I would like to know about what people think when they see a woman in burkha.

I have known some Burhka wearing women locally, and they tell me the 4th option, so I will go with that.

The thing that everyone misses with any "cultural" or "religious" issue such as this, is that no one society has a lock on abuse or mistreatment of women. Poeple are still individuals, and behave as such, no matter what thier geography or upbringing. I was good friends with a muslim man in Indonesia, trained together in the military, and visited him in Indonesia when I was there. He had four wives. I was allowed to talk with them, and enter thier house, have dinner with them, and they attempted to convert me, just like an normal american christian home LOL

I was struck by the power of the "primary" (his first wife) had in the home. It reminded me of many a "normal american relationship" on the level that she would nag him if he didn't take his shoes off, didn't pick up items at the store, etc etc, the same old stuff any married couple goes through on this site. The different part was that there were 3 more wives to do the same thing LOL- though there was a definate pecking order among the women!

I have Saudi friends that ABSOLUTELY HATE the segregation laws of thier country, and one said "I am as much a slave as my wife, I can not go anywhere without taking her, because she can not drive etc, She is like a goverment mandated chain on my neck, because I must do everything, because she is not allowed to do anything- she is the love of my life, but I end up being her chaufer and servant because we have these silly laws".

So is a burhka oppressive? Not in and of itself, it is the feelings of the individual for the final answer, however, legally mandated, it is oppresive as any religious law IMO.

Its true that the Saudi Arabian customs invite raised eyebrows. the leashes they attampt to exert on women is revolting. If one reads the Quran, theyd see that it does not advocate force and opression. Its unfortunate how the blame of the opressions of a group is exerted on the religion as a whole. in islam, men and women are given equal rights. infact islam is the first religion which gave women the right to own property and decide its legal matters.
infact i just wrote a paper about the equality in islam for my world civilization class. the allowance of four marriages is another aspect widely ridiculed. howvere, the quran states expressively that a man can marry 4 times, in order to help poor women and take care of their orphaned children in the post war Arabia, with the consent of his first wife and treating them justly. many arabians now just marry multiple times believeing or claiming that its because of religion. the situations now are nothing like that, and its just an excused used by men.

I nulled vote because I don't think of any of the choices. What do you think? By the options given for the poll I think you want to know if people think it is oppressive, a reflection of their culture..?? I need some clarification..... Thanks!

I have heard people talk about how opressive a burkha is, how it puts a women down etc. I personally think that enforcing the wearing of burkha is opressing, but if a woman wishes to wear it out of personal choice- its fine. many actually say that they wear it to represent the essence of a woman- for herself- her intellect and personality and not her external image. although i dont think i myself would wear burkha, i think that reason makes most sense.

I nulled my vote to the poll, because I don't believe that there is one answer to your question. For some women, hijab is a choice that they have made themselves, because it corresponds with their religious viewpoints, and it is a way for them to demand respect outside of the realm of physical beauty. I respect this decision, and in those cases I view hijab in a positive light.

For some it is a choice that they have made, because to choose othewise would cause them to stand out negatively within their cultures. The wearing of hijab is merely to blend into society in those cases, and they might choose a different form of attire if they lived in a different region of the world.

And still for others, it is a symbol of oppression and a form of gender segregation that has been forced upon them by their respective countries often with extreme penalties for not complying. I have a large problem with the idea of forced hijab, particularly since religion is always up for interpretation. In the case of Islam, this is evidenced by the varying codes of dress for Islamic women throughout the world.

I'm sure that there are many, many other reasons that a woman might choose to dress in this manner, and I don't equate this form of dress with fundamental terrorism or with being conservative or backward.

As I said earlier I nulled vote. Overall I see it as a religious symbol. If worn freely to express oneself, their belief, their personal freedom and/or to not be seen as a sex object then I am all for it. If not worn on their own free will then I find it to be oppressive and demeaning.

I have never associated the wearing of a Burkah with a terrorist. While terrorist’s claim to be acting in the name of Islam I don’t think that means that all Muslims are terrorists. So to judge a person as a terrorist because they are wearing a Burkha would be groundless.

While wearing a Burkha may be a conservative (traditional and modest) form of dress I don’t believe that makes one who wears one to be backwards. Or do you think that if one is conservative they are backwards?

I can't choose any of the four alternatives listed above. My thoughts are simply "There's someone from a culture in which women traditionally wear it. She is probably a Muslim, but not necessarily." Of course, a lot depends on the situation. If I see a photograph of such a woman under the Taliban, my thoughts are likely to be that the clothing she wears is a symbol of her dehumanization by fanatics.

You should have an entry for none of the above, since When I see a woman in a Burka I think how bad it is that she has to be forced to waer such clothes, as in the Case of the Taliban. I do not blame her, I balme those forcing her, or continuing an ancient tradition that is sexist.

I gave a null vote because if know anything about women, it's each one is different. Each of these women might use any of those reasons for wearing a Burkha.

I did not vote either as I just usually think it is religious in nature and that was not one of the choices.

Yet I was wondering about the last option and would like some explanation on it

Bucket, many Muslim women of all stripes, when asked about their reasoning for continuing to observe hijab, say that covering themselves forces people to evaluate them based on their skills and intelligence rather than on their physical appearance. They feel that Western society demeans its women, because the focus is placed on sexuality above other, more important ideals.

Not all Muslim women agree with this assessment, but a good portion of them do.

Personally, I have had correspondences about hijab with Muslim women in Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, and they are all well-educated women who are involved in the feminist movements within their respective countries. Two out of the three women state the above analysis as their reasons for wearing the veil, and the third is sporadic in her choice to wear it, because she has simultaneously lived in Kuwait while attending an American school within Kuwait. Her situation is unique, because she is existing between two very opposing cultures, and she told me that she often feels like she can no longer fully fit into either one. In public in Kuwait she wears traditional Islamic dress. In private, she's a little bit rock-and-roll.

Here is an interesting site about hijab

I think there is a subtle difference between the hijab and the burkha.

Wearing a loose-fitting trouser suit and a headscarf is most typical of the hijab, and does everything necessary to conform to the religious and sexually political points that have been addressed (although, I have seen some Moslem women in tight-fitting, tailored suits and brightly coloured scarves that conform to the Sharia law but are no less asexual than a miniskirt and bikini top, if rather more subtle). This is what most Muslim women who want to make a political and religious statement about themselves in the West choose to wear.

Wearing a burkha (the all-over voluminous black robe that covers everything except the eyes) on the other hand, is rather rare outside Wahabi Islam i.e. Saudi Arabia and extremist Sunni sects like the Taliban. Even the Shi'ite extremists who ran the Iranian government for many years never required women to wear burkhas - nor did they forbid women from being in public without a man, driving a car, having a job, etc. the way the Wahabists have in Suadi ever since the kingdom was founded.

There is. Hijab is the general encompassing word for the custom of covering the body, and Burqa is a type of garment.



I think you are thinking of the Saudi Arabian Niqab, which is generally, though not always black, and has the hole for the eyes. The Burqa goes to the extreme of even covering the eyes with a mesh type material. It is primarily worn in Afghanistan.

Based on her poll choices, I just assumed that Maya was asking about Muslim dress codes in general and the custom of covering women from head to toe not just the Burqa. I may have been incorrect in assuming that.

Thanks to both of you for the info. I live in a very diverse area of the US and I see many women in this kind of attire. I see it comes in all forms... I have seen the women fully covered with only their eyes exposed..I have seen what Julian was talking about where the clothing was of very luscious material and very well tailored and the women were all make-up, high heels and gorgeous and I have seen the hijab accompanied with jeans and sneakers. I do not really have an opinion so much on this as it is a religious matter mostly imo and I am not of that religion and really don't feel well as if I have any authority on the matter...but thx again.

Yes Cyan- thats what i was talking about. ive heard people around here have all kinds of things about the burqa, nikab and hijab- and its always related to afghan women and terrorist attacks- and i wondered if everyone thnks of it this way.
also, there has been incidents where women preferring to wear a face cover were asked to reveal their faces for security reasons. i understand the need for security and identification, but women officers could do this checking to not disturb anyside of the issue- just like women officers check women in airports.

And I was thinking it referred to the head scarf... Sigh..

Either way I still view it as a religious symbol and as long as it is the woman's choice then go for it.

There really is no difference between the choice to wear a Burkha and the choice to wear shorts and a t-shirt. It's all choice. Why should I think any different just because the form of clothing isn't typical in the US?

I see nothing wrong with it at all. Many Muslim women in America are not forced to wear it, they choose of their own free will to do so as an example of their faith and beliefs. In having the government not sanctify or become involved in the issue, it's wonderful that individuals themselves choose what to do about their faith. If government does very little to encourage faith, then you see a greater intrinsic faith than you would if it was required. I believe that deep down.

I nulled my vote because IMO there can be many reasons for a woman wearing a Burkha...religious, freedom, fear, pride, symbolic, etc. Usually a person's body language represents their mind set and esteem.

Regardless...I respect her reasons whatever they represent.

Must add...that security picture episode...she was wrong in not complying. They could have handled it in a better way and gotten the same results.

Driving by the Federal Building in Los Angeles today I noticed a throng of female protesters wearing robes and veils. They were Islamic women who wanted the public to show respect and tolerance for their veils.

A sign that caught my eye read: This Veil IS My Liberation.

A lot of times I talk about the intellectual veils people wear in this country, and often I pick on women in this regard. However, as far as these veils are concerned, the wearers will surely tell you:

This Veil IS My Liberation

Sociologically, it is interesting how parallels drawn to other cultures give us insights into our own.

We must understand the background under which burkha was introduced.In middle east,at the time when prophet mohamud lived,the society was a violent,male chauvinistic and dangerous society.If it were not so why did the prophet have to advocate war as a means to spread religion.It must be borne in mind that prophet himself extolls the virtues of peace over violence, if what i have read of quran is correct.Women in that society were not safe at all.SO he must have recommended burkha.But the times ae different now.Muslim women in the west cant claim that they are at a great risk.There is no point in blindly following the tenets of one's religion.Prophet i heard was illiterate.so only his disciples wrote quran as they heard from prophet.so how do you know what you read in quran is recommended by prophet especially when you see obvious contradictions.Use your wisdom after you understand the meaning of your religious book even if you have immense faith in ur religion.As such burkha is an uncomfortable dress and does not let you communicate with people properly.It is undoubtedly a backward dress.How are civilsed people in the west to know, that all the muslim women wear the burkha out of their own desire and belief and, not due to force?some steps must be taken for this.TO Those woment who want to wear burkha,i only want to say this-Do as you please but pray to god to help you come out of the dark ages.

Though I nulled, the closest answer I could give out of the choices available would be #3, her personal choice. It is kind of backward (after having the definition of the burqa cleared up cy Cyan, I can admit this), but, once again, it is a personal religious choice.

It depends on whether your government dictates it or not. If your government dictates that you have to wear it even if you don't want to, then yes it is oppressive. If you have a government that believes in religious freedom and you freely choose to wear a burka, then it is not oppressive.

I hear France is trying to dictate that people cannot wear burkas (and other religious articles) in schools. I think this is just as oppressive as the governments which dictate its usage.

I don't understand why people are taking that story and running with it like France has launched some sort of anti-islam crusade. It does not only apply to burkas, it applies to large crosses and yarmulkes as well... as well and ALL symbols of religion. France making it's schools secular is not oppressive. There are plenty of places to show off your religion... like, say, churches, synagogues, and mosques. School is not the place for it. I applaud Chirac for his efforts to maintain secularity in an increasingly secularity-hostile world.