# What is the reasoning behind the headscarves worn by Muslim women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 5, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769 "2009-06-05T02:30:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/81 "2009-06-11T02:47:53Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Here’s another question: If this is just about cultureal differences, how is Islamic culture different from Western culture on the plus side of the freedom ledger? What freedoms do Muslim women enjoy that Western women do not? (And I don’t mean inadvertant ones like not being ogled or having to put on makeup.) > > Or has Islam exceeded its quota of restrictions that it can place on people? The nightclub part has already been answered (but I’ll add that I restrict myself from nightclubs and dancing because it bores the crap out of me). Can you please retype the rest of this so it makes sense? I really don’t get it. For my part the clothing is the least of it - any religion that forbids bacon has to have something wrong with it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/82 "2009-06-11T04:30:26Z")
> [@emmaliminal](#): > > I’m not sure how this is “inadvertent.” If you wear hijab because you don’t want men to ogle you and then they don’t ogle you, it seems pretty vertent to me. Well I think it’s pretty silly to imply that simply being looked at–glanced at–from across the street is a rights violation. OTOH, it’s slightly less silly to characterize being called a “whore” the minute you show up on the street without your head covered in those terms. > [@AK84](#): > > I have been in a nightclub for the last three nights running. Don’t drink alcoholic drinks, but there are many other things you can drink. > > And please kindly advise me which specific “freedoms” you refer to. You tell me. Do they have the freedom to smoke opium? To go around without pants? I suppose Somali women have the freedom to chew _khat_ (or is that restricted to men?). > [@Dangerosa](#): > > As far as I know, the Somali women I know get the same freedoms I do once they become U.S. Citizens (which many of them are working towards). They may be further restricted by their husbands or their religion - but that is not unique to Muslims - conservative Christians are often restricted by their religion, and my sister had an abusive boyfriend that was very good at restricting her freedoms. Well, conservative Christianity is sometimes referred to as “Islam Lite”, but my money is on Islam as the more restrictive religion. And it’s one thing for your boyfriend to be a controlling jerk, it’s another for your culture to be. > [@](#): > > Some do, some don’t. Some drink, some refuse to accept fares who are carrying alcohol in their taxi cabs or touch bacon as their job as the grocery store cashier. Some wear headscarves in certain situations, but when outside the Muslim community choose not to. If they wear it on and off in various situations _depending on how they feel_ then that’s fabulous. But if the Muslim community is pressuring you from outside, that’s another thing. One thing I was subtly alluding to in my reference to nightclubs is that there are some situations where women _want_ to be looked at by guys. They find it fun to get all dolled up and go out on the town. And they’re usually able to avoid getting raped. And as for my crack about “quotas”, well, there comes a point where many restrictions on personal behavior become too damn many. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/83 "2009-06-11T04:43:18Z")
For **you**. Is it that hard to believe that some people find peace by following those restrictions? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/84 "2009-06-11T07:29:52Z")
**sqweels** , you seem more interested in confirming your position/opinion as opposed to merely asking. For that I suggest you read Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, you’ll get all the information needed. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/85 "2009-06-11T21:49:49Z")
IMHO covering up of women has to do with a degree of hatred towards humanity and the desire to isolate people. It really is not anti-women or for that matter anti-man, but equally anti-humanity, women are just the method this hatred is expressed. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/86 "2009-06-11T23:44:36Z")
Quelle surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769/87 "2009-06-12T01:54:37Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Well, conservative Christianity is sometimes referred to as “Islam Lite”, but my money is on Islam as the more restrictive religion. And it’s one thing for your boyfriend to be a controlling jerk, it’s another for your culture to be. The Somali translator my mother in law works with does not wear a headscarf and is in a position of power in the community (being a translator). She also, I believe, has a law degree. And is treated with high respect by the former Prime Minister of Somalia. Which culture are you talking about? Islam is not some monolithic culture. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-the-headscarves-worn-by-muslim-women/498769.md?page=4)