There is a growing push in the UK to hold a national debate about whether the British government should step in to stop young Muslim women having the veil – quote – “imposed” on them.

This is being led by a home office minister – a Liberal Democrat - but a number of Conservative MPs also want to ban young women covering their faces, chiefly in schools.

And the Prime Minister David Cameron has dipped his toe in the water – he said he would support a ban on ‘full face veils’ in his children’s schools.

So this is the niqab – the veil that almost completely covers the face, and you see it worn in countries like Saudi Arabia and Yemen and Pakistan.

It’s a really interesting topic. Because is this Western politicians acting in good faith and believing they are preserving the rights of young Muslim women, or are the politicians being naive and interventionist and denying someone their religious freedoms?

Where do you draw the line between protecting and promoting freedom of choice?

I don’t find a burqa or niqab intimidating – although that's probably because in my line of work, I've spent a bit of time in the Muslim world.

I've been to a number of celebrations and lunches where it is just women and behind closed-doors they remove their burqas and niqabs and I've sat beside many a Muslim woman who is wearing a cut-off top and hipster jeans, and their make-up is quite flamboyant -- and they'll tell you they are comfortable in their burqa or niqab because it helps them ensure their beauty is for their husband's eyes only. And these are educated women. They're professionals. Lawyers and teachers and the like.

It's just that it's an alien concept to us -- it is alien in our western society to cover your face – in fact, in the UK, a woman MP said this week that she found veils deeply offensive and they made women invisible.

So it's an interesting situation unfolding in the UK -- and it's triggering debates about religious conformity. If you ban the veil, is that where it ends? Do you ban Sikhs from wearing turbans? Hare Krishnas from shaving their heads and wearing orange? And what about the brimless hats often worn by those who follow the Jewish faith?

Or is it just the veil the western world finds offensive?