Ellen Brown
Well-Known Member
I hope that you will excuse my not posting this in the Islam DIR. This is not about Islam, but about helping outsiders to understand something about a woman's Islamic Fashion.
Yes, there is no absolute requirement to cover your face, though some extremists force women to do it.
After meeting and talking with a young woman from Saudi Arabia who was wearing Niqab, and then seeing her subsequent actions in the following days, my understanding has increased. It is now clear that she was wearing Niqab for privacy, and protection in her new situation. She had come to America just a matter of days before to attend College, so it should be easy to understand that she might have a bit of anxiety about that.
In subsequent encounters, she wore only head covering, and last week she did not wear that. I can only guess that she felt secure enough here that she could do as she pleased.
Before, I'd seen Hijab and Niqab as a religious requirement, but now it is easy to see that is not always the case. True, in many areas in Saudi Arabia and surrounding gulf states, appearing sans covering will get a woman mistreated without fail.
Yes, there is no absolute requirement to cover your face, though some extremists force women to do it.
After meeting and talking with a young woman from Saudi Arabia who was wearing Niqab, and then seeing her subsequent actions in the following days, my understanding has increased. It is now clear that she was wearing Niqab for privacy, and protection in her new situation. She had come to America just a matter of days before to attend College, so it should be easy to understand that she might have a bit of anxiety about that.
In subsequent encounters, she wore only head covering, and last week she did not wear that. I can only guess that she felt secure enough here that she could do as she pleased.
Before, I'd seen Hijab and Niqab as a religious requirement, but now it is easy to see that is not always the case. True, in many areas in Saudi Arabia and surrounding gulf states, appearing sans covering will get a woman mistreated without fail.