trust and strong relationships. Only the ignorant, narrow minded person will.




You can identify them with their voice, their eyes, their physical outlook etc. I think it would be a terrible excuse to say otherwise.

But Doctors ID cards must be useless because they're being stolen and forged on a daily basis




1. I didn't say constitution, I said constitute.

2. Even if I had said constitution, based on the context of my sentence, you should've known what I meant anyways.

Once again, even as a surgeon, the veil is not a health risk. Here are surgeons;



That's basically the niqaab with a few modifications, but not much difference.

Speaking as someone who is a muslim, wears a scarf (but my face is visible) and is a medic, I personally dont think a veil should be allowed - communication isn't just verbal - in fact I think facial expressions as just as important as what you say. Also I don't see the need to wear a veil - just wear a scarf and dress modestly.

Speaking as a patient - I would not feel comfortable talking about my concerns and fears with someone whose face was covered - it just takes the human touch away from it.

The better we integrate, the less we notice differences, think of each other as distinct/alien, trust and understand each other, and the better we all get along

No, I meant "Non-Muslims .. too"

The better we integrate, the less we notice differences, think of each other as distinct/alien, trust and understand each other, and the better we all get along

No, I meant "Non-Muslims .. too"

See the quote I made above - this may reasonably be interpreted as a doctrinal command to display as little in the way of "beauty" as possible:

There should be no rule against it, since it doesn't reduce a person's ability to perform their job however people should have the option of requesting a doctor/nurse who does not wear a veil if they so choose. Wouldn't bother me though.

I think you live in a very different world to the rest of us.

Many doctors and nurses do let their feelings get in the way of their judgement; I once had a nurse sacked for making a homophobic remark in A&E. Building trust between the medical profession and certain groups has been and continues to be an ongoing problem. The penalties for certain kinds of misconduct have helped, but I feel that contributes more to an air of mutual mistrust than mutual trust.

I would rather share intimate problems with a doctor who I don't know but who on a snap judgement - based on face, body language, and whatever other subconscious factor - I feel comfortable with than one I know well but do not feel comfortable with. We do not trust doctors simply because they are doctors, we trust them because we believe that they are good people as well as doctors.

There should be no rule against it, since it doesn't reduce a person's ability to perform their job however people should have the option of requesting a doctor/nurse who does not wear a veil if they so choose. Wouldn't bother me though.

Speaking as someone who is a muslim, wears a scarf (but my face is visible) and is a medic, I personally dont think a veil should be allowed - communication isn't just verbal - in fact I think facial expressions as just as important as what you say. Also I don't see the need to wear a veil - just wear a scarf and dress modestly.

Speaking as a patient - I would not feel comfortable talking about my concerns and fears with someone whose face was covered - it just takes the human touch away from it.

dressing ' like slut' is a subjective phrase. and it is no excuse for a rapist. rapes occur because of the attacker, not the victim , and in fact im sure there are some wierdos that would get ideas about women in burkhas too -rapes occur all throughout the Islamic world (despite their poor recording system) so islam has not invented a cure for rape either. Your argument appars to be islam says blame the victim not the criminal. So by your logic- if some one attacks you because they want your trainers, that's your fault. so why do muslim men wear expensive trainers, its a temptation to theives - hypocrites?

I have mixed feelings about this. In principal I want ours to be a free and tolerant society but for me, the following apply:

• I expect people acting in roles in which it seems reasonable/respectable/necessary to show their faces, to do so (includes health workers/appearing in court etc)
• People who feel they must hide their faces are free to find employment in other roles or to reside in the Muslim world

There are of course other factors at play here e.g.

• From a women’s lib perspective it would be nice to encourage women to be free to present themselves as equals
• Wearing veils, and especially black niqabs or full body burkhas serves as to (further) divide, and in some cases frighten/threaten, people
• Islamophobia

As someone was saying on Question Time, it's up to the entire Muslim community to become more moderate and seek to integrate, which includes mixing with the rest of us, presenting themselves in a more ordinary and approachable manner, and treating women as equals and allowing them to express themselves

In France, where they have banned head covering in all public places this has lead to comparatively little enforcement, threats to/abuse of women who continue to wear the veil in accordance with their beliefs by the public, and some instances of assault on officers attempting to enforce the ban e.g. “a husband allegedly attempted to strangle a police officer during a check of an entirely-veiled woman in Trappes and the next night a group of 250 youths threw projectiles at a police station. Clashes continued the following night and spread to [nearby towns]”

Source: Wiki

Jack Straw, a Jewish politician, who as a key Labour Party minister/home secretary presided over a period in which the Muslim population of this country doubled to near enough 3,000,000 and Muslim faith schools were given the green light – lecturing us all the while, as a party/part of the mainstream political establishment, on the merits of multiculturalism (from their NIMBY ivory towers).. this isn’t directed at you meenu89 but pardon me if I don’t think this guy is the best person to lead the debate

1) You can see my pecker through my trackies/shorts, so what? Maybe don’t gorp?

2) Round here having boobs shoved in my face is not the norm.. perhaps I should move

3) That is not restoring balance, that is two groups of women operating at polar extremes. Some Western women could certainly exercise a little more modesty/dignity, but the solution is not for the rest of society to go around in tents!

The concept of British citizenship after a period of residency and perhaps a few jokes tests (in the last decade or so), plus multicultural inclusivity as gospel, have destroyed that concept. Every group in society now feels they own the place and don’t see why they should give an inch e.g. the following quote:

I don't know where you're from but here in the UK we don’t have a (single/written) constitution buddy

Couldn’t agree more e.g. I have little sympathy for Westerners who go out to places like Dubai and behave like nobs then cry when they get treated harshly

I empathise with Muslim women for whom face veils are an important part of living a moral/devout life and wouldn't expect them to sacrifice that comfort unless there’s a damned good reason for it

Then again, I don't think that such devout religious types, from distinct civilisations, are best suited to our society in the first place - but that's another story

Be serious

My sentiments entirely

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty" – Surah 24 : 31

Yup, don't see any issues that it could cause, unless someone purposely wants to be fussy.



A veil isn't going to lower anyone's sound either.

I'm also pretty sure you'll be able to satisfactorily communicate with someone who's face you can't see, unless you don't answer your phone.

the face veil isn't a religious debate so people need to stop using religion as an escuse. Firstly the quran doesn't tell any woman except the prophet's wives to cover their face. Muslim women aren't allowed to wear the veil to pray, or even to mecca. So how on earth is wearing the veil a religious obligation. It's people personal choice and has nothing to do with region. So it's not the same as people asking Muslims to not wear the hijab or to pray n many would disagree with that. Therefore Muslims should be careful and choose their battles well.

Why are they fighting so hard for something that is dividing and causing so many issues between Muslims and non Muslims, when it's not islamic.

I really think Muslims who wear the veil should try and be more accommodating and understanding of a different culture. If i went to an Islamic country i would try hard to accommodate n integrate with the people even if i have to slightly change the way i dress n do certain things, as long as that doesn't directly go against my religious belief. They are just making thing difficult for themselves n i really don't no y.