Burqa : Terminology

mehfesto

Hello all,

I've just been reading about Burqas lately and I cannot seem to understand the terminology behind them.

From what I can understand (from Wikipedia), Burqa or Niqab are the standard terms for all of these types of garments that must be worn when a woman reaches puberty. This is done to adhere to Hijab. Depending upon the locale, different burqas may be required to be worn to adhere to Niqab.

Am I correct so far?

Are all head-dresses known as burqas or Niqabs, or am have I misunderstood?

If anyone could point me in the direction of classifications or a good place to read more about the issue it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Mark Hamill

This is a link to some images of the different types of covering on the bbc website, hope it helps a bit.

mehfesto

Thanks Mark!
Seems to have helped a lot. Will use the term 'Islamic Veil' until I know better! I'm writing about how the media handled the 'Burqa Ban' and unsurprisingly there's quite a lot of stereotypical stuff and false facts thrown about.

One more thing. I'm asking anyone here who is Islamic and lived in the Middle Eastern Regions whether any of the pieces about burqas in this are true, or if it is exaggerated:

US Department of State, Taliban War.

Directly from it:

Fettered by Restrictions on Movement
In urban areas, the Taliban brutally enforced a dress code that required women to be covered under a burqa -- a voluminous, tent-like full-body outer garment that covers them from head to toe. One Anglo-Afghan journalist reported that the burqa's veil is so thick that the wearer finds it difficult to breathe; the small mesh panel permitted for seeing allows such limited vision that even crossing the street safely is difficult.

While the burqa existed prior to the Taliban, its use was not required. As elsewhere in the Muslim world and the United States, women chose to use the burqa as a matter of individual religious or personal preference. In Afghanistan, however, the Taliban enforced the wearing of the burqa with threats, fines, and on-the-spot beatings. Even the accidental showing of the feet or ankles was severely punished. No exceptions were allowed. One woman who became violently carsick was not permitted to take off the garment. When paying for food in the market, a woman's hand could not show when handing over money or receiving the purchase. Even girls as young as eight or nine years old were expected to wear the burqa.

The fate of women in Afghanistan is infamous and intolerable. The burqa that imprisons them is a cloth prison, but it is above all a moral prison. The torture imposed on little girls who dare to show their ankles or their polished nails is appalling. It is unacceptable and insupportable.
-- King Mohammed VI of Morocco
The burqa is not only a physical and psychological burden on some Afghan women, it is a significant economic burden as well. Many women cannot afford the cost of one. In some cases, whole neighborhoods share a single garment, and women must wait days for their turn to go out. For disabled women who need a prosthesis or other aid to walk, the required wearing of the burqa makes them virtually homebound if they cannot get the burqa over the prosthesis or other aid, or use the device effectively when wearing the burqa


I'm not so much concerned about the Taliban aspect, but moreso about the Burqa points:

-Are they hard to breath in?
-Are they that expensive?
-While it may be personal choice, is it 'expected' of most women to wear it?


Sorry for all the questions, but given that this is being stated as fact by the US Govt., I just want to see the other side of the argument, if there is one.
Thanks again!

AbuYusuf

Hijab is the general term which is applied to all head covering. Niqab is the one in which only the eyes are seen and Burqa is the one which nothing is seen of the face as there is a net - like you would see in Afghanistan.

whydoc

welcome,

These sites and articles may help you

http://womeninislam.ws/en/

http://www.islamswomen.com/hijab/hijab_suppression_or_liberation.php

http://www.islamweb.net/womane/nindex.php?vPart=1142

http://www.jannah.org/sisters/hijab_protect.html

Tom Dunne

Remember, Afghanistan is not the Middle East. And the Taliban are extremist whackjobs, not your typical example of Middle Eastern rulers.

Here in Bahrain, they are called abayas. Most women wear them because they want to, not because they have to. Some of my students tell me they wear them, their mothers and sisters do not. There is one set of twins I teach where one of them wears jeans and t-shirt, the other wears the abaya.

These garments are warn with the headscarf, which leaves most of the face uncovered. The material is quite light and sometimes embroidered with patterns and designs around the edges.

The female students love them because they can literally fall out of bed without having to worry about doing their hair, or worrying about what clothes to wear.

As for cost, they work out about 10 Euro or so.

How do I know so much about women's clothing, you ask? Because pretty much every female friend/family member who comes to visit buys one.