Burqa
A burqa or a burka[a] (/ˈbɜːrkə/; Arabic: برقع) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree[b] (/ˈtʃæd(ə)riː/; Pashto: چادري) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a paranja (/ˈpærənˌdʒɑː/; Russian: паранджа́; Tatar: пәрәнҗә) in Central Asia, the Arab version of the burqa is called the boshiya and is usually black. The term burqa is sometimes conflated with the niqāb even though, 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 allows the wearer to see in front of her.
This article is about the Muslim cultural garment. For other uses, see Burka.
The wearing of the burqa and other types of face veils have been attested to since pre-Islamic times. Face veiling has not been regarded as a religious requirement by most Islamic scholars, either in the past or the present. A minority of scholars in the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) consider it to be obligatory for Muslim women when they are in the presence of non-related (i.e., non-mahram) males. This is in order to prevent men from looking (perversely) at women. Additionally, this does not oblige men to wear eye-covering, but instead to lower their gaze. Women may wear the burqa for a number of reasons, including compulsion, as was the case during the Taliban's first rule of Afghanistan.[1]
The following Muslim-majority nations and non-Muslim nations have 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 Catalonia), Russia (in the Stavropol Krai),[2][3][4] Luxembourg,[5] Switzerland,[6] Norway (in nurseries, public schools and universities),[7] Canada (in the public workplace in Quebec),[8] Gabon, Chad, Senegal, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon (in some localities), Niger (in some localities),[9][10] Sri Lanka,[11] Tajikistan,[12] Azerbaijan (in public schools),[13] Turkey (in the judiciary, military and police),[14] Kosovo (in public schools),[15] Bosnia and Herzegovina (in courts and other legal institutions),[16] Morocco (ban on manufacturing, marketing and sale),[17] Tunisia (in public institutions),[18] Egypt (in universities), Algeria (in the public workplace),[19] and China (in Xinjiang).[20][21]