The Hijab is a veil which Muslim women wear to cover
their hair and sometimes their
neck. This headscarf leaves the front of
the face totally uncovered and does not stop them
from communicating in any way. Its size,
colour, the way it is worn and even the reason
for wearing it depends on the customs of
each community and each country. The same is
true of the clothes worn with it, which
can vary from tight-jeans to a loose tunic.
What is its origin?
The word Hijab literally means “curtain”. In the era of
the Rashidun Caliphate, according
to Mrs. Luz Gomez Garcia in her work “Dictionary of Islam
and the Islamic World”, the
use of long curtains was imposed to
separate the area where the Caliphate was located
and the space used by ordinary citizens.
The use of the Hijab is found in the
Qur’an, however, it signifies a barrier, not between a
man and a woman, but rather between two
men. It originated to protect the intimacy of
the Prophet from third parties.
Is it compulsory to
wear it?
Interpretation of the Qur’an throughout
history has tried to show that women have been
forced into obligatory use of the veil.
However, many experts, particularly those from the
wave of Islamic Reformers, highlight the
fact that the Qur’an does not stipulate the use of
the hijab, rather that it simply orders modesty,
decency and decorum when showing the
human body in public.
What does wearing the hijab mean?
The use of the veil by Muslim women in the
Twentieth and Twenty-first Century has
become a key issue in the emancipation of
women and Muslim identity.
The debate on its use is not only evident
in Europe, but also in Muslim communities, as
we have seen in recent events in Turkey
and Egypt.
For many Muslim women, wearing the veil is
a symbol of identity. It is important for those
who live in Western societies as it allows
them to keep a bond with their origins, when they
are far from their homeland, and
identifies them as members of the Muslim community.
On occasions, people feel that wearing the
Hijab
is
a way of rejecting cultural globalisation,
which is imposed on Muslim countries,
which explains its popularity in Morocco, Egypt
and Turkey.
On other occasions, wearing the Hijab has become
fashionable, a way of being young
and trendy without going against the
traditions of the past. We can see this clearly in the
so-called muhayababes in gossip magazines
or the stylish Gulf princesses.
In countries like Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates or Quatar, women wear this item of
clothing, and men wear the traditional dishdasha, as a status symbol
and to distinguish
themselves from others, generally,
foreigners working as a cheap labour.
Is the hijab different to the burqa, chador or niqab?
Yes. The hijab does not cover the face whereas the burqa and niqab do. These other
two items of clothing have nothing to do
with the Qur’an or Islam, and are linked to tribal
traditions or cultural customs, in areas
outside of the Maghreb or Mashreq countries.
The burqa is a tunic which covers the women fully
from head to toe, and which only allows
the woman to be seen through a thin gap at
eye-level. It is mainly used in Afghanistan. It is
used in Arabic countries and Europe very
little. In France, where the Government passed
a law to prohibit the use of the whole
body veil, it is calculated that there are no more than
two-thousand women who wear the burqa.
The niqab is a black item of clothing which is made
up of a headdress and a veil which
runs from ear to ear and covers the nose
and mouth also leaving a thin strip at eye-level.
It is finished off with an abaya or tunic which covers
the rest of the body. Many women
complement this with gloves to hide their
hands. It is commonly used in countries of
the Arabic Gulf, especially in Saudi
Arabia, though its use is becoming more and more popular in countries like
Egypt.
Woman wearing a hijab, the shayla
is one of the most popular modern
styles.
Woman wearing an al-amira, a very
common type of veil in the Islamic
world, somewhere in-between a hijab
and the chador.
Woman wearing a niqab.
Woman wearing a burqa.
COMPREHENSION
CHECK
1) What are the differences between the four
garments in the photographs above. Which
countries or regions are they worn in?
2) What do you think about this topic? Are you in
favour or
against their use? Back up your opinion with reasons.
