Muslim Head Coverings for Women: Religious Requirement, Cultural Norm or Oppression?

Sara, a very pretty girl who went college with me, got married. A few days after the wedding, her husband told her she was not allowed to talk to other men. She was asked to wear a jilbab (a long cloak with a long head scarf, where in some one could just see her eyes) at all times when he had male guests coming in the house or she had to leave the house.

This wonderful guy is happy. He wears what he likes and makes jokes about taking a second wife.

Did Allah really ask women to wear hijaab (the head covering)? Did He make the religion different for men and women? The fact is He did not; men and women are given equal rights in everything. So why does this woman have to be in a sack-like garment all the time while her husband does not?

I asked her why she wears the hijaab. Why does she have to put on this sack-like garment every time she goes out? She tells me that Allah says in Quran, the Muslim holy book, the hijaab protects a woman from the gaze of men.

Lets look into what Allah says in Quran in the following Ayaats (verses):

O children of Adam! We have indeed sent down to you clothing to cover your shame, and (clothing) for beauty and clothing that guards (against evil), that is the best. This is of the communications of Allah that they may be mindful. (Chapter7: verse26)

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 (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their Khimar over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, and the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to Allah, O you believers, that you may succeed. (24:31) 

O Prophet! say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (33:59)

So the most important points of dressing which actually were to lengthen my garment draw a cover over my bosom and the best of all covers to be righteous. Your modesty would be your best cover!

A khimar was a cover that Arabian women wear over their head and loose over their back. The word khimar is debated because when Allah said khimar,  He meant that the hair was already covered and that cover needs to be extended enough to cover the bosoms. An Arabic to English dictionary gives the meaning of khimar as something that covers. A dress can be a khimar, a table cloth can be a khimar. Nothing about this word says that it should be a head cover specifically.

Allah says in Quran:

We have not neglected anything in the Book(6:38)

Quran, the book, which gave numbers and colors in detail, will not leave something this important out of it. When He ordered covering bosoms, He would have ordered the covering of hair by mentioning the hair. Allah does not need his creations to fill in the blanks for him. Allah, the most merciful and gracious, gave us the option to choose what we want to wear according to our culture, tradition and living conditions.

Guarding oneself from the carnal gaze of men should not be a reason to cover because it is men who need to control themselves, not women. More importantly, it can be applied to both men and women. Women also need to control their carnal lusts, yet we dont find men in sack-like garments. In any case, I think it is an insult to men who might not even consider looking at women in an immoral manner.

Allah says in Quran:

Say to the believing men that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts; that is purer for them; surely Allah is Aware of what they do. (24:30)

And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof (24:31)
 
Allah made men and women equal. He gave them equal rights and equal responsibilities. He did not make the religion hard for women and easy for a man.

Islam is free of any symbolism and hence is free of any kind of dress code. It is free of any authoritative clergy so no one can give a ruling about what to wear. Most importantly, Islam is as easy to follow as someone wants it to be. Choice of practicing the religion is entirely on the worshipper in Islam.

Men enforce the hijaab on Muslim women outside of Arabian regions (it is traditional for Arabian women to cover their head). If this is about women, why are men so bothered with it? To force her to wear something she does not want to, is, I think, oppressing her. As it happens in every culture and religion, oppressors find a way to use the tradition to control other creations. Even in Islam, the ideas that are meant to make life easy for men and women are used in a twisted way to gain control.

An intelligent reader, a true worshipper would easily find them and not fall for these rulings. Islam I think is a way of life; it is not a punishment because of who we are. It is not a cult, which has a code of dressing in it.

Meanwhile, I am not against the idea of wearing hijaab. I wore it when I was younger. What I object to is pretending like its a component of the religion; Allah did not make the hijaab a requirement and so no one should in His name.

Politics Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about. more Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination 26.Aug 2011 Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT 10.Mar 2011 ...read Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ! 10.Mar 2011 Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!) 28.Feb 2011 Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read THE ASSANGE CASE. CIA INTERFERED WITH SWEDISH LEGAL PROCESSES EXTREME RIGHT POLITICS A DANGER TO EUROPEAN UNITY THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY. OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF FOCUS, OUT OF CREDIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY, OUT OF THE DOOR Opinion World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case) EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today. more The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem 5.Mar 2011 So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out 31.Jan 2011 According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination 11.Oct 2010 The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos 4.Oct 2010 As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read

Travel Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN 13.Sep 2010 TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read more TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL. 5.Jun 2010 Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 16.Apr 2010 Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA. 5.Apr 2010 Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS. 2.Apr 2010 Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read Sport No Payoff From the Playoffs $16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire Stupid Athlete Tricks Technology Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks Twittering: I'm not that interesting Cheers Jesus' Answering Machine Brown Couch or twelve midgets in the town square How To Be Happy Drugged Out Saturday Nights Muslim Decapitation: Bad, or Simply Misunderstood?