Rev, I disagree. The burka isn't a fashion statement and I believe a ban on it should apply in all public areas. The inhabitants of this country are now, apparently, amongst the most 'watched' in the world, but what's the point of having thousands of CCTV cameras in streets, shops, office buildings, libraries, gyms, hospitals, doctors' surgeries, etc, etc, if they record only the faces of a proportion of the population? Take a hypothetical example of a case of shop-lifting, or pick-pocketing, committed by someone enshrouded in a burka - and it happens. The police check the CCTV to see if they can identify the culprit, but all they see is a faceless nonentity shoving someone else's possessions up her (or his) sleeve. What chance is there of that person ever being apprehended? None at all. They can't even be identified by distinctive clothing because they all look exactly the same. If an untoward event takes place in any public area, those wearing burkas are the only people who are currently at liberty to remain completely anonymous - and that is quite simply wrong. They should be subject to the same enforced exposure as everyone else - and to the same rules and regulations.
Chakka and Shermi, there's no doubt that Islam is a male dominated culture, and I don't believe good manners are a consideration to people who support this. The burka encourages separation and it succeeds in creating separation - and that is the primary reason for its existence.