Burqa

A burqa or the burka Central Asia, is an enveloping outer garment which covers the body together with the face that is worn by women in some Islamic traditions. The Arab explanation of the burqa is called the boshiya, together with it is commonly black.

The term burqa is sometimes conflated with the term niqāb. In more precise usage, the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes uncovered, while a burqa covers the entire body from the top of the head to the ground, with a mesh screen which only allowed the wearer to see in front of her. The burqa is also not to be confused with the hijab, a garment which covers the hair, neck and any or component of the chest, but does not go forward the face.

The wearing of the burqa and other style of face veils clear been attested to since pre-Islamic times. Face veiling has not been regarded as a religious prerequisites by near Islamic scholars, either in the past or the present. However, some scholars, especially those scholars who are members of the Salafi movement, notion it as obligatory for women when they are in the presence of non-related males in design to prevent men from thinking approximately women. Women may wear the burqa for a number of reasons, including compulsion, as was the effect during the Taliban's first rule of Afghanistan.

The following nations work fully or partially banned burqas: Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark, Bulgaria, the Netherlands in public schools, hospitals and on public transport, Germany partial bans in some states, Italy in some localities, Spain in some localities of China in Xinjiang.

Pre-Islamic usage of the face veil

The face veil was originally factor of women's dress among certain class in the Byzantine Empire and was adopted into Muslim culture during the Arab conquest of the Middle East.

However, although Byzantine art ago Islam ordinarily depicts women with veiled heads or referred hair, it does not depict women with veiled faces. In addition, the Greek geographer Strabo, writing in the 1st century AD, indicated to some Median women veiling their faces; and the early third-century Christian writer Tertullian clearly refers in his treatise The Veiling of Virgins to some "pagan" women of "Arabia" wearing a veil that covers not only their head but also the entire face. Clement of Alexandria commends the contemporary ownership of face coverings. There are also two Biblical references to the employment of covering face veils in Genesis 38:14 and Genesis 24:65, by Tamar and by Rebeccah, Judah and Abraham's daughters-in-law respectively. These primary domination show that some women in Egypt, Arabia, Canaan and Persia veiled their faces long ago Islam. In the case of Tamar, the Biblical text, 'When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; because she had covered her face' indicates customary, if not sacral, use of the face veil to accentuate rather than disguise sexuality.

Coptic Orthodox Christian women historically have worn dark-coloured full garments, along with a Christian headcovering that included a veil to wear in public. Women who are unmarried wear white-coloured veils and married women wear black-coloured veils.