THE TELEGRAPH: Cherie Blair has questioned whether the full-face veil restricted Muslim women from being "people in their own right".
The wife of the former Prime Minister said full veils, such as the niqab or burqa, could prevent a woman from expressing her personality.
Mrs Blair told Radio Four's Today programme: "I think we can get very hung up about women's clothes. The question is whether we honour people's religious beliefs or not. I am happy to honour people's religious beliefs, provided they are freely undertaken.
"Women covering their heads, women dressing modestly, I have no problem with at all. I think, however, that if you get to a stage where a woman is not able to express her personality because you can't see her face, then you do start to have to ask whether this is something that is actually acknowledging the woman's right to be a person in her own right." Cherie Blair: my doubts about the Muslim veil (more) By Laura Clout
