Why Do Some Muslim Women Wear Full Body Coverings with Only Spaces for the Eyes?

For modesty.

Lets not start a thread that insults someone else's beliefs and try to disguise it as a "just wanted to know" question. Not cool.

Some people do things differently than you. No need to be freaked out about it.

Update: L....Yes, really. And I will feel free to answer any question on this forum anytime I feel the need. If you don't like the answer, don't ask the question.

There are different levels of observance and different interpretations of the Quran, the Hadith, and Sharia Law, similar to the different interpretations of the Bible and the 10 Commandments. Some believe that Islam requires those standards of dress for women, as well as certain grooming standards for men. Others do not. No need to be freaked out by it--underneath they're just like you. They normally wear normal clothes underneath it and when they are in the privacy of their own homes, with their immediate family, they don't wear it.

Free will is a funny thing. When you're raised to adhere to strict religious "rules" your ability to make decisions independent from those teachings is compromised.

Like the Duggar daughters, Hasidic Jews and FLDS, Fundamentalist Muslim women are expected to be subservient to men. In my opinion clothing restrictions are an outward sign that those women weren't raised to exercise their own free will as adults. I'm sure in many cases there are women who really are making that choice on their own but you can't separate the effect of upbringing on a person's lifestyle. Especially when that lifestyle includes a certain amount of oppression.

It doesn't freak me out to see women dressed like that. I do wonder about any religion that insists women dress a certain way. The God I pray to doesn't care in the least what people are wearing. Much more important is what people are doing.

For women in this country, I would imagine that there are perhaps reasons such as religious observance as well as a group identity. It doesn't bother me that people choose to observe their religion and its teachings in this way. I wouldn't, but who am I to impose my values on the, when they are not imposing their values on me. (If I could impose my values on society, I'd see a lot less bra straps, butt cracks, and underwear.) As we live in a country which does not require certain attire (just that one IS attired), I believe that many of the women here in the US wear veils as either an observance of their personal faith or as a cultural collective identity.

Here's an interesting link in regard to the conversation about veils:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/veil.htm

It's not just a 'repressed woman' issue, in any case. Many women are proud to show their faith in this way, just like many Christian women might wear a cross- it's a quick cultural indicator of what one values and 'who' one is.

Part of it goes back many centuries when women did not wear the full Burkas and were raped. The men or women decided to protect the beautiful and the not so beautiful from being raped by putting them all in this garb. I mean you can't tell what that person really looks like until they take off the Burka in their home.

It is a carry over from their cultural and the country they are from. Like the habits the nuns used to wear that were black with the Red Cross shoes.

Just one way the world turns.

the other S.

PS I asked someone once when we were stationed overseas about the Burka. It sure is hard to see out of it as I wore one once for a function.

I've heard them talk on TV about this and the women said that they feel empowered by it because THEY get to decide who they show their body to.

Having grown up in America, I don't get it. It seems like religious extremism which, as we've seen, can be dangerous.

I'm part of the baby boomer generation and I grew up when girls had to wear dresses to school and church. It's almost comical now to think how stupid that was....but at the time, we all accepted. Thank heavens for the women's movement. We all owe Gloria Steinham and others like her a BIG thank you!

Idk why when it comes to religion, it's usually the woman who has to wear a certain type of attire and not the men. I'm a Christian and I've grown up in churches where certain attire was expected even though it wasn't biblically supported. As a result, women were not allowed to wear pants, or shorts. They were expected to wear long skirts. I was once called a "Jazabel" because I wore make up. Some churches would frown on a woman wearing bare legs to church. None of these rules ever affect the men. SMH

it's a religious thing, not to attract want from men other their own husbands. nothing freaky about it.

I don't understand why it bothers you. I once saw a cartoon that had a western woman, scantily clad passing a fully hidden woman in a burka, as you describe. The thought bubble over each of their heads was the same - "I feel so sorry for the way the men in that society make that woman dress." If you are raised with beliefs about the roll of sex and women and men and sexuality, you dress according to the customs of that society and beliefs. I can easily understand why it would be far more comfortable to be covered head to toe when venturing out. The women I know who wear burkas do it because they WANT to.

It is a religious thing. The women's body is to be completely covered. The eye slits are so they can see. Their religion dictates they show modesty. Modesty is interpreted as covering everything.
To put my words to it. A woman's body is considered a temptation. By covering it you are taking all temptation out.
Wikipedia has a good article on them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa

The simplest and best Western religious analogy would be comparing the way Catholic nuns cover up in long, head to ankle habits to the Burka's purpose. Same purpose, just that the Muslim women marry.

I have asked many women with burkas why they cover up in such varying degrees, the eye slit opening the most extreme. The pat answer from all Muslim women is that they are observing and respecting their religious tradition, because they personally choose to and want to symbolize their closeness to God / Allah.

With that said, what's interesting to note is how fancy the coverings are say between the Saudi's, the wealthiest of the bunch, to Pakistani / Afghan Muslim, usually the poorer of them.. The Saudi women go to great extreme to bejewel and bedeck their all black coverings with Swarovski crystals in lovely designs.

And underneath it all, it's usually Western wear. Except for the Muslim Indian who wear sarees.

Also, the coverings start when the girl enters puberty and starts her first menses, in general.

I have friends over in Afghinstan and family who have served overseas...and my ENT doctor is Muslim...there is a lot of confusion in Western culture about the hijab and burqa...

In the Islamic culture - dress is about modesty. It also is a custom as well as social class...

The attire you are talking about - the burka or burqa - is the "Conservative" choice for some Muslim women. As her beauty should ONLY be seen by her husband. Hence the veil (hijab in Arabic).

The Hijab you see women in Western cultures is typical - the scarf over the head and neck and the most widely accepted form of modesty in the Islamic culture.

The scarf or Hijab around the neck and face is the "most popular" choice. However, some women do wear the chandor - which is the "cape" we see many times here in the US.

There is debate about whether or not the Hijab is required to be worn in the Quaran. However, the point is that the women, when seen in public, should be NON-Descript. The man who marries her is the one who should see her beauty. The burqa is NOT worn by females until they reach womanhood, most usually wear the scarves or Hijab but NOT the burqa. When they are in their private residence, they typically do NOT wear the attire.

Under Taliban rule - women are NOT allowed to study or work. If they didn't wear the burqa, they were considered unfit for marriage.

Hope this helps!

I know there are Muslim women who choose the burqa, but there are plenty who are coerced. I have many Muslim friends, although none who veil themselves to that extreme. Other countries, like France, have recognized that these extreme coverings pose a potential security risk, but in this country, we get so hysterical about religious tolerance, there has been no ban on face covering.

There are some really thoughtful and helpful responses here so I am going to applaud you for educating yourself. This was a brave question.
Please don't be offended, but I am going to mention your question the next time that I have to explain to a parent why we teach the basic facts of major world religions as part of our middle school social studies curriculum. We live in an increasingly diverse nation and interconnected world so there are some basic things that we should learn about each other's beliefs and customs. I hope that my students go home and share what they have learned with their families, including the parents --who likely grew up in a less diverse society and may be curious but uncomfortable asking.
It is rare that I find middle school students shy about asking. When that occurs, they have usually been taught that it is somehow rude or racist to notice differences. I try to teach them sensitive but accurate terms to use and to thank the person for giving them helpful information. (The only person I've met who was completely ridiculous about this approach is the mom of one of my younger daughter's acquaintances. When her child told my child that we were not Christians, I replied that Catholics ARE Christians. The mother got angry and told me to stay out of what she taught her child!)