How do women eat wearing a burka

She is "not under an obligation" to cover her face but does so because it is "emulating" the Prophet Muhammad. So, how does she respond if asked to remove her covering for security reasons? It's quite painful [to hear]. In , BBC News' Shaimaa Khalil wrote about why she stopped wearing her headscarf, only to put it back on again when she became the Pakistan correspondent. She said the number of women wearing them in the West is increasing in part because girls begin to wear them before they reach puberty and many were not given a choice.

Muslim scholars have long debated whether it is obligatory to wear the burka or niqab, or whether it is just recommended. There have also been more liberal interpretations which say any headscarf is unnecessary, as long as women maintain the sartorial modesty stipulated in the Koran.

That holy text addresses "the faithful women" who are told to shield their private parts and not to display their adornment "except what is apparent of it".

Scholarly disputes revolve around what this last phrase means. Does it refer to the outer surface of a woman's garments, necessitating that she cover every part of her body - ie don the full niqab?

Or does it give an exemption referring to the face and the hands, as well as conventional female ornaments such as kohl, rings, bracelets and make-up? The latter interpretation has been adopted by some of the most prominent scholars from Islamic history who favour the hijab - headscarf - option. But there does seem to be consensus that the figure is likely to be low. These are both estimates by experts working in relevant fields, but until specific research is carried out, it will be difficult to know how prevalent the full-face veil is.

What we do know is that in the census, Muslims represented 4. Using the most recent population estimates, this would mean there are roughly 1. In other European countries, the figure also appears to be low.

In , a French Interior Ministry report estimated that just 0. In Austria, a ban of full face veils in public spaces was said to affect just 0. In Belgium between and women wore the niqab before a ban came into force, says Michael Privot, director of the European Network Against Racism. Between and women in Demark - which banned face veils in public this month - wore a niqab or burqa on a daily basis.

That's 0. While Boris Johnson's comments about Islamic face veils have provoked consternation among some, his defenders have said they were made as part of an argument against banning such garments. Other countries though, have taken this step. I first began wearing a regular headscarf the hijab when I was six years-old and when I was 15, incorporated the abaya the dress. However, it was only at 18 that I began covering my face. As a young Muslim, many parents advise you to cover your hair with the hijab when you hit puberty.

By Hani Sidow. There are a lot of misconceptions about not meeting your husband before your wedding day. While this may have happened in the past, nowadays, there are usually a few sessions set-up to meet each other and talk before a marriage takes place.

As well as my husband, my father and my uncles are all allowed to see me without my burqa, as well as all women. I adore statement bags and shoes. As people see so little of you, you do need to go a little out of the box to show your creativity. I also love perfumes - something subtle and soft.

But I am definitely more of an accessories girl. Branded label burqas are very common. But not for Muslim women who wear the niqab, or Islamic face veil. Suddenly, these women — who are often received in the West with open hostility for covering their faces — look a lot more like everyone else. I interviewed 38 British and American niqab wearers for my upcoming book on Muslim women who wear the niqab in the United States and United Kingdom.

Almost all of them were British and American citizens, but they came from all across the world and all walks of life. The niqab — a garment that is not required by Islam but is considered recommended in some interpretations — is usually worn with a loose, coat-like garment called an abaya and a hijab, or headscarf. Some women pair it with a long skirt and tunic to conceal the body shape.

All the women interviewed for the book felt the spiritual benefits of niqab-wearing , which makes them feel closer to God and deepens their practice of Islam. But wearing it in public often subjected them to Islamophobic, racist and sexist street harassment. Research confirms that Muslim women who wear Islamic dress in non-Muslim majority countries are frequently subjected to abuse. Wearing the niqab, the most conspicuous form of Islamic dress, is most dangerous.

Eighty percent of British niqab wearers interviewed for a report by the human rights group Open Society Foundations had experienced verbal or physical violence.