Another "curtain muncher" refuses to show her face

Veil banned by judge

By Paul BrosterA MUSLIM lawyer is at the centre of a new veil storm after she twice refused a judge’s request to reveal her face.Shabnam Mughal, 27, insisted she had the right to cover up during an immigration hearing despite the judge explaining he could not hear her.Last night, after the case was halted because of her defiance, the row was referred to a High Court judge to rule whether she should be allowed to wear her niqab, which left only her eyes visible. Dressed head to toe in black, she vowed to continue wearing it, but critics said it was “nonsense” to claim that a solicitor could properly address the tribunal with her mouth covered.

It went down (well the curtain stayed up)like this:
Tribunal chairman George Glossop, a part-time immigration judge, first asked her to remove her veil during the morning session of the hearing on Monday.
But she refused and the case was adjourned till the afternoon.

When it reconvened at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the judge had to ask Miss Mughal to repeat herself after failing to hear how she spelled her name.

He told her: “I am not very happy that you are appearing in a veil. Would you kindly remove it to assist with communications? It will allow me to see your face and I cannot hear you as well as I would like.”

Miss Mughal replied: “Sir, we have been through this issue.” Within minutes she had left the room, telling the judge: “Sir, I am taking my leave.”

Miss Mughal then came back as Judge Glossop spoke to the businessman, Jagdev Singh. He asked her: “Do you wish to carry on?” She replied: “No, I just want to listen to what is being said.”

Judge Glossop said: “If you remove your veil, which happens in other cases, we can proceed, otherwise I am going to have consultations with the president of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Will you remove it?”

Miss Mughal replied: “You are clearly aware of my position on the grounds of my religious beliefs. I won’t.”


Remember fellow curtain muncher Aishah Azmi? The article gives us this update on her sitch:
The latest case follows the controversy over classroom assistant Aishah Azmi, 24, who was suspended by her primary school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, for refusing to take off her veil when teaching children.

A tribunal ruled she was not discriminated against, but she plans to take her fight to Europe, funded by taxpayers’ money.

Funded by taxpayers' money - ain't that grand?