[Split]A burqa is not a niqab!

[Tosh 8]

I mistook a woman in a burka for a drape once, tried to sweep it (her) aside on my way into a store. There was a lot of awkward eye contact after that.

[jan 14]

I mistook a woman in a burka for a drape once, tried to sweep it (her) aside on my way into a store. There was a lot of awkward eye contact after that.

 

Poor Tosh! Though that is funny too.

 

I haven't done anything embarrassing like that, but once a friend and I (in school) wrote a hilarious and completely off-the-rocker story about two famous men (cricketers) who went out in burkhas because they were tired of being cooped up in their hotel. Needless to say, after that I find veils and stuff very "suspicious"...!

 

Yes, off topic, I know!

[Iris 0]

*eyes Jan and Tosh* (although that is funny, Tosh)

 

I have yet to see a single person wear a burqa here in America. They must be much more...uh...common where you guys live. (do you live in Afghanistan? ) although Jan i do know some women wear it in India.

 

when i talk about the face veil i'm talking about just the attachment that you tie behind your head that covers your face and mouth--just like the Aiel that's how women typically cover their faces outside of Afghanistan. i've seen pics of some WOT goons dressed as Aiel, and it humors because i'm like those are women's niqabs and you so had to go to some middle eastern women's clothing store to buy that for your costume...

[Kaitlin 22]

I've seen many women wearing veils here. You don't often see women in burqas but it happens. It's not the most diverse here though. I expect in NY or closer to Philly, which is near where I live, there would be more. But still, lots of people wear head coverings (women and men) for religious or other reasons. We have a lot of Amish here too so there are also buggies and whatnot.

 

Tosh, was she standing by a window?

[Tosh 8]

The woman was sort of hovering just inside a doorway, her green cloth-covered form covering about half of said opening. It'd been a long day and I was going to get some sort of energizing drink from this tiny little store while I was waiting for my bus. Tired as I was I was doing this bemused little shuffle towards the coveted caffeine, probably not paying much attention to the world around me.

And then, well, the drape covering the door was surprisingly warm and fleshy.. And had a husband.

[Iris 0]

And then, well, the drape covering the door was surprisingly warm and fleshy.. And had a husband.

 

[Ekho 52]

I've seen a few women in Burqas in Scotland (although for all I know I could just be seeing the same woman everywhere )

[Iris 0]

burqa meaning the one-piece thing that covers your eyes too.

that's what a burqa is. i'm just wondering if we're defining the same thing. not that it really matters. i just get sensitive about people referring to the variety of ways women cover as a "burqa" because thats the term the media has crammed downed everyone's throats and it has a very negative connotation because its associated with women's oppression and Taliban culture. it's annoying that its the common term bc it really is probably the most culturally specific way of covering (Afghanistan). and covering the eyes really goes beyond the opinions of even the most strict, legit Muslim scholars. wow, look someone else was as sensitive as me!

i've personally only seen women wear niqab and i see many conservative Muslims all the time (b/c believe it or not i am one), but i likewise wouldn't doubt anyone's word on here. i just want to be clear on an issue that has come up that i'm actually sensitive about.

[Tosh 8]

"burqa" because thats the term the media has crammed downed everyone's throats and it has a very negative connotation because its associated with women's oppression and Taliban

Not being American I have escaped this assuredly invasive cramming, and the war in Afghanistan has never been a matter of importance, or interest, to me.

I did assume "burqa" was a general term for the garnments in question though, which makes me curious. What do you call the ones that cover everything but the womans face? Because those are the ones I generally see worn living in Gothenburg.

 

Fun fact: I did a google search on "burqa" and it was staggering the amount of porn that popped up. Turns out that women in burqas, like nuns, are pretty damn hot.

[Iris 0]

Oh God Tosh please dont remind me of the porn! You can't do a google images search without it on like the first page (or being the first image!!). As if being nude but keeping a scarf on your head or a veil over your face even makes sense!

 

Commonly women wear a scarf around their head that covers the hair, neck and ears, leaving the face exposed. This is called hijab. Most people in US/Europe wear this with some form of Western clothing (which is supposed to be loose and cover everything accept hands and feet). However some women also wear something called jilbab which is like a long loose one-piece dress that you just put on over the clothes you wear it at home (which of course can be whatever you want), so after you get through the door you can just take it off and be wearing the clothes you like to around spouse/family. Finally, some women wear a veil over their face called niqab. These three terms and fashions (hijab, jilbab, niqab) are all universally accepted in terms of Islamic clothing. Other styles and terms (like burqa) tend to be culturally based. Personally I wear hijab and jilbab when I go out.

 

What you're referring to is a just a style of wearing hijab.

[Ekho 52]

Ah, also not being from the states I've never recieved said cramming, but what I was thinking of was a niqab

[Kaitlin 22]

I'm from the US but don't go actively looking for media from here about... anything actually. It's all mostly prejudiced crap. What I've seen from the media about Afghanistan has been a kind of token caring about the oppression of women there and then a total dropping of the subject once the news sufficiantly got some people up in arms about it.

 

Then every once in a while the extreme end of right wing politics will use women being in burqas as an excuse to go over and overwhelm a people without actually listening to the women who've been born in that environment and have lived that way all of their lives (kind of like white americans know better than everyone else in the world... and then the west in general as another privileged type).

 

On the other hand large groups of women from the left will argue that it's right to continue to support oppressing women because it's someone's culture. However, they show their lack of understanding of kyriarchy and their western and/or white privilege too this way. Also not paying attention to the women who have been born in this culture which are the women who understand it best. Also uncool.

 

It is pretty messed up in the US, it's true.

[jan 14]

I have to chip in to add that a both items that Liverella pointed out are referred to as burqa here where I live. A niqab means a mask in Urdu, and used for any kind of mask while speaking Hindi or Urdu.

 

So if you said niqab here, we'd just picture you going about in a mask!

[Marie 73]

I looked up various coverings Muslim women wear last month, although I have always thought of the burqa as, well, a burqa. My only real issue with a burqa is when I hear stories from Afghan women who under the Taliban had to wear the garments. It's one thing if a woman chooses to, another when she is forced. So it's not the media, it's those who wear it even though they don't want to that make me feel "eh....." about the burqa.

[jan 14]

There's also a more disturbing aspect to it: that women in certain backgrounds are culturally conditioned to think that they *are* choosing to wear it. That's a sort of passive coercion, and not limited to just wearing a certain type of clothing.