In the US and UK, what is the (estimated) proportion of muslim women wearing chador or burqa ?

Question

In France, more and more muslim women wear chador. I'd like to know if the situation is the same in other countries and what is other people's reaction on it (are they indifferent or hostile ?). Thanks

Answer 1

Hello...I'm a Muslim woman living in England..and I will try to give you an answer..


It depends on your definition of Chador and Burqa...

Let me explain what a hijab is first.. It meaning covering..and to protect our modesty.
In Islam for women this means that we most wear lose clothes that do not show our curves, and covers all our body except our hands and faces,
This is interpreted in many ways in many different countries..and chador and burqa are just one of them.....

A chador is large cloak...that covers the whole body except for the face (and hands). It is originally from Iran..and is named after the Farsi word for tent(because that is really what it is) And is only culturally common in Iran. There is a modified version with arms..that is worn in some countries such as Iraq as well.
Chadors are mostly black...though they are highly coloured ones worn by some traditional groups such as the Bandari.
Pray chadors..worn when making pray are patterned mostly in dark colours..I have one in navy blue with white flowers.
There is a fashion now in Iran to have the chador in a pattern..There are still black but with an embroidered type of material. And some young girls wear opaque chador :-)))

The burqa covers all the body including the face. A common image would be the blue burqas typically worn in Afghanistan..
Though amore common type of clothing ..that covers the same areas.. would be a niqab..where a separate piece of material covers the face. This is traditional in the gulf states and Saudi Arabia. Also I know in some areas in Pakistan they do that as well.



OK..back to your question...

I would think that there are very very very few women in the west who wear chador. I have not seen one!! This clothe is traditional only to Iran..and is difficult to wear and manage. You really need to grow up wearing one to be able to control it well.
Most Iranian women who live in the west do not wear any type of hijab..(or a very small one), and women from other cultures would not wear it because it is very hard to wear. It is also very strange on the streets of London..or New York rather than Tehran.
I had a friend from Iran who visited Belgium as a tourist who wore a chador for her first day..but then took it off because it was so unusual!!


As for the niqab (it is more common style than burqa) there are a few women that wear it. (and the number is increasing) I would say about 1-3% of Muslim women in the west do, depending where you live. Most of the women who actually wear it are converts to Islam rather than born Muslim. OF the 4 friends I know who wear it 3 are converts.
In cities in the UK.. You can see women wearing Niqab in parts of Birmingham, and in areas such as Whitechapel in London.
You will also see women from the gulf states wearing Niqab..in central London department stores such as Selfrigdes and Harrods.
In Britain most of the women who wear niqab are White British converts (With a few Black British as well..but they tend not to cover their face) and a few Muslims of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin as well wearing niqab. There are women from the gulf states who wear it but..there are mostly in London (and tourists) Britain does not have a large population from gulf countries,
In the USA..again most who wear niqab are converts. There are more Gulf State Arabs in the USA..and some women in places like Dearborn Michigan also wear niqab. But note that most women from most Arab countries such as Egypt do not wear niqab...


As for other types of hijab..I think it is quite common. There are many women who wear western type clothes with a headscarf, or a jilbab(outer coat) and head scarf.
I would take a guess in the UK at about 40% of Muslim women wear hijab depending on the area.
And it is now getting more popular with young women wanting to practice their religion more. I think it is much more common in the younger generation now. I know many young women /girls who wear the hijab..but their mothers do not (or just wear a scarf like a dupatta that covers nothing and is just cultural) I myself wear hijab..but my mother does not.


For discrimination...as a headscarf wearing woman in England, I have never received a racist comment because of that. And in England the law protects my right to wear head scarf to school, work etc.....The same is true for the USA..
In 2001 woman were also allowed to have their passport photos with head scarf on....

For Niqab..it is a little more complex...
There is not so much protection in the law..you can not have a passport photo like that! And not all jobs would allow a niqab wearing woman...
In general people don't say anything to women in Niqab..but in certain situation there are target of abuse. I have a friend that lives near a football stadium and whenever there is a football match she is target of name calling....Though she says in general most people are friendly to her...

Answer 2

I have read some of your nonsence questions, and this one is ridiculous to... It is a womans choice if she wants to wear hijab or not. They are not "intimidated" to do so. If you understood why a woman does wear hijab, then you would not be soooo stupid. Wearing black actually keeps a woman cooler when the sun is out. Not all wear black. There are other colors too that they wear. Earthtones are most popular because they dont attract pervert and idiotic people like yourself. Sorry if i sound rude. A woman wears this to cover her beauty from other men. Her beauty is only for her husband to see, not the whole world. If you think about it, if you are married or have a girlfriend, what would you do if men were harassing her because of the way she looks. I dont think you would like it much. So my suggestion is to think before you type nonsense crap on here....

Answer 3

I sincerely doubt we track information like that.