Why do some women have to wear......................?

Question

Why do some women of Islam have to wear veils?

Answer 1

They do not have to wear a veil they choose to wear a veil.

What about the Christian tradition? It is well known that Catholic Nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of years, but that is not all. St. Paul in the New Testament made some very interesting statements about the veil:

"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head" (I Corinthians 11:3-10).

St. Paul's rationale for veiling women is that the veil represents a sign of the authority of the man, who is the image and glory of God, over the woman who was created from and for man. St. Tertullian in his famous treatise 'On The Veiling Of Virgins' wrote, "Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you should wear them in the church, you wear them when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws of the Catholic church today, there is a law that requires women to cover their heads in church. 82 Some Christian denominations, such as the Amish and the Mennonites for example, keep their women veiled to the present day. The reason for the veil, as offered by their Church leaders, is that "The head covering is a symbol of woman's subjection to the man and to God", which is the same logic introduced by St. Paul in the New Testament. 83

From all the above evidence, it is obvious that Islam did not invent the head cover. However, Islam did endorse it. The Quran urges the believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty and then urges the believing women to extend their head covers to cover the neck and the bosom:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty......And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms...." (Quran 24:30,31).

The Quran is quite clear that the veil is essential for modesty, but why is modesty important? The Quran is still clear:

"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not molested" (Quran 33:59).

This is the whole point, modesty is prescribed to protect women from molestation or simply, modesty is protection. Thus, the only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil of the Christian tradition, is not a sign of man's authority over woman nor is it a sign of woman's subjection to man. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil in the Jewish tradition, is not a sign of luxury and distinction of some noble married women. The Islamic veil is only a sign of modesty with the purpose of protecting women, all women. The Islamic philosophy is that it is always better to be safe than sorry. In fact, the Quran is so concerned with protecting women's bodies and women's reputation that a man who dares to falsely accuse a woman of unchastity will be severely punished:

"And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations)- Flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors" (Quran 24:4)

Compare this strict Quranic attitude with the extremely lax punishment for rape in the Bible:

" If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives" (Deut. 22:28-30)

One must ask a simple question here, who is really punished? The man who only paid a fine for rape, or the girl who is forced to marry the man who raped her and live with him until he dies? Another question that also should be asked is this: which is more protective of women, the Quranic strict attitude or the Biblical lax attitude?

Some people, especially in the West, would tend to ridicule the whole argument of modesty for protection. Their argument is that the best protection is the spread of education, civilised behaviour, and self restraint. We would say: fine but not enough. If 'civilization' is enough protection, then why is it that women in North America dare not walk alone in a dark street - or even across an empty parking lot ? If Education is the solution, then why is it that a respected university like Queen's has a 'walk home service' mainly for female students on campus? If self restraint is the answer, then why are cases of sexual harassment in the workplace reported on the news media every day? A sample of those accused of sexual harassment, in the last few years, includes: Navy officers, Managers, University professors, Senators, Supreme Court Justices, and the President of the United States! I could not believe my eyes when I read the following statistics, written in a pamphlet issued by the Dean of Women's office at Queen's University:

In Canada, a woman is sexually assaulted every 6 minutes,
1 in 3 women in Canada will be sexually assaulted at some time in their lives,
1 in 4 women are at the risk of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime,
1 in 8 women will be sexually assaulted while attending college or university, and
A study found 60% of Canadian university-aged males said they would commit sexual assault if they were certain they wouldn't get caught.
Something is fundamentally wrong in the society we live in. A radical change in the society's life style and culture is absolutely necessary. A culture of modesty is badly needed, modesty in dress, in speech, and in manners of both men and women. Otherwise, the grim statistics will grow even worse day after day and, unfortunately, women alone will be paying the price. Actually, we all suffer but as K. Gibran has said, "...for the person who receives the blows is not like the one who counts them." 84 Therefore, a society like France which expels young women from schools because of their modest dress is, in the end, simply harming itself.

It is one of the great ironies of our world today that the very same headscarf revered as a sign of 'holiness' when worn for the purpose of showing the authority of man by Catholic Nuns, is reviled as a sign of 'oppression' when worn for the purpose of protection by Muslim women.

Answer 2

the religion leaves wearing the veil as optional, not required.

unfortunately some societies have turned the veil into a political issue instead of a personal choice, requiring women to do something that should be up to them to decide. these governments also sometimes give non-muslims the wrong impression of the religion.

the veil is just another way for women to express modesty. like in the U.S., it's against the law to run around naked. everybody has different standards of modesty. but in islam, a woman is considered to be sacred and beautiful. did you know that the religion allows women to wear gold jewelry but not men? this is because women are considered very valuable and their bodies are seen as beauty that should be cherished and respected.

all women AND men in islam are required to dress modestly. because women have extra beauty (hair, neck, etc), an extra level is an option.

have you ever walked down the street before and had some annoying guy yell out cat-calls to you? wearing the veil is an obvious sign that you don't want this attention. it's pretty simple. it's all your choice though. if you feel you can appear modest by just dressing normally, that's cool too. the veil really shouldn't be as big of a deal as people make it out to be.

also, there are many different colors and styles of veils. some are really pretty. it's not about looking somber or hidden. you can still be pretty, but you're just showing an extra sign that you respect your body.

Answer 3

The full veil was not started by Muslims, but by Byzantine Orthodox Christians...in Islam, only the wives of Muhammed were expected to wear the full veil, to identify them as wives of the Messenger(which, not suprisingly, made the wearing of the full veil a status symbol)
It is also important to note that the covering of the head/hair was common throughout the Middle East/Mediterranean region long before the coming of Islam, and that wearing a headscarf, especially in church, is common to Christian Orthodox women in the Balkans and Russia, and up until approximately 40 years ago, was even done by traditional Catholic women as well.

Answer 4

Opinions vary on the lengths Muslim women must go to cover up The Koran, Islam's holy book and treated as the literal word of God, tells Muslims - men and women - to dress modestly. Male modesty has been interpreted to be covering the area from above the navel to below the knee - and for women it is generally seen as covering everything except their face, hands and feet when in the presence of men they are not related or married to

Answer 5

Did all people positioned on pants interior the early circumstances?How approximately underclothes.? Like this sort of great form of of the shalts and shalt nots, this is basically yet another little tidbit to speak approximately, yet few take heavily.. Will Scots bypass to hell for donning kilts? adult males have continually particularly lots dressed as they delighted till the previous few centuries. all and sundry wore robes in biblical circumstances, yet women individuals have been to conceal their hair. adult males have been the 1st to positioned on intense heels, and so forth. Society and place particularly lots dictate what all and sundry wears. in case you do no longer desire to be an 'abomination', positioned on Amish or Mennonite clothing, or bypass to 3 somewhat uptight UPC or Apostolic church homes and get a clue, exceedingly the girls individuals!

Answer 6

Bcuz Muslim women don't want to be seen as a sexy body but a human with all qualities of a human.
It is forbidden 4 a Muslim woman to attract men by showing her body.
And the scarf on heads Bcuz it's a sign 4 showing off that they're Muslims.
And all this makes a kind of environment in Muslims society that if u travel to their countries can feel it. u some times feel that men and women love each other in a society Bcuz its their souls that has to be seen .

Answer 7

u don't have to
my mom doesn't
my sister doesn't
it's totally up to u and it's just a sign of respect
if u wear a veil u won't get harrased or mugged on the streets by any one and u get more respect(in muslim countries)

Answer 8

A muslim woman isn't forced to wear hijab , she chooses to because Allah ordered her to wear hijab .
I suggest you read this article it'll help a lot :
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/525
And I say to those who consider hijab as a sign of how islam looks down on women ( nonsense! ) that a muslim women who knows her true religion would know that wearing hijab liberates her and gives her immunity against hungry eyes and sick minds of surrounding people .
Note : Layla's answer is the best yet !

Answer 9

I think it's because women skin must not be seen in public, just their eyes. It is part of some Islamic cultures, not all.

Answer 10

My wife will change how much she covers up from one minute to the next. It depends upon how many people are around, where we are, what we are doing, and many other things.
As far as i'm concerned, she can wear a tuxedo and a rainbow afro wig.

.

Answer 11

it depends on what group of islam that they are in some call for full body coverage and others allow themselves to be exposed as much as they wish