So, generally speaking, do Muslim women wear?

Question

the (hijab?? sorry, sp) out of choice and respect for themselves and not because their culture forces them to out of possessiveness? I was always taught the latter, basically, and read something recently that someone posted that made me think I had been taught wrong.

I am sorry if this question offends anyone. It is truly not my intent to offend, but to gain knowledge and to correct any wrong ideas I may have. (I know I often come across offensively in my questions and I never intend to)

Answer 1

some women yes, culture forced them especially in Saudi Arabia while other Arabs countries it depend on which region you are living,i know some Muslims in USA are also forced to wear it

Answer 2

hijab is not a responsibility, it's a right given to me by my Creator who knows us best. It's a benefit to me, so why not?
Some people may think that the more a woman covers, the less freedom she has. But, according to Muslim tradition, it is actually the opposite. The less she wears, the more she is degraded and the more she is put in the line of fire of male criticism.

The reason why Hijaab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qur’an in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Al-Qur’an 33:59]

The Qur’an says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.

im the only one in my family who wears the hijab n the niqab(veil)
(as u can c in my avatar) who forced me 2 wear it???????
i found out more abt my religion n thru Allah (swt)'s grace i knew this is wats rite 4 me! n i feel most comfortable in it than in the way i used 2 previously dress.
howeva i donot agree in forcing sum1 2 wear it coz den u wont be doin it 4 God. its better 2 educate women on this matter n let em choose 4 themselves - 2 please Allah or not

Answer 3

If the hijab were for anything else but for the sake of pleasing God, out of their own choice then no Muslim women in America or Europe would wear it - The only country in the world where the hijab is required by law is Saudi Arabia yet you see millions of Muslim women outside Saudi Arabia still wearing it -

I am American, my wife is American - I never asked her to put on the hijab nor have I ever asked her to take it off - she puts it own out of her own free will and I respect her for it - my culture is an american culture, and my culture tells me to respect the way others choose to live their lives - why have we americans forgotten this?

Answer 4

You spelled it right, yes. And no your question is not offensive to us Muslims at all! :) We're actually grateful and happy that you're all for learning the truth about us (why we wear the hijab) and not sticking to the wrong claims about us.
Yes, it's purely out of choice and not due to compulsion or possessiveness by anyone. I'll admit that sometimes, some women in some cultures are compelled by their men, but the religion doesn't at ALL force the women to do so; in that case, the compulsion becomes a cultural thing, not a religious act. Hijab (the covering of the hair, chest, neck...) is compulsary, but the veil (covering of the entire body from head to toe, including face) is not compulsary. It's all a choice, and no one is allowed to force anyone to dress a certain way. Personally, when I wear the hijab, I feel sooo respected, soo beautiful, in my own eyes and in the eyes of my Lord who loves me enough to ask me to dress a certain way so that I'll be calling for others to respect me and not to abuse me in any way. I'm in a way telling males, "Don't you DARE look at me with disrespect!" Some people find it as a way for us Muslim women to be submissive to men. But the truth is, it's not all being submissive to men. I believe that dressing the way men want you to dress (mainly showing off your body to please men) is being submissive to them, don't you think?
Thanks for asking, by the way! May God shower His blessings and mercy upon you!!

Answer 5

We wear the hijab by our own choice and because we feel wearing it is showing respect to God, not man. Of course, in mainly in the past (and unfortunately some areas today) it was hugely a cultural demand, but in Islam a woman has equal say in such matters and the choice is hers alone.

Answer 6

I think it is both. It depends on how the woman was raised and how she was influenced by the culture in her community and the culture of the world. Many woman look down on woman who do not wear them. However, while I was deployed over seas, I saw man woman who didn't wear them. So i guess it depends. If it is not something a woman was raised thinking she had to wear and then was later forced to wear it than yes your latter thought would be right, but that is not alwasys the case. Some woman actually choose to wear it. It depends on thier culture.

Answer 7

According to the Quran, a woman may not be forced to wear anything. She can run around butt naked if she so chooses and there isn't a thing anyone can do about it except yell at her. In "islamic" countries they do force it on women most of the time, but in Pakistan it's not. I remember spending the night in Lahore for the first time on my second trip there. Women were walking around uncovered, wearing the latest fashions. In the daytime, they were basically living like we do. Driving around, doing the errands, shopping, being soccer moms of sorts. I am a muslim woman. Sometimes I wear it, sometimes I don't. It's my choice. My ex never did like me to cover up. He was born and raised in Pakistan and came to the US when he was 25. You would think this would be inbred in him, but no. His sister goes around in Faisalabad with even her face covered. But I tried that with the proper garment and he yanked it off of me saying it wasn't necessary. When my sisters in law and I go out to the stores, I am the one wearing traditional arabic dress (hijab and abaya) most of the time, one is wearing the Pakistani Salwar Kameez with her dupatta around her head and shoulders, and the other in jeans and a nice shirt.

Answer 8

Firstly, the men have kinda misunderstood the pssaages of the Koran (Quran). The women covered themselves not of religious believes but for pratical purposes.

The covering of the hijab predates to the wandering nomads who covered themselves (the women) from sandstorms in the desert. These covering was adopted and later enforced brutally onto the women.

Answer 9

hijab is our religious while veil is cultural, but women adopt it for their religion . somewhere in culture they are asked to wear it, keeping the envirment in mind by their males but women don't mind accepting this becuase they know its their safty. But Generaly women are not forced to wear it, its their own choice and they are free to do whtever they want. I m living in a muslim country and here you can find all verieties of women , from the one wearing veil and hijab to the ones who don't bother to take even a sash...its totally women 's own choice.Infact hijab is our identity , and smetimes feel it blessing in some situations.Oh Btw i belong to a very strict culture here but still i m not forced but i love it myself and if even i don't wear hijab no one bother to ask me a word.we know it and we follow it as hijab is in our religion.

Answer 10

well unless i am a muslim women its going to be very hard to give you an accurate answer being a non muslim man however i tend to believe the full face covering (a berkka ithink its called ) is very oppressive in nature not only that it denies the beauty of Gods creation the hijab I think could once have been gauged to have been worn for the same raeson however in our modern society I believe it is now worn to show respect for ones faith and oneself but as i said all i can do is speculate

Answer 11

The thing to understand is that people from different cultures judge different actions by different standards. Western women look down upon covering because of their own unique historical and religious journey. Western women had to fight for the right to be educated, to own property, to vote, to testify in court, to inherit property, etc. They also had to battle the Eve Complex, wherein the Church blamed Eve for the fall of Adam and so, by extension, every woman was considered an evil temptress. Martin Luther and St. Augustine are among the famous Christian writers who spoke of women this way.

In addition, Paul connected modesty with the subjugation of women when he wrote to the Corinthians that women should not speak in church and must cover their heads as a sign of their submission to their husbands, because man is the head of woman.

So the inheritors of the Judeo-Christian tradition, Western women, developed a bad taste in their mouths for modesty and the showing of skin came to be associated with liberation.

Muslim women do not have any of that same baggage. God granted women all the rights that had to be fought for in the West 1400 years ago in the Qur'an. By far most Muslim women choose to wear the hijab because for Muslims it is a symbol of a woman's submission to God (not to her husband). Hijab is, for Muslim women, very liberating. It creates a desexualization of public space. It takes electric sexual tension out of the public sphere and reserves it for it's proper place: between spouses. This makes one's relationship with her husband more special and exciting and at the same time forces others to respect her for who she is and what she contributes. Muslim women are never referred to as a "Piece of *ss" - or any other body part, for that matter.

It may be interesting for you to find out that Muslim women believe it is Western women who are oppressed. They spend millions on the fashion and beauty industry, they dress in skimpy clothing even at the office (while men wear suits that cover their bodies), they are objectified by the ad industry which uses their bodies to sell beer and cars... and they do all of this to please who? Men. That is oppression. That is submission. That is second class citizenship.

So Mavis Leno and her friends need not crusade to save the Muslim women from the hijab. We claim it as a right, a privilege and a precious part of our identities.

Hijab can also be a political statement, but that's a whole other post.