Fatima Barkatullah writing a piece in The Times today entitled 'Niqab: Fact v Fiction', seeks to dispel popular myths on the niqab and burqa, challenging the common misconceptions that shape antipathy to these forms of dress observed by many Muslim women.

Read her retorts to popular myths: ‘The niqab is a symbol of female subjugation; Women who wear the niqab cannot possibly contribute to society; The niqab isn’t in the Qur’an; Wearing the niqab implies that all men are predatory; The niqab poses a security risk at banks and airports; Niqab wearers can’t possibly be teachers and Banning the niqab will free those Muslim women who are coerced into wearing it.’

It’s refreshing to read the views of a veiled Muslim woman, amid the many perspectives that have been printed on the niqab/burqa, challenging the hyperbole with some home truths.