BEYOND THE VEIL; JACK STRAW faces a backlash after he claimed relations in his constituency would improve if Muslim women didn't wear veils. Yesterday a radio DJ claimed a caller had previously refused to remove her veil after Straw - her MP - asked her to at a surgery. Here, Scots Muslim Maariyah Masud gives ANNIE BROWN her view on the row.

Byline: ANNIE BROWN

JACK STRAW has said Muslim women should remove their veils in order to break down barriers in communities.

I am a 24-year-old researcher studying for a masters degree in public policy and a Muslim, and I disagree with his views.

I choose not to wear the face veil but I do wear the hijab, the head scarf.

There are reasons women cover their face and there are two schools of thought from a family perspective.

One says you must cover your body except for your hands but showing your face is acceptable.

The other says your face has to be covered as well.

Both views are completely acceptable and it really is a matter of choice. Personally I would not consider covering my face.

I am comfortable enough wearing the hijab and covering the rest of my body appropriately without the veil.

The public assumption seems to be that if you wear the hijab or a face covering, somehow you are not going to be as expressive or as intelligent.

I find Jack Straw's comments bizarre. He said he wants to see a woman's facial expression to understand what she is trying to say.

It's like speaking to someone over the phone.

Obviously you are going to get a gist of them by the tone of their voice.

Mr Straw says he feels "uncomfortable" about talking to women when he cannot see their face. I think Mr Straw's comments are off-key.

As a politician, he is meant to be inclusive and representative of his constituents. If some of his constituents choose to wear the face veil, he should respect that and work with that.

He shouldn't be asking them to change themselves so that he is more comfortable.

From the comments made by my non-Muslim friends, it does seem that some people find the face covering intimidating.

But having said that, when they speak to the women behind the veil, they quickly realise their perceptions are usually wrong.

I suppose it is judging a book by its cover.

I have friends who wear the face veil and they are the most dynamic individuals I know.

I would encourage people to speak to women wearing veils and the hijab. You will realise they have made an intelligent choice.

Jack Straw has said the veil is a "statement of separation and difference".

The question I would ask him is: "Does a nun wearing a habit make a statement of separation and difference? Is she not seen as part of British society? Is she not approachable? Is she not intelligent?"

I think it is a matter of perception.

I don't believe the face covering is a "statement of difference or separation". I believe that is a perception by someone who is not engaged fully with women who wear face veils.

We should embrace cultural differences and enjoy them. There is no other way to look at it.

We live in a liberal democracy. If you are a British citizen born and brought up here, you are like anyone else and you have the same rights.

I vote, I pay my taxes and I have a freedom of choice.

To impinge on a freedom of choice is completely unacceptable.

Yes, I can understand the sentiment of people who are looking at it from a different perspective in this time in which we are living.

Muslims are very much at the forefront of people's minds, perhaps for very negative reasons.

Post-Taliban, there is this perception that the veil is a symbol of oppression.

I am not denying there are places in the world where that happens, but I think that in a British context we have to look at it completely differently.

We can't compare ourselves to other countries.

The majority of women here have made an intelligent choice in wearing the veil.

A lot of these women come from professional backgrounds.

They may not previously have been wearing the veil or hijab but, through their own spiritual development, have chosen to take it on.

They are far from oppressed.