Is occasionally not wearing gloves—while a niqabi is in a country where custom obliges wearing them—considered hypocrisy, and are they necessary for a niqabi?

Scholars differed on the ruling regarding covering the hands. The view of Ahmad and the sound opinion within the Shafi'i school is that covering them is obligatory, while the view of Malik and Abu Hanifa is that covering them is recommendable. The preponderant view is the obligation of covering. Covering the hands with gloves or with the sleeves of the jilbab is sufficient. It is obligatory to cover the face and the hands, whether or not they are eye-catching. According to the view that covering is obligatory, a woman uncovering her hands is a sin because she has abandoned an obligation, but it is not hypocrisy.