The first Muslim journalist to present Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme has vowed never to wear a veil.
Mishal Husain - who joined the Today programme this morning - recalled the moment she was accosted by a fellow Muslim while boarding a train who told her she will soon have to adopt the face covering hijab.
She said: ‘He complimented me on my work and then said, “But you’ll have to wear a hijab one day.” “I don’t think so,” I replied.’
The Cambridge-educated journalist, 40, is the latest high-profile public figure to intervene in the debate about whether the veil is an acceptable item of clothing in Britain.
A row over the acceptability of full-face coverings was sparked last month when a Muslim defendant in a court case insisted on wearing the veil during her trial.
In September, a judge ordered her to take off the garment to give evidence.
But the case made British legal history because Judge Peter Murphy said the woman could retain the veil for all other parts of her trial.
Last month, David Cameron was accused of Islamophobia after he backed a college’s controversial decision to ban pupils wearing the full facial veil for security reasons.
All students, staff and visitors to Birmingham Metropolitan College were told they must have their faces visible at all times so they are ‘easily identifiable’.
But Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he felt ‘uneasy’ about a veil ban in a schools, although he could understand why it was needed to identify people at airport checkouts.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt also joined the debate by declaring that he would not personally want to be treated by a doctor or nurse wearing a veil.
The cabinet minister insisted patients should have the right to demand medics remove their veils. He said: ‘Certainly, if I was a patient myself, I’d want to be able to see the face of the doctor or nurse who was treating me.
‘I think it is very important that patients do get proper contact with the doctors and nurses who are looking after them.’
His comments, made last month, came as the Department of Health launched a review into NHS guidelines on full-face veils amid concerns they are preventing face-to-face contact in hospitals.
Asked whether patients should be allowed to request not to be treated by someone wearing a veil, Mr Hunt said: ‘I do think this should be a professional and not a political matter and that’s why I think the people who should be pronouncing on this are the body responsible for professional standards and not politicians.’
Drawing from her own interpretation of what the Koran said about the wearing of veils, Ms Husain said there was no order to don the garment.
In a diary piece for the Financial Times, she said: ‘In the Koran, the subject of dress is touched upon only a handful of times, with the dominant requirement being modesty on the part of both sexes.
‘One verse puts the emphasis on actions over appearances: “O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness.” (7:26)
Ms Husain, who is also Today’s first Asian presenter, said her determination not to wear the veil was formulated during her years as a child growing up in Saudi Arabia, where her mother was required to wear an abaya, or black cloak, over the top.
She described how her young friends would sometimes struggle to pick out their mothers in a crowded shopping centre - as the full-face veil meant they had to look for details on their shoes to distinguish people.