Boris Johnson defends full face veils, yet they are a public discourtesy

SIR – It must be the silly season for such a firestorm to have erupted after Boris Johnson’s article (Comment, August 6) defending the right of British women to wear the burka or niqab if they wish.

Of course it was Boris being Boris, using humour to make a serious point. He made the accurate statement that wearing such an item is cultural and has nothing to do with the Koran. I know he described people wearing the garment as “looking like a letterbox” but that was in the context of defending their right to wear it.

Anthropologically, obliterating the face is generally anathema in all societies, because our discourse is governed by facial recognition, which is fundamental to the survival of our species.

Historically Arab men wished to “protect their women” from unwanted scrutiny by other men; this reflects the status of women as under the control of their fathers and their brothers.

Today, when security is such an issue, it would be helpful if those who choose to wear a garment in public that hides their entire face except the small slit for the eyes could give some thought to the effect of such a withdrawal on the observer. There is an implicit discourtesy in the unfair advantage of seeing the world while remaining unseen by the world. Mina Bowater

Blandford Forum, Dorset

SIR – While it is true Boris Johnson’s article suggests that “a total ban is not the answer”, his description of the burka is clearly insulting and belittles Muslim women everywhere.

What is truly “weird and bullying”? Is it a woman who, in expressing her commitment to her faith, chooses to dress a certain way? (And, despite the rhetoric of oppression constantly being propagated, it is still possible for a woman of faith to make her own decisions.) Or is it someone comparing such a woman to something as “absolutely ridiculous’” as a letterbox?

The main issue I have with Boris Johnson’s attitude towards the burka ban is that he hardly sees it as a gross violation of religious freedom. Rather, he is afraid it would cause a backlash across religious communities.

Confusingly he also likens the “oppressive” burka to the rebellion of a teenager. As a teenager myself, I wonder if this shows a dissonance between our generations. What he considers rebellion, we consider to be our human rights. Yusra Dahri

London SW18

SIR – Mr Johnson says: “There is only a tiny, tiny majority of women who wear these odd bits of headgear”. Has he walked round Blackburn town centre on a Saturday afternoon? Les Moore

Blackburn, Lancashire

SIR – After reading Boris Johnson’s article I’ll think twice before posting letters just in case I make an unfortunate mistake. Martin Thurston

Midhurst, West Sussex