Muslim Head Covering Research Paper

Contrary to popular belief, not all Muslim women are being oppressed into fully covering their bodies. Instead, a majority of Muslim women around the world have made the decision themselves to wear a head covering or veil. The belief concerning the oppression of Muslim women has resulted from the negative connotation of head coverings associated with Islam. Many people are convinced that Islamic head coverings represent fundamentalist Islam and oppression of Muslim women. This belief is highly misinformed and untrue. Muslim women who choose to veil do so to represent their dedication to their religion. In the past there were many Middle Eastern and African countries that banned different types of headscarves for security reasons or to protect their women.
However, in more recent years there have been increasing numbers of women who have chosen to wear a veil again. The main reason that many Muslim women chose to wear any type of veil is to bring them closer to their religion. During interviews conducted in France, several Muslim immigrant women claimed that “they feel a closeness to the Prophet Muhammad and to the Muslim community, as if they are his bride and the community’s mother.” Additionally, as a result of the laws that have banned head coverings like burqas and niqabs, other women have chosen to wear a veil in protest of the secularist French government. There are several different types of head coverings that women can choose to wear that cover varying degrees of the face. Women in certain countries have adopted certain styles of headscarves to be symbolic of that country. For example, women in Iran usually wear a chador, a garment that covers the hair and neck while leaving the face unveiled, while women in Turkey primarily wear an eşarp, a garment similar to the hijab. The most common and least conservative head covering is a hijab. A hijab is a type of headscarf that completely covers the hair and neck while leaving the face exposed.
Other types of head coverings that are the most recognizable include the niqab and the burqa. Both of these coverings completely conceal the hair and portions of the face but are slightly different. The burqa is recognized as a symbol of Islam around the world and wrongly associated with fundamentalist Muslim governments. A burqa is a garment that covers the body, head, and face. The wearer is able to see through a mesh panel in front of the face, but the fabric is thick enough that outside viewers cannot see the wearer’s face. The niqab is similar to the burqa because it conceals the head and body, but instead of a mesh panel in front of the face, there is a small slit that reveals the wearer’s eyes while the rest of the face is hidden by another piece of fabric. Although burqas have been required by some past extremist governments, they should not continue to be symbols of negativity for Muslim women. In order for the negative stereotypes involving Muslim head coverings to disappear, French society must understand that all Muslims do not represent terror groups or the fundamentalist side of the
religion.