Why Do Islamic Women Wear Veils?
A Muslim woman wearing a veil is a regular sight in modern multicultural society, but few people outside of Islam understand the veil's religious significance. While some women might view the veil as an imposed male requirement, others wear it out of their own free will and see their scarves as liberating. Learn more about Islam to understand the reasons behind this cultural custom, which is often left shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding.
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Types of Veils
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There are many variations on the Islamic veil worn around the world. The hijab, popular with Muslim women in the Western world, is a rectangular scarf worn to cover the head and neck. According to BBC News, more controversial styles include the niqab and the burka. While the niqab covers the entire body, leaving just an open space for the eyes, the burka conceals the most, leaving only a mesh screen over the eye area so that women can see through.
What Islam Says
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The Koran (also spelled Qur'an or Quran) is the holy book from which Muslims draw their beliefs and practices. Like other religious texts, Koranic scriptures are open to interpretation and are the subject of debate among religious leaders. While everyone can agree that the Koran asks women to veil themselves out of modesty, religious scholars can't agree how much of the body should be veiled.
According to BBC News, the following is a Koranic passage often cited in the veiling debate: "Tell the faithful women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their scarf to cover their bosom" (Koran, 24:31). Many scholars argue that "what is apparent of it" gives women the license to leave their face, neck and hands uncovered, while others say that it means only a woman's outer garments should be showing. The debate explains why veils come in different styles, each offering different levels of coverage.
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Veils and Privacy
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One reason why Islamic women wear veils is because the Koran commands it directly, but covering up also reflects a privacy ethic that runs through the entire religion. Houses are seen as respected, intimate dwellings. The Koran commands asking permission to enter another's home and leaving when requested, according to Muhajabah.com. The Koran also explicitly condemns gossip and prying into the private affairs of others. Just as homes and lives should be respected and people should avoid trespassing into other peoples' business, bodies should be covered and private. While women wear veils to protect their bodies, the Koran also asks that men cover their "private region"--from the belly button to just below the knee.
Expression of Feminism
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Many people think that using ancient patriarchal rules to establish women's dress conventions violates the most fundamental principles of feminism, which call for giving women choices and ownership over their own lives. However, many Islamic women have the freedom to wear the veil or not, and they make the choice to don it for religious and feminist reasons.
Muhajabah.com points out that Western culture is obsessed with a very specific definition of beauty, and women spend hours each day trying to meet impossible standards. Covering up frees a woman from being judged by her appearance and sexuality, and instead focuses more attention on her intelligence and character. They believe that as long as veiling is a choice and not a forced standard, it can promote the ideals of feminism, emphasizing that women are people rather than sexual objects.
Controversy
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Although wearing a veil can be positive if it's the woman's own choice, in some situations women are forced to cover up against their own beliefs. In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, women who did not wear burkas outdoors were beaten for their misstep, according to the U.S. Department of State. Although such rules are reviled by the mainstream Islamic community, extremist groups and sects still enforce them.
Some European countries, including France, Belgium, Turkey and Spain, have banned women from wearing more restrictive versions of the Islamic veil, including burkas and niqabs. The rationale is that face-covering veils are inherently anti-feminist, and some women are forced to wear them by controlling male relatives. Making them illegal sends a message about gender equality in society and protects Islamic women's rights. Critics point out that not all women who wear burkas and niqabs are forced to do so, and that such bans limit freedom of religious expression.
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References
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- Photo Credit muslim woman image by DXfoto.com from Fotolia.com
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