Hijab

[nb 4] In Al-Aḥzāb: 59, there is a statement that tells women to wear their "outer garments" when going out for various needs (such as defecation), interpreted by some as a command[56] and by others as a recommendation of protective measures against sexual harassment in Medina.

Ibn Arabi considered that excessive covering would make it impossible for a woman to be recognised which the verse mentions, though both Qurtubi and Tabari agree that the word recognition is about distinguishing free women.

[80][81] The four major Sunni schools of thought (Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali) believe that it is obligatory for free women to cover their hair,[82] and the entire body except her face and hands, while in the presence of people of the opposite sex other than close family members.

[86] The Sunni Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas in Saudi Arabia,[87] and Muhammad ibn Adam Al-Kawthari[88] also believe women should cover their head.

[citation needed] In Shia jurisprudence, by consensus, it is obligatory for women to cover their hair, and the entire body except her hands and face, while in the presence of people of the opposite sex other than close family members.

However a quotation from Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih Musa al-Kadhim in reply to his brother makes reference to female hijab requirements during the salat (prayer), stating "She covers her body and head with it then prays.

[100] Modernist thinkers including Karen Armstrong, Reza Aslan and Leila Ahmed, believe the requirements of the hijab were initially intended solely for Muhammad's wives, serving to preserve their sanctity.

[19] Leila Ahmed further explains that Muhammad aimed at fostering a sense of privacy and protecting the intimate space of his wives from the constant presence of the bustling community at their doorstep.

Aslan suggests that Muslim women started to wear the hijab to emulate Muhammad's wives, who are revered as "Mothers of the Believers" in Islam,[19] and states "there was no tradition of veiling until around 627 C.E."

An opinion poll conducted in 2014 by The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research asked residents of seven Muslim-majority countries (Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia) which style of women's dress they considered to be most appropriate in public.

[108] The former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani had vowed to rein in the morality police and their presence on the streets has decreased since he took office, but the powerful conservative forces in the country have resisted his efforts, and the dress codes are still being enforced, especially during the summer months.

General Hossein Rahimi, the Tehran's police chief stated, "Those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centers, nor will judicial cases be filed against them" (Smith, 2017).

[126] The early Church Fathers, including Tertullian of Carthage, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus of Rome, John Chrysostom and Augustine of Hippo attested in their writings that Christian women should wear a headcovering, while men should pray with their heads uncovered.

[18] According to Leila Ahmed, the rigid norms pertaining to veiling and seclusion of women found in Christian Byzantine literature had been influenced by ancient Persian traditions, and there is evidence to suggest that they differed significantly from actual practice.

[143] This difference became even more prominent during the Abbasid Caliphate, when free Muslim women, in particular those of the upper classes, were subjected to even more sex segregation and harem seclusion, in contrast to the qiyan slave artists, who performed unveiled in male company.

[145] Reza Aslan argues that "The veil was neither compulsory nor widely adopted until generations after Muhammad's death, when a large body of male scriptural and legal scholars began using their religious and political authority to regain the dominance they had lost in society as a result of the Prophet's egalitarian reforms".

Veiling of Arab Muslim women became especially pervasive under Ottoman rule as a mark of rank and exclusive lifestyle, and Istanbul of the 17th century witnessed differentiated dress styles that reflected geographical and occupational identities.

[161] As the awakening movement gained momentum, its goals matured and shifted from promoting modesty towards more of a political stance in terms of retaining support for Pan-Islamism and a symbolic rejection of Western culture and norms.

[162] After the September 11 attacks, the discussion and discourse on the hijab in Western nations intensified as Islamic traditions and theology came under greater scrutiny, with Hijabis facing extensive discrimination.

[171][172] Subsequent regulations in 1984 and 1988 clarified dress-code standards, and the current penal code prescribes fines or prison terms for failing to observe hijab, without detailing its specific form.

He expressed shock over the hijab law approved by the Guardian Council which predicted severe punishment for those violating it, saying that it "aligns neither with the Constitution, nor with justice, nor with the Qur'an and Islamic culture.

[197] In 2016, Bosnia-Herzegovina's supervising judicial authority upheld a ban on wearing Islamic headscarves in courts and legal institutions, despite protests from the Muslim community that constitutes 40% of the country.

[205][206][207] Dozens of women were subsequently issued fines, with some tickets citing not wearing "an outfit respecting good morals and secularism", and some were verbally attacked by bystanders when they were confronted by the police.

[205][210] A team of psychologists in Belgium have investigated, in two studies of 166 and 147 participants, whether the Belgians' discomfort with the Islamic hijab, and the support of its ban from the country's public sphere, is motivated by the defence of the values of autonomy and universalism (which includes equality), or by xenophobia/ethnic prejudice and by anti-religious sentiments.

[219] The hijab ban was condemned inside India and abroad by officials in countries including the United States, Bahrain and Pakistan, as well as by Human Rights Watch, and by figures like Malala Yousafzai.

[220][221] A study published by human rights body People's Union for Civil Liberties reported that the move to ban hijab has widened the social divide and increased fear among Muslims in Karnataka.

[37] Perceived discrimination can harm well-being,[38] but may also be overcome by religious pride and community; studies show hijab-wearing women often find greater strength and belonging despite challenges.

[237] Ali, Yamada, and Mahmoud (2015)[238] state that women of color who also follow the religion of Islam are considered to be in what is called "triple jeopardy", due to being a part of two minority groups subject to discrimination.

The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission took advantage of its power granted by Title VII and made a case for a young hijabi female who applied for a job, but was rejected due to her wearing a headscarf which violated Abercrombie & Fitch's pre-existing and longstanding policy against head coverings and all black garments.

[39] The World Hijab Day (WHD), which is an annual event founded by Pakistani-American Nazma Khan in 2013,[243] takes place on 1 February each year in 140 countries worldwide.