4 ms·

I'll admit that I'm apparently a dumb American, because till now I thought those women were forced to wear those black robes that cover everything but their eye

I'll admit that I'm apparently a dumb American, because till now I thought those women were forced to wear those black robes that cover everything but their eyes. They really like it, and they aren't coerced with any kind of religious pressure?

InclinedPlane 13y ago
Of course there are laws, I have no idea what the other poster is talking about. Saudi Arabia even has a police force, the mutaween, which enforces things like dress codes for women (officially the name of the organization which runs the religious police in Saudi Arabia is called "The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice"). There is a famous example of an incident in 2002 wherein during a fire in a girls' school in Mecca the mutaween prevented girls from fleeing the school due to being improperly clothed, 15 girls died and 50 others were injured from the fire.
- eshvk 13y ago
  In other countries where there are no laws proscribing women to wear burkhas (e.g. India), there are plenty who do so.
  - megablast 13y ago
    Just because there are no laws does not mean there is not a lot of pressure from family and society. There is no law saying women can't wear bikinis in the street, yet you don't see it very often.
  - InclinedPlane 13y ago
    Were we talking about India? I don't remember that being the case.
    - eshvk 13y ago
      Sure. I did use the phrase "other countries". I don't know enough about Saudi society to counter your narrative that it is only laws that mean that every single woman is clad in a burkha (which I find suspicious). So I took an anecdote from a society that I know.
speeder 13y ago
Mind you, most of the muslim clothing reflect a culture that already existed before and had its reasons. For example middle east people believe that women should not display themselves in public, on the other hand they DO should display themselves at home for their husbands, this led to some curious architecture, where homes have one "public" area, where visitors are welcome, and women show up covered, and a "private" area, that depending on the home not even male adult sons of the family is allowed, where women can stroll naked or almost naked. (this when dialed up to eleven that results into the "Harem" that for necessity reasons need male people working on it, thus the eunuchs) In Egypt the reason for why a women should cover herself still apply: people (specially desert semi-nomads) still kidnap beautiful women. Since covered women you do not know if they are beautiful or not, they don't kidnap them. Arabs are specially wary of Tuaregs, Arabs perceive them as women kidnappers, and I think that perception is not all illusion.

InclinedPlane 13y ago

Of course there are laws, I have no idea what the other poster is talking about. Saudi Arabia even has a police force, the mutaween, which enforces things like dress codes for women (officially the name of the organization which runs the religious police in Saudi Arabia is called "The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice"). There is a famous example of an incident in 2002 wherein during a fire in a girls' school in Mecca the mutaween prevented girls from fleeing the school due to being improperly clothed, 15 girls died and 50 others were injured from the fire.

eshvk 13y ago
In other countries where there are no laws proscribing women to wear burkhas (e.g. India), there are plenty who do so.
- megablast 13y ago
  Just because there are no laws does not mean there is not a lot of pressure from family and society. There is no law saying women can't wear bikinis in the street, yet you don't see it very often.
- InclinedPlane 13y ago
  Were we talking about India? I don't remember that being the case.
  - eshvk 13y ago
    Sure. I did use the phrase "other countries". I don't know enough about Saudi society to counter your narrative that it is only laws that mean that every single woman is clad in a burkha (which I find suspicious). So I took an anecdote from a society that I know.

speeder 13y ago

Mind you, most of the muslim clothing reflect a culture that already existed before and had its reasons. For example middle east people believe that women should not display themselves in public, on the other hand they DO should display themselves at home for their husbands, this led to some curious architecture, where homes have one "public" area, where visitors are welcome, and women show up covered, and a "private" area, that depending on the home not even male adult sons of the family is allowed, where women can stroll naked or almost naked. (this when dialed up to eleven that results into the "Harem" that for necessity reasons need male people working on it, thus the eunuchs) In Egypt the reason for why a women should cover herself still apply: people (specially desert semi-nomads) still kidnap beautiful women. Since covered women you do not know if they are beautiful or not, they don't kidnap them. Arabs are specially wary of Tuaregs, Arabs perceive them as women kidnappers, and I think that perception is not all illusion.