Niqab


A niqāb, niqab, or niqaab, also known as a ruband or rubandah, is a long garment worn by some Muslim women, in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes. It is an interpretation in Islam of the concept of hijab, and is worn in public and in all other places where a woman may encounter non-mahram men. Most prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula, the niqab is a controversial clothing item in many parts of the world, including in some Muslim-majority countries.
While face veiling practices have ancient roots across various cultures in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia, the modern form of niqab became more widespread particularly since the late 1970s Islamic revival, especially among Sunni Muslims throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This phenomenon was encouraged by the rise of "Petro-Islam" under the House of Saud; the propagation of hardline Sunni Islamic doctrines from the oil-producing Arab countries, beginning in earnest after the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, would quickly come to mold the Saudis' ideological response to the religious zeal that the Iranian Revolution had stirred among Shia Muslims. Sponsorship by Saudi Arabia of mosques throughout many Muslim-majority countries led to the increased adoption of Wahhabism and Salafism globally, resulting in the rise of the niqab as one of the more noticeable consequences of the Saudi strain of Islamic revivalism, which flourished greatly throughout the late 20th century. It also consolidated the newfound religious and cultural dominance of Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia over the Arab countries as a whole, effectively serving as a social countermeasure to the religious and cultural influence of Shia-majority Iran.
Since the 2000s, and particularly after the September 11 attacks in the United States, the niqab has increasingly become the subject of negative attention in the Western world, as it is commonly perceived by detractors as a visible sign of growing Islamic extremism and a rejection of Western values. For instance, in Algeria, where the presence of the niqab increased considerably in the 1990s, the Algerian public consciousness began associating the garment with the Islamists who were fighting in the Algerian Civil War; it was also protested by some Algerians as a byproduct of Saudi-backed Islamic fundamentalism—one that lacked authenticity in Algerian culture.
To varying degrees, wearing the niqab or the burqa has been banned by legislation in several countries, including a number of Muslim-majority countries. Most Muslim scholars do not consider the niqab as compulsory for practicing Muslim women. Though similar, the niqab is distinct from the burqa by way of the eyes: a niqab does not cover the eyes, varies in the thickness of the material used, and has visible sleeves; but a burqa is elaborately designed with thicker material that covers the woman's entire body figure and face, lacking sleeves and having a mesh screen to obfuscate the eyes. While the niqab is more widespread, the burqa is largely limited to Central Asia and South Asia, and is most prominent in Afghanistan.

Use of the term in Arabic

Women who wear the niqab are often called '; this word is used both as a noun and as an adjective. However, the more correct form grammatically is منتقبة ' but ' is used in an affectionate manner. Women in niqab are also called منقبة ', with the plural منقبات .

Religious doctrine

In pre-Islamic Arabia

In pre-Islamic Arabia, face veiling was common among women of various religious backgrounds. The Roman author Tertullian, who was a Christian, described in The Veiling of Virgins the contemporary societal tendency among pagan Arabian women to cover their entire faces.

Women's veiling in Islam

states in The Revival of the Religious Sciences that "men have always uncovered their faces throughout time, and women have always gone out in niqab." Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari: “It has always been the custom of women, both in the past and in the present, to cover their faces from strangers.”
Since the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i madhabs do not require niqab, by extension it is argued that niqab is not an overall mandatory requirement. Therefore, Islamic scholars and contemporary Islamic jurists have agreed that women are not required to cover their face. There exist a number of reasons why women may cover their face in public, and this practice must be understood within a particular social context as well as their madhhab.

Styles

There are many styles of niqab and other facial veils worn by Muslim women around the world. The two most common forms are the half niqab and the gulf-style or full niqab.
The half niqab is a simple length of fabric with elastic or ties and is worn around the face. This garment typically leaves the eyes and part of the forehead visible.
The gulf-style or full niqab completely covers the face. It consists of an upper band that is tied around the forehead, together with a long wide piece of fabric which covers the face, leaving an opening for the eyes. Many full niqab have two or more sheer layers attached to the upper band, which can be worn flipped down to cover the eyes or left over the top of the head. While a person looking at a woman wearing a niqab with an eyeveil would not be able to see her eyes, the woman wearing the niqab would be able to see out through the thin fabric.
Other less common and more cultural or national forms of niqab include the Afghan style burqa, a long pleated gown that extends from the head to the feet with a small crocheted grille over the face. The Pak chador is a relatively new style from Pakistan, which consists of a large triangular scarf with two additional pieces. A thin band on one edge is tied behind the head so as to keep the chador on, and then another larger rectangular piece is attached to one end of the triangle and is worn over the face, and the simple hijāb wrapped, pinned or tied in a certain way so as to cover the wearer's face.
Other common styles of clothing popularly worn with a niqab in Western countries include the khimar, a semi-circular flare of fabric with an opening for the face and a small triangular underscarf. A khimar is usually bust-level or longer, and can also be worn without the niqab. It is considered a fairly easy form of headscarf to wear, as there are no pins or fasteners; it is simply pulled over the head. Gloves are also sometimes worn with the niqab, because many munaqqabāt believe no part of the skin should be visible other than the area immediately around the eyes or because they do not want to be put in a position where they would touch the hand of an unrelated man. Most munaqqabāt also wear an overgarment over their clothing, though some munaqabat in Western countries wear a long, loose tunic and skirt instead of a one-piece overgarment.

Rules and regulations

Enforcement of the niqab/burqa

Covering the face was enforced by the Taliban regime with the traditional Afghan face veil called the burka.

Criminalization of the niqab/burqa

There are currently 18 states that have banned the niqab and burqa, both Muslim-majority countries and non-Muslim countries, including:
The niqab is controversial in the Western world. In France specifically, although the niqab is not individually targeted, it falls within the scope of legislation which bans the wearing of any religious items in state schools, and another ban on face coverings.
In 2004, the French Parliament passed a law to regulate "the wearing of symbols indicating religious affiliation in public educational establishments". This law forbids all emblems that outwardly express a specific religious belief to be worn in French public schools. This law was proposed because the Stasi Commission, a committee that is supposed to enforce secularity in French society, was forced to deal with frequent disputes about headscarves in French public schools, as outsiders of the practice did not understand the scarves' purpose and therefore felt uncomfortable.
Although the French law addresses other religious symbols – not just Islamic headscarves and face coverings – the international debate has been centered around the impact it has on Muslims because of the growing population in Europe, especially in France, and the increase in Islamophobia.
In July 2010, the National Assembly in France passed Loi Interdisant La Dissimulation Du Visage Dans L'espace Public,. This act outlawed the wearing of clothing that covers one's face in any public space. Violators of the ban on veils and coverings are liable to fines of up to 150 euros and mandatory classes on French citizenship. Anyone found to have forced a woman to wear a religious covering faces up to two years in prison as well as a €60,000 fine.
In October 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Committee declared that France's ban disproportionately harmed the right of women to manifest their religious beliefs, and could have the effects of "confining them to their homes, impeding their access to public services and marginalizing them."

Discrimination against niqabis

The niqab is outlawed in Azerbaijan, where the overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim. Niqabi women, just like women wearing hijab, cannot work as public servants, neither can they continue studies at schools, including the private schools. Although there is no single law banning niqab at private companies, it would be nearly impossible for a niqabi woman to find work.
In February 2010, an Arab country's unnamed ambassador to Dubai had his marriage annulled after discovering that his bride was cross-eyed and had facial hair. The woman had worn a niqab on the occasions that the couple had met prior to the wedding. The ambassador informed the Sharia court that he had been deliberately deceived by the bride's mother, who had shown him photographs of the bride's sister. He only discovered this when he lifted the niqab to kiss his bride. The court annulled the marriage, but refused a claim for compensation.
Sultaana Freeman gained national attention in 2003 when she sued the US state of Florida for the right to wear a niqab for her driver's license photo. However, a Florida circuit court ruled there was no violation in the state requiring her to show her face to a camera in a private room with only a female employee to take the picture, in exchange for the privilege of driving. The ruling was affirmed by the appellate court.
Some Muslim Palestinian women, particularly students, have worn white niqabs during Arab protest activities relating to the Arab–Israeli conflict.
In 2006, female candidates from the Hamas party campaigned during the Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections, wearing niqabs.