View source for Islamic veiling practices by country

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Hijab_Niqab_Muslim_Veil.jpg|thumb|Two mannequins; one to the left wearing a [[hijab]] on the head and one to the right veiled in the style of a [[niqab]]]]
Various styles of head coverings, most notably the [[khimar]], [[hijab]], [[chador]], [[niqab]], [[paranja]], [[yashmak]], [[tudong]], [[shayla]], [[safseri]], [[çarşaf]], [[Haik (garment)|haik]], [[dupatta]], [[boshiya]] and [[burqa]], are worn by Muslim women around the world, where the practice varies from mandatory to optional or restricted in different majority Muslim and non-Muslim countries.

Historically, wearing of hijab of some sort has been legally or socially mandatory for free Muslim women in most Islamic countries, while slave women had a different awrah and were therefore not required to veil. 
During the modernist era of the first half and mid 20th century, women's choice of clothing and unveiling came to be accepted in many parts of the Muslim world, at least for women of the middle and upper classes. This was a development that was supported by the modernist women's movement, but was very controversial. 
During the [[Islamic revival]] in the Muslim world after the 1970s, the wearing of Islamic head covering again became popular in the Muslim world. In parallel, unveiling became controversial.  
Wearing the [[hijab]] is mandatory in conservative countries such as the [[Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]] and the [[Taliban|Taliban-led]] [[Afghanistan|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]. [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]] school officials have also voted to require young girls to wear hijab,<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/10/gaza-schools-impose-hijab-students-dismay |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013171059/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/10/gaza-schools-impose-hijab-students-dismay |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |title=Gaza schools impose hijab to students' dismay |newspaper=[[Al-Monitor]] |last=Mahmoud |first=Amany |date=October 6, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> though the [[Palestinian Authority]] (in 1990) considered the hijab optional.<ref name="auto8">{{cite web|url=https://merip.org/1990/05/women-the-hijab-and-the-intifada/|title=Women, the Hijab and the Intifada|date=4 May 1990|access-date=26 January 2023|archive-date=16 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616022812/https://merip.org/1990/05/women-the-hijab-and-the-intifada/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The hijab is traditionally associated with Islamic principles of [[Haya (Islam)|modesty]], privacy, and spiritual awareness.<ref>{{cite news |title=What's the difference between a hijab, niqab and burka? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24118241 |access-date=23 August 2025 |date=7 August 2018 |archive-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430075043/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24118241 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="wiki.lessonislam.org">{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Ashraf |title=Understanding the Hijab: A Journey into Cultural Identity and Faith |url=https://wiki.lessonislam.org/understanding-the-hijab-a-journey-into-cultural-identity-and-faith/ |website=Lesson Islam |date=9 June 2025 |access-date=23 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Importance of Hijab in Islam: Clarifying Misconceptions and Addressing Common Questions |url=https://fiqh.islamonline.net/en/the-importance-of-hijab-inislammisconceptions/ |website=IslamOnline |date=12 September 2006 |access-date=23 August 2025 |archive-date=14 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250714181932/https://fiqh.islamonline.net/en/the-importance-of-hijab-inislammisconceptions/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The significance of hijab |url=https://islamweb.net/en/article/135455/the-significance-of-hijab |website=islamweb.net |access-date=23 August 2025 |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918153311/https://www.islamweb.net/en/article/135455/the-significance-of-hijab |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to its religious significance, it has also become a marker of cultural identity and, in some contexts, a form of personal or fashion expression.<ref name="saharareporters.com">{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Bankole Taiwo |title=The Wearing Of Hijab: Significance, Symbolism, Challenges And Way Forward For Nigerian Muslim Women |url=https://saharareporters.com/2024/08/25/wearing-hijab-significance-symbolism-challenges-and-way-forward-nigerian-muslim-women |access-date=23 August 2025 |date=25 August 2024 |archive-date=18 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241118055113/https://saharareporters.com/2024/08/25/wearing-hijab-significance-symbolism-challenges-and-way-forward-nigerian-muslim-women |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="wiki.lessonislam.org"/> Surah An-Nur (24:31) in the Qur'an states: "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their head covers over their chests and not expose their adornment...".<ref name="saharareporters.com"/> Surah Al-Ahzab (33:59) in the Qur'an further instructs: "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused."<ref>{{cite news |title=The hijab, a Muslim woman's identity |url=https://dailytrust.com/the-hijab-a-muslim-womans-identity/ |work=Daily Trust |date=18 February 2022 |access-date=23 August 2025 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211190139/https://dailytrust.com/the-hijab-a-muslim-womans-identity/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In some Muslim majority countries (like [[Morocco]] and [[Tunisia]])<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hawkins|first=Simon|date=2011|title=Who Wears Hijab with the President: Constructing a Modern Islam in Tunisia|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41306029|journal=[[Journal of Religion in Africa]]|publication-place=[[Franklin and Marshall College]]|volume=41|issue=1|pages=35–58|doi=10.1163/157006611X556629|jstor=41306029|issn=0022-4200|url-access=subscription|archive-date=25 December 2024|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225195256/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41306029|url-status=live}}</ref> there have been complaints of restriction or discrimination against women who wear the hijab, which can be seen as a sign of [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bashirov|first=Galib|date=2020|title=The Politics of the Hijab in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan|url=https://www.academia.edu/41722237|journal=[[Nationalities Papers]]|publication-place=[[Deakin University]]|volume=48|issue=2|pages=357–372|doi=10.1017/nps.2018.81|s2cid=212928375|issn=0090-5992|archive-date=25 December 2024|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225195256/https://www.academia.edu/41722237|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Nate Schenkkan|date=2011|title=Kyrgyzstan: Hijab Controversy Charges Debate over Islam's Role in Society|url=https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-hijab-controversy-charges-debate-over-islams-role-in-society|access-date=2021-09-19|website=[[Eurasianet]]|language=en}}</ref> Several [[Islam by country|Muslim-majority countries]] have banned the ''burqa'' and ''hijab'' in public schools and universities or government buildings, including Tunisia (since 1981,<ref name="tunisiahijab" /> partially lifted in 2011), [[Turkey]] (gradually lifted),<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/06/200861502253559528.html Turkey headscarf ruling condemned] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605113852/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/06/200861502253559528.html |date=5 June 2011 }} Al Jazeera English (7 June 2008). Retrieved in February 2009.</ref><ref name="news24.com" /> [[Kosovo]] (since 2009),<ref name="Kosovo">{{Cite news |date=2010-08-24 |title=Headscarf ban sparks debate over Kosovo's identity |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11065911 |access-date=2025-12-21 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Azerbaijan]] (since 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/12/azerbaijianiran-hijab-ban-school-girls-iran-cleric-fatwa-ideology-islam-war.html|title=AZERBAIJAN: Feud over ban on Islamic head scarves fuels fears of Iranian meddling|date=30 December 2010|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-date=12 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612020300/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/12/azerbaijianiran-hijab-ban-school-girls-iran-cleric-fatwa-ideology-islam-war.html|url-status=live}}</ref>), [[Kazakhstan]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-08 |title=Hijabs in Schools of Kazakhstan: To Allow or Not? |url=https://cabar.asia/en/hijabs-in-schools-of-kazakhstan-to-allow-or-not |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=CABAR.asia |language=en-GB |archive-date=25 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225195257/https://cabar.asia/en/hijabs-in-schools-of-kazakhstan-to-allow-or-not |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Kyrgyzstan]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 March 2009 |title=Kyrgyzstan Bans Head Scarves From Schools |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Kyrgyzstan_Bans_Head_Scarves_From_Schools/1503459.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226192519/https://www.rferl.org/a/Kyrgyzstan_Bans_Head_Scarves_From_Schools/1503459.html |archive-date=26 December 2024 |access-date=2023-08-24 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en |agency=Reuters}}</ref> Muslim-majority [[Tajikistan]] banned the hijab completely on 20 June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-24 |title=Why did Muslim-majority Tajikistan ban the hijab? |url=https://www.euronews.com/2024/06/24/why-did-muslim-majority-tajikistan-ban-the-hijab |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=25 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225195256/https://www.euronews.com/2024/06/24/why-did-muslim-majority-tajikistan-ban-the-hijab |url-status=live }}</ref>

In several countries in [[Europe]], the wearing of hijabs has led to political controversies and proposals for a legal ban. Laws have been passed in [[France]] and [[Belgium]] to ban face-covering clothing, popularly described as the "[[burqa]] [[burqa by country|ban]]", although applies not merely to the Afghani ''burqa'', but to all face coverings ranging from the niqab to bodysuits, and does not apply to ''hijab'' which do not conceal the face.

Legal restrictions on the [[burqa]] and [[niqab]] are more widespread than restrictions on hijab. There are currently 18 states that have banned the burqa, including [[Tunisia]],<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-niqab-security-idUKKCN1U01CH |title= Tunisian PM bans wearing of niqab in public institutions |date= 5 July 2019 |access-date= 5 July 2019 |newspaper= Reuters |archive-date= 2 October 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231002164916/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-niqab-security-idUKKCN1U01CH |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Austria]], [[Denmark]], France, Belgium,<ref name=":9">{{Cite news|date=September 2020|title=Unveiling: Malaysian activist fights for hijab freedom|work=[[Bangkok Post]], [[Agence France Presse]]|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1989067/unveiling-malaysian-activist-fights-for-hijab-freedom|archive-date=26 December 2024|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226112613/https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1989067/unveiling-malaysian-activist-fights-for-hijab-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tajikistan]], [[Bulgaria]],<ref name="auto7">[https://www.smh.com.au/world/bulgaria-the-latest-european-country-to-ban-the-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-places-20160930-grss9q.html Bulgaria the latest European country to ban the burqa and niqab in public places] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019170440/http://www.smh.com.au/world/bulgaria-the-latest-european-country-to-ban-the-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-places-20160930-grss9q.html |date=19 October 2017 }}, Smh.com.au: accessed 5 December 2016.</ref> [[Cameroon]], [[Chad]], [[Republic of the Congo]], [[Gabon]], [[Netherlands]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Halasz |last2=McKenzie |first1=Stephanie |first2=Sheena |title=The Netherlands introduces burqa ban in some public spaces |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/27/europe/netherlands-partial-burqa-ban-intl/index.html |access-date=9 August 2018 |agency=CNN |issue=27 June 2018 |work=CNN |date=27 June 2018 |archive-date=9 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809064152/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/27/europe/netherlands-partial-burqa-ban-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[China]] (in [[Xinjiang]] [[Regions of China|Region]]),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Tom |title=China bans burqa in capital of Muslim region of Xinjiang |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11342070/China-bans-burqa-in-capital-of-Muslim-region-of-Xinjiang.html |access-date=9 August 2018 |agency=The Telegraph |issue=13 January 2015 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=13 January 2015 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411123148/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11342070/China-bans-burqa-in-capital-of-Muslim-region-of-Xinjiang.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Morocco]], [[Sri Lanka]],<ref>{{cite web|date=March 13, 2021|title=Sri Lanka to ban burqas, close over 1,000 Islamic schools|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sri-lanka-ban-burqas-close-1000-islamic-schools-76435802|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], [[Associated Press]]|language=en|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=17 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317015812/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sri-lanka-ban-burqas-close-1000-islamic-schools-76435802|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Switzerland]], [[Portugal]] and [[Italy]].<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/new-italian-bill-targets-islamic-face-coverings-religious-funding-2025-10-08/ Reutrrs: New Italian bill targets Islamic face coverings and religious funding], 8 October 2025</ref> Similar legislation or more stringent restrictions are being discussed in other nations. Some of them apply only to face-covering clothing such as the ''burqa'', ''[[Boshiya|boushiya]]'', or ''niqāb'', while other legislation pertains to any clothing with an Islamic [[Religious symbol|religious symbolism]] such as the ''[[Hijab|khimar]]''. Some countries already have [[Anti-mask law|laws banning the wearing of masks]] in public, which can be applied to veils that conceal the face. The issue has different names in different countries, and "the veil" or ''hijab'' may be used as general terms for the debate, representing more than just the [[veil]] itself, or the concept of modesty embodied in ''hijab''.

==Africa==

=== Algeria ===
[[File:L'Algérie en guerre contre la fraude au Bac.jpg|thumb|221x221px|Three female Algerian students studying, two wearing head coverings]]During the [[Algerian War]] of 1954–1962, it came to be seen as legitimate for Algerian women to break seclusion and participate unveiled in society, when women participated actively in the struggle for national independence.<ref>Valentine Moghadam: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MYCVkaM1alQC&dq=women%27s+organisation+algeria+AFMA&pg=PA45 Gender and National Identity: Women and Politics in Muslim Societies]''</ref>

In 2018, the government passed a law banning the wearing of full face-veils for female public servants while at work.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/10/255703/algeria-burqas-niqabs-women/|title = Algeria Outlaws Burqas, Niqabs for Women at Work|date = 19 October 2018|access-date = 25 October 2018|archive-date = 26 December 2024|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241226125242/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/10/255703/algeria-burqas-niqabs-women|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://ewn.co.za/2018/10/19/algerian-bans-female-public-servants-from-wearing-full-face-veils | title=Algerian bans female public servants from wearing full-face veils | last1=Cornish | first1=Jean-Jacques | access-date=25 October 2018 | archive-date=2 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002170923/https://ewn.co.za/2018/10/19/algerian-bans-female-public-servants-from-wearing-full-face-veils | url-status=live }}</ref> The prime minister at the time, [[Ahmed Ouyahia]], pushed the ban because of his belief that women should be identifiable in the workspace.<ref>{{citation |title=Prime Minister Trudeau should not Rely on the Courts to Uphold his Promises to Indigenous Peoples |doi=10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-9211-2016179|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 }}</ref>

===Cameroon===
On 12 July 2015, two women dressed in religious garments [[Suicide attack|detonated suicide bombs]] in [[Fotokol]], killing 13&nbsp;people. Following the attacks, since 16 July, [[Cameroon]] banned the wearing of full-face veils, including the ''burqa'', in the [[Far North Region (Cameroon)|Far North region]]. Governor Midjiyawa Bakari of the mainly Muslim region said the measure was to prevent further attacks in this Christian majority country.<ref name="cameroonban" >[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33553041 Cameroon bans Islamic face veil after suicide bombings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017204853/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33553041 |date=17 October 2015 }}, 16 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.</ref>

=== Chad ===
Following a double suicide bombing on 15 June 2015 which killed 33&nbsp;people in [[N'Djamena]], the Chadian government announced on 17 June 2015 the banning of the wearing of the ''burqa'' in its territory for security reasons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chad-blast-idUSKBN0OX2L720150617|title=Chad arrests five and bans burqa after suicide bombings|date=17 June 2016|newspaper=Reuters|archive-date=2 October 2023|access-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002164808/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chad-blast-idUSKBN0OX2L720150617|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2015 prime minister, Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet, called the burqa "camouflage".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33166220|title=Chad bans face veil after bombings|date=17 June 2015|access-date=10 November 2019|language=en-GB|archive-date=26 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226083423/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33166220|url-status=live}}</ref> Women who violate this ban are subject to jail time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/|title=Burka bans: The countries where Muslim women can't wear veils|last=Sanghani|first=Radhika|date=8 July 2016|work=The Telegraph|access-date=10 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311004844/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Republic of the Congo===
The full-face veil was banned in May 2015 in public places in [[Congo-Brazzaville]] to "counter terrorism", although Muslims make up only a small minority in Congo.<ref name="cameroonban" />

===Egypt===
[[File:Gamal Abdel Nasser on the Muslim Brotherhood (subtitled).webm|thumb|left|alt=Gamal Abdel Nasser laughing at the Muslim Brotherhood for suggesting in 1953 that women should be required to wear the hijab.|Gamal Abdel Nasser laughing at the Muslim Brotherhood for suggesting in 1953 that women should be required to wear the hijab]]
The hijab became less popular among educated religious women in the early 20th century when it was frowned upon politically and they sought positions of power.<ref name=ODonnellHarvard>{{cite web|last=O'Donnell|first=Erin|url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2011/09/the-veils-revival|title=The Veil's Revival|work=[[Harvard Magazine]]|date=September–October 2011|access-date=2021-09-13|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085258/https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2011/09/the-veils-revival|url-status=live}}</ref>  After returning from the [[International Woman Suffrage Alliance]] Congress in [[Rome]] in 1923, the feminist [[Huda Sha'arawi]] removed her [[veil]] and mantle, a signal event in the history of Egyptian feminism. Women who came to greet her were shocked at first, then broke into applause and some of them removed their veils and mantles.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rkR3EAAAQBAJ&dq=Huda+Sha%27arawi+applause&pg=PA5 On This Day She: Putting Women Back Into History One Day at a Time]'', p. 5</ref><ref>Kristen Golden, Barbara Findlen: Remarkable Women of the Twentieth Century: 100 Portraits of Achievement.Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, 1998</ref><ref>R. Brian Stanfield: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kcZHDwAAQBAJ&dq=huda+sha%27arawi+applause&pg=PA151 The Courage to Lead: Transform Self, Transform Society]'', p. 151</ref><ref>Emily S. Rosenberg, Jürgen Osterhammel: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=oct31Z9f-HUC&dq=huda+sha%27arawi+applause&pg=PA879 A World Connecting: 1870–1945]'', p. 879</ref><ref>Anne Commire, Deborah Klezmer: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0OAQAAMAAJ&q=huda+sha%27arawi+applause Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia]'', p. 577</ref><ref>Ruth Ashby, Deborah Gore Ohrn: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=auztAAAAMAAJ&q=huda+sha%27arawi+applause Herstory: Women who Changed the World ]'', p. 184</ref> 
Her decision to remove her veil and mantle was part of a greater emancipation movement of women, and was influenced by French-born Egyptian feminist named [[Eugénie Le Brun]],<ref name="Shaʻrāwī1987">{{cite book|author=Hudá Shaʻrāwī|title=Harem Years: The Memoirs of an Egyptian Feminist (1879–1924)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s9Nl0Lw3j78C|year=1987|publisher=Feminist Press at CUNY|isbn=978-0-935312-70-6}}</ref> though it contrasted with the feminist [[Malak Hifni Nasif]].

In 1953, Egyptian leader President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] was told by the leader of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] that they wanted to enforce the wearing of the hijab, to which Nasser responded: "Sir, I know you have a daughter in college—and she doesn't wear a headscarf or anything! Why don't you make her wear the headscarf? So you can't make one girl, your own daughter, wear it, and yet you want me to go and make ten million women wear it?".

The veil gradually disappeared in the following decades, so much so that by 1958 an article by the [[United Press International|United Press]] (UP) stated that "the veil is unknown here."<ref>{{Cite journal |author=United Press Service (UP) |date=26 January 1958 |title=Egypt's Women Foil Attempt to Restrict |journal=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]] |issue=114 |page=28 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19580126&id=8AodAAAAIBAJ&pg=3454,4406325 |access-date=10 February 2010 |author-link=United Press International |archive-date=11 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211071538/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19580126&id=8AodAAAAIBAJ&pg=3454,4406325 |url-status=live }}</ref> However video footage from the period shows the hijab was still very common.<ref>{{cite web |author1-link=Kinolibrary |title=1960s Cairo Driving POVs, Egypt, HD from 35mm |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuMGnJewb0c |website=YouTube |language=en |type=Video |date=March 16, 2020 |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002165149/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuMGnJewb0c |url-status=live }}</ref>

The veil returned after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, concomitant with the global [[Islamic revival|Muslim revival]]. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', {{As of|2007|lc=y}}, about 90&nbsp;percent of Egyptian women currently wear a headscarf.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slackman |first=Michael |date=28 January 2007 |title=In Egypt, a New Battle Begins Over the Veil |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/weekinreview/28slackman.html |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-date=3 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503150409/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/weekinreview/28slackman.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Women chose to adopt the veil in the post-1970s period despite relatives who were against it.<ref name=ODonnellHarvard/> In 2018, Ola Salem, writing in the ''[[Washington Post]]'', described widespread veiling of women as "a relatively new phenomenon."<ref>{{cite web|last=Salem|first=Ola|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/17/what-westerners-get-wrong-about-the-hijab/|title=What Westerners get wrong about the hijab|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|place=[[Washington, DC]]|date=2018-08-17|access-date=2024-08-04|archive-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208075731/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/17/what-westerners-get-wrong-about-the-hijab/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Small numbers of women wear the ''niqab''. The secular government does not encourage women to wear it, fearing it will present an Islamic extremist political opposition. In the country, it is negatively associated with [[Salafist]] political activism.<ref name="kuwait-times"/><ref name=hijabworld>{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/31/africa/ME_GEN_Mideast_Veil_Glance.php |title=A look at the wearing of veils, and disputes on the issue, across the Muslim world |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |access-date=31 October 2006 |archive-date=26 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226074807/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/31/africa/ME_GEN_Mideast_Veil_Glance.php |url-status=live }}</ref> There has been some restrictions on wearing the ''hijab'' by the government, which views ''hijab'' as a political symbol. In 2002, two presenters were excluded from a state run TV station for deciding to wear ''hijab'' on national television.<ref name=egypttv>Ranyah Sabry (17 April 2007) [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6565145.stm Egypt anchorwomen battle for hijab] BBC News (BBC). Retrieved on 13 February 2009.</ref> The [[American University in Cairo]], Cairo University and [[Helwan University]] attempted to forbid entry to ''niqab'' wearers in 2004 and 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/veil-war-breaks-out-on-egypt-university-campus-1.37235|title=Veil war breaks out on Egypt university campus|author=Ramadan Al Sherbini|date=22 October 2006|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-date=21 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221161312/http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/veil-war-breaks-out-on-egypt-university-campus-1.37235|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islamwomen.org/EngIw/NwsDetails.aspx?id=1205|title=The Islamic Network for Woman and Families|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031194635/http://www.islamwomen.org/EngIw/NwsDetails.aspx?id=1205|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalvoices.org/2009/10/09/egypt-niqab-ban-stirs-controversy/|title=Egypt: Niqab Ban Stirs Controversy · Global Voices|date=9 October 2009|access-date=1 October 2016|archive-date=26 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226083423/https://globalvoices.org/2009/10/09/egypt-niqab-ban-stirs-controversy/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Flickr - DavidDennisPhotos.com - Worker at Papyrus Store in Cairo.jpg|thumb|right|[[Egyptians|Egyptian]] storekeeper in [[Cairo]] wearing a hijab]]
[[Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy]], [[Grand Imam of al-Azhar]], issued a ''fatwa'' in October 2009 arguing that veiling of the face is not required under Islam. He had reportedly asked a student to take off her ''niqab'' when he spotted her in a classroom, and he told her that the ''niqab'' is a cultural tradition without Islamic importance.<ref name="kuwait-times">{{Cite news|title=Fatwa stirs heated debate over face-veiling in Kuwait |date=9 October 2009 |access-date=9 October 2009 |url=http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTQwMTY5MzI5Mg== |work=[[Kuwait Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619060055/http://kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTQwMTY5MzI5Mg%3D%3D |archive-date=19 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Government bans on wearing the ''niqab'' on college campuses at the [[University of Cairo]] and during university exams in 2009 were overturned later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/10/08/how-you-see-it-egyptian-campus-bans-niqab/7680/|title=How You See It: Egyptian campus bans niqab – WORLDFOCUS|date=8 October 2009|access-date=27 January 2010|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404162153/https://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/10/08/how-you-see-it-egyptian-campus-bans-niqab/7680/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2009101517002713|title=EGYPT: Controversial ban on niqab in dorms|website=University World News|access-date=23 November 2022|archive-date=11 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011012923/https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2009101517002713|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/01/egypt-court-upholds-niqab-ban-for.php|title=Egypt court upholds niqab ban for university examinations|website=Pitt.edu|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=3 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203180450/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/01/egypt-court-upholds-niqab-ban-for.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/egypt-court-revokes-ban-on-niqab-at-exam-halls-1.571211|title=Egypt court revokes ban on niqab at exam halls|author=Ramadan Al Sherbini|date=20 January 2010|access-date=27 January 2010|archive-date=21 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221160435/http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/egypt-court-revokes-ban-on-niqab-at-exam-halls-1.571211|url-status=live}}</ref> Minister [[Hany Mahfouz Helal]] met protests by some human rights and Islamist groups.

Many Egyptians in the elite are opposed to ''hijab''. In 2012, some businesses established bans on veils.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Cairo's 'hijab-free' zones trigger cries of hypocrisy|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/cairos-hijab-free-zones-trigger-cries-of-hypocrisy/article621327/|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=2012-02-29|access-date=2025-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226083423/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/cairos-hijab-free-zones-trigger-cries-of-hypocrisy/article621327/|archive-date=2024-12-26|language=en-GB|last=Verma|first=Sonia|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 2016 and 2017, the Government of Egypt and parliament made moves to ban the burqa with leading politicians arguing the full-face veil was neither an Islamic tradition nor required in the Koran.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Egypt's Parliament Drafting Law to 'Ban Niqab in Public Places'|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160308-egypts-parliament-drafting-law-to-ban-niqab-in-public-places/|website=[[Middle East Monitor]]|date=2016-03-08|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>

In 2023, the Egyptian government mandated a full niqab ban in schools,  requiring parental consent for wearing the hijab.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arabic.cnn.com/middle-east/article/2023/09/11/egypts-education-ministry-female-students-veil-schools|title=Egypt bans niqab in school (Arabic)|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=20 September 2023|access-date=12 September 2023|archive-date=26 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226133302/https://arabic.cnn.com/middle-east/article/2023/09/11/egypts-education-ministry-female-students-veil-schools|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Gabon===
On 15 July 2015, [[Gabon]] announced a ban on full-face veils in public and places of work because of the attacks in Cameroon. Since Muslims are a minority in the country, there were no significant tensions.<ref name="cameroonban" />

=== Libya ===
[[File:Womens Wear (5282720403).jpg|left|thumb|A street vendor selling women's wear in [[Tripoli, Libya]]]]

In the 1950s, Nel Slis reported that most Libyan women wore headscarves in public, often the type of veiling known as ''barracan.'' The queen [[Fatimah el-Sharif]] was expected to live in seclusion and only appeared unveiled and dressed in modern clothing in the company of women or when she was abroad, though she had belonged to the small percentage that had appeared unveiled in public prior to becoming queen.<ref>Caroline Studdert: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=e-dvEAAAQBAJ&dq=queen+fatima+libya&pg=PA98 Hellcat of The Hague: The Nel Slis Story]'', p. 96–100</ref>

Central to the [[1969 Libyan revolution|Libyan revolution]] of 1969 was the empowerment of women and removal of inferior status.<ref name=LB>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_l87ixBRpKIC "Libya"], Peter Malcolm, Elizabeth Losleben. Marshall Cavendish, 2004. {{ISBN|0-7614-1702-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7614-1702-6}}. pp. 73, 76, 78</ref> In the 1970s, female emancipation was in large measure a matter of age. One observer generalized that city women under the age of thirty-five had discarded the traditional veil and were quite likely to wear Western-style clothing.<ref name=L /> Those between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five were increasingly ready to consider such a change, but women over the age of forty-five appeared reluctant to give up the protection which they perceived their [[veils]] and customary dress to afford. A decade later, veiling was uncommon among urban women of the 1980s.<ref name=L>[[Helen Chapin Metz]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=aRNVYtHo63IC "Libya"]. Kessinger Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|1-4191-3012-9}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4191-3012-0}}. p. 111-115</ref>  This changed in the 2000s, when the Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi|Muammar Gadaffi]] gave up [[Nasserism]] for a [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamist]] [[Pan-Africanism|pan-Africanist]] ideology, and the veiling of women gradually started becoming the norm again. As of 2023, it is quite rare for Libyan women to not wear the headscarf.

===Morocco===
[[File:In Morocco have lot of women head scarves and veils.jpg|thumb|A group of Moroccan women wearing headscarves and veils]]

Prior to and for the first few decades of the French occupation, the majority of urban Moroccan veiled, utilising the ''ḥāyīk'' or ''milḥāfa'', a large rectangular wrap, usually white or black, which covered the whole body and the head, and could also be utilized to veil the face, with the exception of one or two eyes, however a rectangular (or triangular in the northern Andalusian towns), white face veil, sometimes with embroidery at the edges, known as the ''lithām'' or ''ngāb'' depending on the region, was also used''.'' In rural, primarily Amazigh tribal regions, women mostly didn't veil their faces''.'' <ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Besancenot |first=Jean |url=http://archive.org/details/costumesofmorocc0000besa |title=Costumes of Morocco |date=1990 |publisher=London; New York : Kegan Paul International; New York : Distributed by Routledge, Chapman and Hall |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7103-0359-2}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Smirna Si |url=http://archive.org/details/ArabDress.FromTheDawnOfIslamToModernTimesByYedidaKalfonStillman |title=Arab Dress. From the dawn of Islam to Modern times |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Budgett Meakin |url=http://archive.org/details/moorscomprehensi0000budg |title=The Moors: a comprehensive description |date=1902 |publisher=S. Sonnenschein & co., lim.The Macmillan company |others=Internet Archive}}</ref>

In the 1910s, women began wearing the ''jellāba'', a hooded robe, traditionally male, and using the hood to cover the hair, utilizing pins or a headband, and retaining the ''lithām''/''ngāb'' to veil the face, as a sign of national resistance from the French occupation and because it was far more convenient than the ''ḥāyīk'' as women began actively working outside the home. <ref name=":7" /><ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Moroccan Jellaba {{!}} Woman fashion {{!}} Moroccan burnoose, Moroccan head covering, Ysl museum {{sic|mor|roco|hide=y}} |url=https://ca.pinterest.com/pin/moroccan-jellaba--38632509298086955/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Pinterest |language=en}}</ref> 

In 1947, [[Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco]] started to appear in public unveiled with the support of her father the King, who wished to send a signal that he supported the emancipation of women, and thus women gradually began to unveil.<ref>Ruth Margolies Beitler, Angelica R. Martinez: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=w5JxDwAAQBAJ&dq=women%27s+organisation+morocco+1956&pg=PA173 Women's Roles in the Middle East and North Africa]'', p. 173</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mernissi |first=Fatima |url=http://archive.org/details/dreamsoftrespass00mern_0 |title=Dreams of trespass : tales of a harem girlhood |last2=Ward |first2=Ruth V. |date=1995 |publisher=Addison Wesley Publishing Company |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-201-48937-8}}</ref>

In Morocco, the headscarf is neither enforced by law nor forbidden by law, and women are free to choose if they wish to wear one. The headscarf is more frequent in the northern regions, small to medium cities and rural regions. As it is not totally widespread, wearing a hijab is considered rather a religious decision. In 2005, a schoolbook for basic religious education was heavily criticized for picturing female children with headscarves, and later the picture of the little girl with the Islamic headscarf was removed from the school books.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5413808.stm|title=BBC NEWS – Africa – Morocco moves to drop headscarf|date=6 October 2006|archive-date=19 April 2014|access-date=7 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419213117/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5413808.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The headscarf is strongly and implicitly forbidden in Morocco's military and the police.

In January 2017, Morocco banned the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of the Afghan burqa;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/why-moroccos-burqa-ban-is-more-than-just-a-security-measure-72120|title=Why Morocco's burqa ban is more than just a security measure|first=Moha|last=Ennaji|website=TheConversation.com|date=31 January 2017|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=3 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803105240/http://theconversation.com/why-moroccos-burqa-ban-is-more-than-just-a-security-measure-72120|url-status=live}}</ref> however, this does not apply to other types of [[niqab]].<ref>{{cite web |author1-link=FRANCE 24 Arabic |title=المغرب يمنع بيع وتسويق "البرقع" الأفغاني |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKEkFp1kOtM |website=YouTube |language=ar |type=Video |date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=7 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507222509/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKEkFp1kOtM&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Somalia ===
[[File:Somgirharcon2.jpg|left|thumb|Three Somali women at a community meeting wearing a range of head coverings]]
Under the Socialist [[Siad Barre]] regime (1969–1991), women were free to dress as they wished, and most urban women did not wear hijab; however, after the outbreak of the [[Somali Civil War]] in 1991, most women in [[Mogadishu]] started to wear hijab for the first time, and those who did not were harassed.<ref>Heather M. Ako: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=0Eg-b6EQt-cC&dq=somalia+veil+hijab+barre&pg=PA89 The Politics of Dress in Somali Culture]'', p. 87-89</ref>

During regular, day-to-day activities, [[Somali people|Somali]] women usually wear the {{transliteration|ar|guntiino}}, a long stretch of cloth tied over the shoulder and draped around the waist. In more formal settings such as weddings or religious celebrations like [[Eid ul-Fitr|Eid]], women wear the {{transliteration|ar|dirac}}, which is a long, light, diaphanous [[voile]] dress made of cotton or [[polyester]] that is worn over a full-length [[Slip (clothing)|half-slip]] and a brassiere. Married women tend to sport head-scarves referred to as ''shash'', and also often cover their upper body with a [[shawl]] known as {{transliteration|ar|garbasaar}}. Unmarried or young women, however, wear hijab, and the {{transliteration|ar|jiilbab}} is also commonly worn.<ref name="Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi">Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, ''Culture and Customs of Somalia'', (Greenwood Press: 2001), p. 117-118.</ref>

===Nigeria===

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Zulfat_Suara_(1).jpg
| caption1          = Nigerian-American politician [[Zulfat Suara]] sporting the hijab alongside the traditional African headdress
| image2            = Association of muslim health students' Gombe state university chapter orientation program 20.jpg
| caption2          = Female Muslim students wearing burqa and niqab at a program at  [[Gombe State University]].
| total_width       = 250
}}
The adoption of the hijab in Nigeria has evolved significantly over the past few decades. According to Hauwa Mahdi, prior to the 1970s, Muslim women in [[Northern Region, Nigeria|northern Nigeria]] rarely wore hijab in its contemporary form. Instead, veiling was practised through indigenous garments such as the ''kallabi'' and ''gyale/mayafi'' ([[Hausa people|Hausa]]), or ''mandil'' and ''ləfaya'' ([[Kanuri people|Kanuri]]), which were often optional and tied to class, occasion, and personal choice rather than religious obligation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mahdi |first1=Hauwa |title=The Hijab in Nigeria: The Woman's Body and the Feminist Private/Public Discourse |journal=African Studies Centre Leiden Working Papers |date=2008 |url=https://www.ascleiden.nl/Pdf/papermahdi.pdf |access-date=23 August 2025 |publisher=African Studies Centre Leiden, a reputable academic institution. |format=Scholarly paper with citations, theoretical framing, and original analysis. |archive-date=18 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718033611/https://www.ascleiden.nl/pdf/papermahdi.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The hijab controversy in Nigeria reflects a complex intersection of constitutional rights, religious identity, and institutional resistance. Despite a landmark [[Supreme Court of Nigeria|Supreme Court]] ruling affirming the right of Muslim girls to wear hijab in public schools, implementation remains uneven across states, with regions like [[Lagos State|Lagos]], [[Osun State|Osun]], [[Kwara State|Kwara]], [[Ogun State|Ogun]], and [[Oyo State|Oyo]] witnessing persistent legal and social disputes due to [[Communal conflicts in Nigeria|clashes]] between [[Islam in Nigeria|Muslims]] and [[Christianity in Nigeria|Christians]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nwigwe |first1=Chukwuemeka |title=The Supreme Court Ruling on the Hijab Crisis in Nigeria and the Dynamics of Tolerance |journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies |date=2025 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=188–201 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15423166241304235 |access-date=23 August 2025 |publisher=SAGE Publications |doi=10.1177/15423166241304235 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Muslim women continue to face discrimination in schools, workplaces, and during biometric procedures, including the forceful removal of hijabs by law enforcement officers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Muslim groups demand end to hijab harassment |url=https://punchng.com/muslim-groups-demand-end-to-hijab-harassment/ |access-date=23 August 2025 |date=6 February 2024 |newspaper=[[The Punch]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hijab Controversy: When discrimination, prejudice becloud human rights of Muslim women, girls |url=https://guardian.ng/features/hijab-controversy-when-discrimination-prejudice-becloud-human-rights-of-muslim-women-girls/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=23 August 2025 |date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=30 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430181601/https://guardian.ng/features/hijab-controversy-when-discrimination-prejudice-becloud-human-rights-of-muslim-women-girls/ |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Guardian (Nigeria)|The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Discrimination on account of hijab use must stop in Nigeria — Muslim women |url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/discrimination-on-account-of-hijab-use-must-stop-in-nigeria-muslim-women/ |access-date=23 August 2025 |date=13 February 2024 |newspaper=[[Nigerian Tribune]]}}</ref> Advocacy groups such as the Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative and the Coalition of Muslim Women have called for policy reforms, training for public officials, and respect for religious expression in line with Section 38(1) of Nigeria's Constitution.

Before Amasa Firdaus Abdulsalam was denied call to the bar at the [[International Conference Centre]] on 12 December 2017 for wearing hijab, no one had ever been [[Call to the bar|called to bar]] in hijab in [[Nigeria]]. Firdaus argued that her exclusion violated her constitutional right to freedom of religion under Section 38, and the case sparked widespread debate online under the hashtag #JusticeforFirdaus.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Al-Jazeera News |title=Nigerian law graduate denied call to bar over hijab |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/nigerian-law-graduate-denied-call-bar-hijab-171216084329791.html |access-date=18 July 2018 |archive-date=17 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717054513/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/nigerian-law-graduate-denied-call-bar-hijab-171216084329791.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=BBC News |date=15 December 2017 |title=Nigerian law graduate denied call to bar for wearing hijab |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42371525 |access-date=18 July 2018}}</ref> Seven months later, the [[University of Ilorin]] graduate was called to bar in her hijab on 10 July 2018, following public pressure and institutional review.<ref>{{cite news |last1=BBC News |date=10 July 2018 |title=Amasa Firdaus: Hijab girl don finally do lawyers call to bar |url=https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-44782929 |access-date=18 July 2018 |language=pcm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sahara Reporters |title=Victory At Last! Firdaus Amasa Attends Call To Bar Ceremony In Hijab |url=http://saharareporters.com/2018/07/10/victory-last-firdaus-amasa-attends-call-bar-ceremony-hijab |location=New York City, United States|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718145004/http://saharareporters.com/2018/07/10/victory-last-firdaus-amasa-attends-call-bar-ceremony-hijab |archive-date=18 July 2018 |access-date=18 July 2018 |newspaper=[[Sahara Reporters]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Abisola |first1=Olasupo |title=Amasa Firdaus called to bar in hijab |url=https://guardian.ng/news/amasa-firdaus-called-to-bar-in-hijab/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=18 July 2018 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718144737/https://guardian.ng/news/amasa-firdaus-called-to-bar-in-hijab/ |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Guardian (Nigeria)|The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fikayo |first1=Olowolagba |title=Hijab controversy: Firdaus finally called to bar |url=http://dailypost.ng/2018/07/10/hijab-controversy-firdaus-finally-called-bar/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718145003/http://dailypost.ng/2018/07/10/hijab-controversy-firdaus-finally-called-bar/ |archive-date=18 July 2018 |access-date=18 July 2018 |newspaper=[[Daily Post (Nigeria)|Daily Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Vanguard News |title='Nigeria Law school approved the use of hijab during call to bar' |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/nigeria-law-school-approved-use-hijab-call-bar/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=18 July 2018 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718150109/https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/nigeria-law-school-approved-use-hijab-call-bar/ |url-status=live |newspaper=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)|Vanguard]]}}</ref>

The hijab is viewed not merely as cultural attire but as a religious obligation rooted in Qur’anic injunctions and symbolizing modesty, dignity, and spiritual devotion.<ref>{{cite web |title=WHY MUSLIM LADIES WEAR HIJAB |url=https://www.citypeopleonline.com/why-muslim-ladies-wear-hijab-2/ |website=City People Online |access-date=23 August 2025 |date=2 February 2024}}</ref> Public discourse has also highlighted the psychological toll of hijab-related discrimination, with documented cases of harassment, exclusion from exams, and denial of employment opportunities. Scholars argue that framing schools as secular spaces ignores Nigeria's religiously plural educational history, and propose interfaith dialogue as a pathway to resolving tensions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why the hijab controversy persists in Nigeria's public schools |url=https://theconversation.com/why-the-hijab-controversy-persists-in-nigerias-public-schools-187192 |website=The Conversation |access-date=23 August 2025 |date=15 August 2022 |author=Adeyemi Balogun}}</ref>

=== Sudan ===
[[File:Tea maker 2.jpg|thumb|172x172px|A Sudanese woman making tea]]

In 1983, sharia law was enacted in Sudan, and from 1989, women were forced to wear a hijab whenever they left their home.<ref>Amina Alrasheed Nayel: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6ln19FcDV7wC&dq=sudan+women+veil+1983&pg=PA5 Alternative Performativity of Muslimness: The Intersection]'', 2017, s. 89-90</ref>

Since 2019 the hijab is no longer mandatory and there no longer is a modesty law as Sudan has become a secular state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://egyptianstreets.com/2019/11/29/sudan-abolishes-its-public-order-law-in-a-move-towards-women-empowerment/|title = Sudan Abolishes its Public Order Law in a Move Towards Women Empowerment &#124; Egyptian Streets|date = 29 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/sudan-ends-30-years-of-islamic-law-by-separating-religion-state/articleshow/77976896.cms|title=Sudan Islamic Law News: Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state &#124; World News – Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]]|date=7 September 2020 }}</ref> Muslims without hijabs are common but Sudan still culturally follows very conservative values. While the hijab was not explicitly mandated by law, Sudanese women were required to dress modestly in public. Due to Sudan's vaguely worded Public Order law, there were no delineated parameters of what constitutes immodest dress. The law stated: "Whoever does in a public place an indecent act or an act contrary to public morals or wears an obscene outfit or contrary to public morals or causing an annoyance to public feelings shall be punished with flogging which may not exceed forty lashes or with fine or with both".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/18/headscarf-incident-in-sudan-highlights-a-global-trend/|title=Headscarf incident in Sudan highlights a global trend|newspaper=Pew Research Center|date=18 September 2013|archive-date=15 August 2016|access-date=28 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815035318/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/18/headscarf-incident-in-sudan-highlights-a-global-trend/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, the case of Amira Osman Hamid came to international attention when she chose to expose her hair in public, in opposition to the nation's [[public-order crime|public-order laws]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/sudan/woman-faces-whipping-over-refusal-to-cover-hair-in-sudan-1.1251296|title=Woman faces whipping over refusal to cover hair in Sudan|last=AFP|date=4 November 2013|access-date=28 July 2016|archive-date=17 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817080346/http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/sudan/woman-faces-whipping-over-refusal-to-cover-hair-in-sudan-1.1251296|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tunisia ===
[[File:Carnaval Rouhaniyat nafta 07.jpg|left|thumb|204x204px|Tunisian women at a Sufi musical carnival]]

During the struggle for national independence, [[Habib Bourguiba]] favored the traditional Tunisian hijab, the ''[[Safseri|sefsari]]'', because it was seen as a symbol of preservation of the Tunisian cultural identity against the French culture colonialism; after independence, however, Bourguiba promoted modernity and gender equality through the [[National Union of Tunisian Women]] (UNFT), and rejected the veil as a symbol of backwardness.<ref name="auto11">Jane D Tchaïcha, Khedija Arfaoui: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kAkqDwAAQBAJ&dq=National+Union+of+Tunisian+Women&pg=PA49 The Tunisian Women’s Rights Movement: From Nascent Activism to Influential ...]'', p. 78</ref> 
In a public ceremony in 1956, the President, surrounded by women political associates, gently and ceremonially removed the veil from the head of a woman in a symbolic gesture of rejection of its use.<ref name="auto11"/>  
By the 1980s, the only Tunisian urban women wearing the veil were reportedly women members of the [[Islamic Tendency Movement]] (MTI).<ref name="auto11"/>

In 1981, women with headscarves were banned from schools and government buildings, and since then those who insist on wearing them face losing their jobs.<ref name="tunisiahijab">{{Cite news |last=Abdelhadi |first=Magdi |date=2006-09-26 |title=Tunisia attacked over headscarves |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5382946.stm |access-date=2025-12-21 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2006, the authorities launched a campaign against the ''hijab'', banning it in some public places, where police would stop women on the streets and ask them to remove it, and warn them not to wear it again. The government described the headscarf as a sectarian form of dress which came uninvited to the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6053380.stm|title=BBC NEWS – Africa – Tunisia moves against headscarves|date=15 October 2006|archive-date=15 January 2009|access-date=19 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115094249/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6053380.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{As of|2011|01|14}}, after the [[Tunisian revolution|Tunisian Revolution]] took place, the headscarf ban was lifted; however, in contemporary urban Tunisian society it is still not fully accepted. On 6 July 2019 the government banned the wearing of the [[niqab]] in public institutions citing security reasons.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/tunisia-bans-face-veils-public-institutions-bombing-190705132559010.html | title=Tunisia bans face veils in public institutions after bombing &#124; News &#124; al Jazeera | access-date=5 July 2019 | archive-date=13 September 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913013203/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/tunisia-bans-face-veils-public-institutions-bombing-190705132559010.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Asia==

===Afghanistan===
[[File:Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan in 2010.jpg|thumb|Female art students in Centre of Contemporary Arts Afghanistan in [[Kabul]] in 2010]]

In Afghanistan, the hijab is compulsory for all women and everywhere, including in schools.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taliban says burqa not mandatory for women, hijab is|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2021/08/18/taliban-says-burqa-not-mandatory-for-women-hijab-is-.html|access-date=2021-12-18|website=The Jakarta Post|language=en|archive-date=3 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603040732/https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2021/08/18/taliban-says-burqa-not-mandatory-for-women-hijab-is-.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 1920s, Queen [[Soraya Tarzi]] famously removed her veil in public as a part of her support for women's liberation, followed by other elite women, but the radical reform program was met with the deposition of king [[Amanullah Khan]] in 1929, and his [[Mohammad Nadir Shah|successor]] reinstated the veil and gender seclusion and caused a backlash in women's rights.<ref name="books.google.se"/>

Following the election of [[Mohammed Daoud Khan]] as Prime Minister in 1953, social reforms giving women a more public presence were encouraged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e488|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111134141/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e488|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 November 2018|title=Daoud Khan, Muhammad – Oxford Islamic Studies Online|website=www.oxfordislamicstudies.com|access-date=12 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan|title=A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan|date=4 May 2011|website=PBS NewsHour|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=12 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212212051/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan|url-status=live}}</ref> One of his aims was to break free from the ultra-conservative, Islamist tradition of treating women as second-class citizens.  During his time, he made significant advances towards modernization.<ref name="Armstrong">{{cite book|last=Armstrong|first=Sally|title=Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan|date=6 January 2003|publisher=Seal Press|isbn=978-1-56858-252-8|url=https://archive.org/details/veiledthreathidd00arms}}</ref> In 1959, women employed by the state, such as radio announcers, were asked to come to their work places without the veil, instead wearing a loose coat, scarf and gloves; after that, the foreign wives, and daughters of foreign born wives, were asked to venture out on the streets in the same way, and in this way, women without the veil started to be seen in the streets of Kabul.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/lessons/660103.shtml |title=Social Education 66(1): Restoring the Rights of Afghan Women |publisher=Socialstudies.org |access-date=2022-08-04 |archive-date=24 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224032059/https://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/lessons/660103.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 1959, on the second day of the festival of Jeshyn, Queen [[Humaira Begum]] and [[Princess Bilqis Begum|Princess Bilqis]] appeared in the royal box at the military parade unveiled, alongside the Prime Minister's wife, [[Zamina Begum]].<ref name=TA>Tamim Ansary (2012) [https://books.google.com/books?id=VKg4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PT147 Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan]</ref> A group of Islamic clerics sent a letter of protest to the Prime minister to protest and demand that the words of sharia be respected.<ref name=TA/> The Prime minister answered by inviting them to the capital and present proof to him that the holy scripture indeed demanded the [[chadri]].<ref name=TA/> When the clerics could not find such a passage, the Prime Minister declared that the female members of the Royal Family would no longer wear veils because the Islamic law did not demand it.<ref name=TA/>  While the chadri was never banned, the example of the Queen and the Prime Minister's wife was followed by the wives and daughters of government officials as well as by other urban women of the upper class and middle class, with [[Kubra Noorzai]] and [[Masuma Esmati-Wardak]] known as the first commoner pioneers.<ref name=TA/>
 
In the mid-20th century, many women in urban areas did not wear head coverings, but this ended with the outbreak of civil war in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/05/asia/gallery/afghan-women-past-present/index.html|title=Unveiled: Afghan women past and present|author=Monica Sarkar|website=CNN|date=5 June 2014|access-date=6 May 2025|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107021854/https://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/05/asia/gallery/afghan-women-past-present/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Afghan ''chadri'' is a regional style of [[burqa]] with a mesh covering the eyes.<ref name="amer">{{Cite book|first=Sahar  |last=Amer | year=2014 | title=What Is Veiling? |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press (Kindle edition)|page=61}}</ref> The burqa became a symbol of the conservative and totalitarian [[Taliban]] rule, who strictly enforced female adults to wear the dress. Even after the 2001 defeat of the Taliban and the following [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]], some women continued to wear it out of security concerns.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Peace in Afghanistan at What Cost To Its Women? |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128493070 |first=Quil |last=Lawrence |date=13 July 2010 |access-date=19 July 2010 |publisher=[[NPR]] |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615025245/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128493070 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nbc-burqa">{{Cite news|title=Under that burqa, lipstick and high heels|url=http://worldblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2010/05/14/4376895-under-that-burqa-lipstick-and-high-heels|author=Kiko Itasaka|date=14 May 2010|publisher=NBC News|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104085134/http://worldblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2010/05/14/4376895-under-that-burqa-lipstick-and-high-heels|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="amer" /> People opposed to the burqa claim it is not Islamic, nor part of [[Culture of Afghanistan|Afghan culture]].<ref>{{cite web|date=February 2016|title=Afghan Women Still Bound by Burka|url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/afghan-women-still-bound-burka|website=[[Institute for War and Peace Reporting]]|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=25 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225195256/https://iwpr.net/global-voices/afghan-women-still-bound-burka|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Afghan women.jpg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Local Afghan women, dressed in headscarves and [[salwar kameez]], participating in a [[midwifery]] course organised by [[USAID]] in 2006
| image2            = Women in burqa with their children in Herat, Afghanistan.jpg
| caption2          = Afghan women in [[Herat]], dressed in full body covering Afghan burqa. The Afghan variety of the burqa has become the literal embodiment of the condition of women under Taiban rule in popular culture.
| footer            = 
}}

After the [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|Fall of Kabul]], an interviewed Taliban spokesperson rejected the idea that "women should not wear headscarves for education", saying it was not part of their culture.<ref>{{Cite web|last=林铃锦|date=September 4, 2021|title=塔利班警告美国：你们不应该改变我们的文化|url=https://www.guancha.cn/internation/2021_09_04_605789_s.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917110951/https://www.guancha.cn/internation/2021_09_04_605789_s.shtml|archive-date=September 17, 2021|website=[[Guancha.cn|Guancha]]}}</ref> In September 2021, the Taliban mandated that women attending private Afghan universities must wear a niqab.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021|title=Taliban order university women to wear face-covering niqab – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/taliban-order-university-women-to-wear-face-covering-niqab/articleshow/85949104.cms|website=[[The Times of India]], [[Reuters]]|language=en|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=25 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225195256/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/taliban-order-university-women-to-wear-face-covering-niqab/articleshow/85949104.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> On 7 May 2022, the Taliban made a law requiring all women to wear a burqa or niqab.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/07/taliban-order-all-afghan-women-to-wear-burqa | title=Taliban order all Afghan women to cover their faces in public &#124; Afghanistan &#124; the Guardian | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=7 May 2022 | access-date=22 January 2025 | archive-date=14 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514020908/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/07/taliban-order-all-afghan-women-to-wear-burqa | url-status=live }}</ref>

A 2018 report, ''Afghanistan in 2018: A Survey of the Afghan People'' by [[The Asia Foundation]], found that 30.9% of the Afghans think the burqa is the most appropriate form of public dress for women, roughly the same numbers for the niqab, 15.3% selected the chador, 14.5% went for a tight hijab, 6.1% for a loose hijab while only 0.5% chose no form of head covering.<ref>Akseer, Tabasum; Haidary, Mohammad Shoaib; Maxwell-Jones, Charlotte; Sadat, Sayed Masood; Swift, David; Veenstra, Kris; Yousufzai, Fahim Ahmad. 2018. ''A Survey of the Afghan People: Afghanistan in 2018''. © The Asia Foundation. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/9432. Page 173.
</ref>

===Bahrain ===

The traditional garments of women in Bahrain include the ''[[jellabiya]]'', a long, loose dress, which is one of the preferred clothing styles for the home. Bahraini women may practice the ''[[muhtashima]]'', partially covering the hair, or the ''muhajiba'', fully covering the hair.<ref name="Berlin">{{cite web|url=http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/bahrain.html|title=Bahrain (Al-Bahrayn)|last=McCarthy|first=Julanne|access-date=29 May 2011|archive-date=24 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524193133/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/bahrain.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Bangladesh===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Sheikh Hasina with E. Ahmed, New Delhi on June 23, 2006 (cropped).jpg
| image2            = Khaleda Zia with Manmohan Singh at a Ceremonial Reception, in New Delhi on March 21, 2006 (cropped).jpg
| footer            = Bangladeshi Muslim women drape the loose end of the [[sari]] over their heads, as shown in the case of its two female prime ministers, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, instead of wearing headscarves.
| caption1          = [[Sheikh Hasina]] in 2006
| caption2          = [[Khaleda Zia]] in 2006
| total_width       = 300
}}

In Bangladesh, hijab is not mandated by law. Due to the widespread prevalence of the [[sari]], [[Bengali Muslims|Bengali Muslim]] women, like their [[Bengali Hindus|Hindu]] counterparts, cover their head by the wrapping over the loose end of the sari like a headscarve, similar to the [[ghoonghat]] of Hindus. Veiling can be achieved by pulling down the ends of the cloth wrapped around the head upto the level of the face.

The [[purdah]] for Muslim upper- and middle-class women in India and later Pakistan and Bangladesh, both in the form of gender segregation as well as the veil, fell out of fashion due to women's active mobilisation in the anticolonial struggle for independence.<ref name="auto6">Haideh Moghissi: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6ln19FcDV7wC&dq=pakistan+unveiled+women&pg=PA212 Women and Islam: Women's movements in Muslim societies]'', s. 198-216</ref> 
The anti colonial independence movement in the Muslim world was dominated by secular modernists, who considered women's liberation as a natural part of achieving a modernized and revitalized Muslim world, and by the 1930s Muslim upper-class women had started to appear unveiled.<ref name="auto6"/>

{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 250
| image1            = Prinses Beatrix en mevrouw Begem Ziaur Rahman bezoeken Madurodam.jpg
| image2            = Khaleda Zia cropped 3by2.jpg
| footer            = Veiling of women reappeared in the 1990s due to [[Islamization in Bangladesh|Islamization]].
| caption1          = An unveiled Zia (while serving as the [[First Lady of Bangladesh]]) while on a state visit to [[the Netherlands]] in 1979
| caption2          = A veiled Zia, serving as the [[Prime Minister of Bangladesh]], in 2004, while greeting her Brazilian counterpart [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]]
| align             = left
}}

Veiling was historically not common in Bangladesh. Middle- and upper-class women dressed in modern [[Western wear|Western clothing]] and working class women in traditional Indian sari, and veiling was seen by the middle class as a sign of low class and low education.<ref name="auto12">The Hijab in Bangladesh: Understanding Identity Negotiation, Religiosity, and Autonomy among Urban Muslim Women in Dhaka. By Madhuri Shah Kibria. August 2022.THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO</ref> In the 1980s, veils were reportedly a rare sight in the capital of [[Dhaka]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2018/12/11/what-the-hijab-represents | title=What the hijab represents | date=11 December 2018 }}</ref>

From the 1990s onward veiling gradually become more common as Bangladesh began to be [[Islamization in Bangladesh|Islamised]] under the rule of [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]] (following into the footsteps of his predecessor [[Ziaur Rahman]]), accompanied the rise of [[political Islam]] and [[Islamic revival]]ism in society triggered by normalisation of [[Bangladesh–Pakistan relations|bilateral relationship with Pakistan]] (then under the rule of [[Zia-ul-Haq]]), the [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]], the rise of the [[Afghan mujahideen]] and the [[Grand Mosque seizure]], thus by the early 21st-century veiling started to become common.<ref name="auto12"/>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain.jpg
| caption1          = [[Begum Rokeya]], dressed in a sari and sporting a veil in a manner similar to contemporary Bengali Hindu women
| image2            = Young Muslim Woman on Street - Sylhet - Bangladesh (12968288153).jpg
| caption2          = A Muslim woman from [[Sylhet]] in 2014, wearing a [[chador]] folded to act as a niqab.
| total_width       = 250
}}

In 2010 the [[Bangladesh High court|Bangladesh High Court]], in a legal dispute between a local official and the director of a school, ruled that the veil was "a personal choice of women" and that the Ministry of Education should ensure that women employed in public institutions were not forced to wear a veil or hijab against their will.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bangladesh,-High-Court-rules-veil-cannot-be-imposed-on-women--18100.html | title=Bangladesh, High Court rules veil cannot be imposed on women | access-date=20 December 2022 | archive-date=20 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220143156/https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bangladesh,-High-Court-rules-veil-cannot-be-imposed-on-women--18100.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

By 2022, the attitude around veiling had changed and veiling had become common in Bangladesh, and some women experienced pressure by their families to veil.<ref name="auto15">{{cite web | url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/05/29/women-who-defy-patriarchy-by-letting-their-hair-loose | title=Women who defy patriarchy by letting their hair loose | date=29 May 2022 | access-date=20 December 2022 | archive-date=20 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220143153/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/05/29/women-who-defy-patriarchy-by-letting-their-hair-loose | url-status=live }}</ref> A study by [[Manusher Jonno Foundation]] and [[DNET]] found that 44% of people think women who wear veils or hijabs are "good girls", and 63% think that women who wear "western clothing" are "bad girls" who are shredding the fabric of society.<ref name="auto15"/>

===China===
{{Main|Islam in China}}
{{Multiple images
| image1            = Hui bride (dali).jpg
| caption1          = A [[Hui people|Hui]] woman wearing a hijab with her bridal dress in China
| image2            = Uyghur woman Xinjiang.jpg
| caption2          = A [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] woman with headscarf in [[Xinjiang]], China
| width             = 150
}}

{{Expand section|date=June 2025}}
In 2017, China banned the burqa in the [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] area of [[Xinjiang]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-burqa-abnormal-beards-ban-muslim-province-xinjiang-veils-province-extremism-crackdown-freedom-a7657826.html|title=China bans burqas and 'abnormal' beards in Muslim province|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=30 March 2017|access-date=28 January 2018|archive-date=6 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006005916/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-burqa-abnormal-beards-ban-muslim-province-xinjiang-veils-province-extremism-crackdown-freedom-a7657826.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===India===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Muhammadi Begum (cropped).jpg
| caption1          = [[Muhammadi Begum]], a [[Punjabi Muslim]] [[Urdu]] magazine editor
| image2            = Justice Fathima Beevi.JPG
| caption2          = [[Fathima Beevi]], a [[Malabar Muslims|Malabar Muslim]] woman who served as a judge in the [[Supreme Court of India]]
| footer            = In [[North India]], where [[ghagra choli]] and [[salwar kameez]] are the dominant female clothing, Muslim women cover their head with their [[dupatta]], as in the case of Muhammadi Begum. However, in [[South India]], Muslim women utilise the free end of the [[sari]] to cover their heads, as in the case of Fathima Beevi.
| total_width       = 300
}}

Burqas, niqabs and hijabs have a long history in India, but are not widespread. Muslim women cover their heads with their [[dupatta]] or the loose end of the [[sari]], resembling the [[Hindu culture|Hindu]] [[ghoonghat]], making it difficult to distinguish them from Hindu women.

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Weaver 1.jpg
| image2            = Meman.jpg
| image3            = Dancer2.jpg
| image4            = A Borah lady, Surat.jpg
| total_width       = 350
| footer            = Watercolour paintings by [[M. V. Dhurandhar]] printed in 1928 depicting Muslim women from [[Bombay Presidency]]. From left to right are a rural Muslim weaver, a [[Memon people|Memon]] lady, a Muslim [[nautch|dancer]] and a [[Dawoodi Bohra]] lady. In all cases, the women cover their head using a long veil like piece of clothing resembling a ghoonghat or [[chador]] instead of hijabs, while exposing their faces.
}}

The [[purdah]] for Muslim upper- and middle-class women in India and later Pakistan and Bangladesh, both in the form of gender segregation as well as the veil, fell out of fashion due to women's active mobilisation in the anticolonial struggle for independence.<ref name="auto6"/> 
The anti colonial independence movement in the Muslim world was dominated by secular modernists, who considered women's liberation as a natural part of achieving a modernized and revitalized Muslim world, and by the 1930s Muslim upper-class women had started to appear unveiled.<ref name="auto6" />

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Anees Fatimah (née Karim).webp
| image2            = BegumAizazRasul1938.png
| total_width       = 350
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Lady [[Anees Fatima]]
| caption2          = [[Begum Aizaz Rasul]]
| footer            = Both North Indian Muslim female politicians from the [[All India Muslim League]] were elected to [[Legislatures of British India|state legislatures]] during [[1937 Indian provincial elections|1937 elections]]. Both are clad in sarees, but Lady Anees is sporting a ghoonghat, while Begum Aizaz is unveiled.
}}

The usage of burqas and hijabs among Indian Muslim women as a means to distinguish themselves from Hindu women increased rapidly in the 1990s, due to the Islamic revivalism caused by the [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]], [[Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism|Pakistan-sponsored]] [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|Islamist insurgency]] in [[Kashmir conflict|Kashmir]] and rise of [[Afghan mujahideen]], alongside the insecurity caused by the rise of [[Hindu nationalism]] due to [[Ayodhya dispute|Ram Janmabhoomi movement]]. In 2021, [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] found out that 89% of India's Muslim women "cover their head outside their home".<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2021 |title=9. Religious clothing and personal appearance |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religious-clothing-and-personal-appearance/#:~:text=A%20majority%20of%20all%20Muslim,or%20a%20hijab%20(8%25). |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |access-date=30 April 2023 |archive-date=27 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827231700/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religious-clothing-and-personal-appearance/#:~:text=A%20majority%20of%20all%20Muslim,or%20a%20hijab%20(8%25). |url-status=live }}</ref> 

{{Multiple image
| image1            = An old Muslim woman who came to vote at a polling booth near Jama Masjid, Delhi gets herself identified, before being issued with ballot papers (1952).jpg
| caption1          = A Muslim woman, with her face exposed, casting her vote at a polling station in [[Delhi]] during the [[1951-52 Indian general election|1952 general elections]]
| image2            = A Woman clad in Burqa is being administered indelible ink just before she casted her vote at a polling Station of Udipi Parliamentary Constituency of Karnataka during General Elections 2004 on April 26, 2004.jpg
| caption2          = A Muslim woman, wearing burqa and niqab, casting her vote at a polling station in [[Udupi]] during the [[2014 Indian general election|2014 general elections]]
| total_width       = 
| footer            = Islamic revivalism triggered the upsurge in head and face coverings among Indian Muslim women.
}}

In India, Muslim women are allowed to wear the hijab and/or burqa anytime, anywhere.<ref name="thestar1">{{Cite news |last=Sheikh Saaliq |date=8 February 2022 |title=In India, wearing hijab bars some Muslim students from class |work=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/2022/02/08/in-india-wearing-hijab-bars-some-muslim-students-from-class.html |archive-date=12 February 2022 |access-date=12 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212225551/https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/2022/02/08/in-india-wearing-hijab-bars-some-muslim-students-from-class.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC larger bench">{{Cite news |date=10 February 2022 |title=Karnataka hijab row: Judge refers issue to larger bench |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60312864 |archive-date=13 February 2022 |access-date=12 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213050905/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60312864 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="csm">{{Cite news |date=8 February 2022 |title=Religious identity, rights in focus as Indian schools ban hijab |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2022/0208/Religious-identity-rights-in-focus-as-Indian-schools-ban-hijab |archive-date=13 February 2022 |access-date=12 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064927/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2022/0208/Religious-identity-rights-in-focus-as-Indian-schools-ban-hijab |url-status=live }}</ref> However, in November 2017, a [[Catholic Church in India|Catholic]] school in [[Uttar Pradesh]]'s [[Barabanki district]] allegedly barred two Muslim students from wearing the headscarf inside the campus.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-11-24|title=UP school stops two Muslim girls from wearing headscarf on campus|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/up-school-stops-two-muslim-girls-from-wearing-headscarf-on-campus/story-jS5nj2YHnGQf8jv4DT9pUP.html|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032717/https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/up-school-stops-two-muslim-girls-from-wearing-headscarf-on-campus/story-jS5nj2YHnGQf8jv4DT9pUP.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2019, [[Shiv Sena (1966–2022)|Shiv Sena]] party member [[Sanjay Raut]] called for the burka to be banned.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-05-01|title=Hardline Indian group allied with Modi calls for ban on the veil|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-blasts-burqa-india-idUSKCN1S739A|access-date=2020-10-15|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020081045/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-blasts-burqa-india-idUSKCN1S739A|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 2, 2019|title=Shiv Sena calls for ban on burqa in public places – Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/shiv-sena-calls-for-ban-on-burqa-in-public-places/articleshow/69123648.cms|access-date=2020-10-15|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-date=7 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107232124/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/shiv-sena-calls-for-ban-on-burqa-in-public-places/articleshow/69123648.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2019, the [[Muslim Educational Society]] in [[Kerala]] banned its students from wearing face-covering attire.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 3, 2019|title=Kerala Muslim Education Group Bans Face Veils On Campuses|work=[[NDTV]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA7dlL9SLkQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/rA7dlL9SLkQ |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In February 2020, Uttar Pradesh's labor minister and [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] leader [[Raghuraj Pratap Singh|Raghuraj Singh]] has called for an outright ban on women wearing burqas, suggesting that [[Terrorism in India|terrorists]] (see [[Islamophobic trope]]s) have been using them to elude authorities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UP BJP leader Raghuraj Singh seeks ban on burqa|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/feb/10/up-bjp-leader-raghuraj-singh-seeks-ban-on-burqa-2101580.html|access-date=2020-10-15|website=The New Indian Express|date=11 February 2020|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212184112/https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/feb/10/up-bjp-leader-raghuraj-singh-seeks-ban-on-burqa-2101580.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

;Karnataka hijab controversy
{{main|2022 Karnataka hijab row}}
In January 2022, a number of colleges in South-Indian state of [[Karnataka]] stopped female students wearing hijab from entering the campus. The issue has since then snow-balled into a major political controversy in India, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party describing the act of educational authorities allowing Muslim girls to wear [[religious clothing]] despite not being a part of the uniform while prohibiting girls from [[Hindus|Hindu]] and [[Religion in Karnataka|other faiths]] from doing the same amounts to institutionalised Muslim appeasement.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/karnatakas-hijab-row-fragile-regimes-latest-assault-right-choice-160646|title=Karnataka's hijab row: A fragile regime's latest assault on right to choice|website=The News Minute|archive-date=23 June 2022|access-date=6 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623131029/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/karnatakas-hijab-row-fragile-regimes-latest-assault-right-choice-160646|url-status=live}}</ref> Although there is no particular law stating the ban on hijab or any other kind of Islamic veil/dress in Karnataka, educational institutions have the right to make their own dress code. On 5 February 2022, the [[Government of Karnataka|Karnataka government]] issued an order clarifying that uniforms must be worn compulsorily where policies exist and no exception can be made for the wearing of hijab. Several schools cited this order and denied entry to Muslim girls wearing the hijab.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-05|title=Karnataka Govt Issues Order Amid Hijab Row, Says Uniform That Affects Harmony Must Be Banned|url=https://news.abplive.com/karnataka/karnataka-govt-issues-fresh-order-amid-hijab-row-says-uniform-that-affects-harmony-must-be-banned-1511101|access-date=2022-02-12|website=news.abplive.com (ABP News Bureau)|language=en|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210144127/https://news.abplive.com/karnataka/karnataka-govt-issues-fresh-order-amid-hijab-row-says-uniform-that-affects-harmony-must-be-banned-1511101|url-status=live}}</ref> War of words and protests by Muslim students protesting over hijab ban resulted in closure of all educational institutions in the state for three days and section 144 was declared near schools and colleges in [[Bengaluru]] city.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/bengaluru/story/karnataka-hijab-row-sec-144-imposed-schools-colleges-bengaluru-till-feb-22-1910821-2022-02-09|title=Karnataka hijab row: section 144 imposed around schools and colleges in Bengaluru till February 22|website=India Today|archive-date=9 February 2022|access-date=11 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209230549/https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/bengaluru/story/karnataka-hijab-row-sec-144-imposed-schools-colleges-bengaluru-till-feb-22-1910821-2022-02-09|url-status=live}}</ref> On 15 March 2022, through a verdict, the [[Karnataka High Court]] upheld the hijab ban in educational institutions as a non essential part of Islam<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/karnataka-hc-hijab-verdict-no-reasons-makes-up-rules-fundamental-rights-constitutional-law|title=Karnataka High Court hijab verdict lacks reason, makes up baseless new rules for fundamental rights|website=The Quint|archive-date=18 March 2022|access-date=18 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318133235/https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/karnataka-hc-hijab-verdict-no-reasons-makes-up-rules-fundamental-rights-constitutional-law|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/comment/hijab-row-verdict-a-grave-constitutional-wrong-1092595.html|title=Hijab verdict: a grave constitutional wrong|website=Deccan Herald|archive-date=23 March 2022|access-date=23 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323180421/https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/comment/hijab-row-verdict-a-grave-constitutional-wrong-1092595.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and suggested that wearing hijabs can be restricted in government colleges where uniforms are prescribed and ruled that "prescription of a school uniform" is a "reasonable restriction".

===Indonesia===
[[File:Traditional minang costumes.jpg|thumb|upright|The traditional dress of [[Indonesia]]n [[Minangkabau people|Minang]] (who are Muslims) women includes elaborate headcovering.]]
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque jakarta.png|thumb|Muslim girls at [[Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta|Istiqlal Mosque]] in [[Jakarta]]]]

While Islam was introduced to the [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Hindu]] [[Majapahit]] controlled island of [[Java]] by the [[Malacca Sultanate]] in the 15th- and 16th-centuries, the veiling and harem seclusion was never common except for the princely courts, and in 1954 veiling was still not a common custom.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=e52Z5QztwMwC&dq=seclusion+indonesia+harem&pg=PA36 Report on Indonesia, Volym 6–13]''</ref>  The traditional clothing for women were the ''[[kebaya]]'' and the ''[[Sarong|sarung]]'', which did not cover the shape of the body, and a loose shawl, ''[[Kerudung|kerundung]]'', which did not cover the hair, and 20th-century urban women wore Western-style clothing, and looked down upon veiling as "village like".<ref name="auto17">Sonja van Wichelen ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=zwPFDwAAQBAJ&dq=indonesia+veiling&pg=PA43 Religion, Politics and Gender in Indonesia: Disputing the Muslim Body]''</ref>  The practice of veiling became introduced to Indonesia as a part of the [[Islamic revival]] after the [[Iranian Revolution]] and the [[Grand Mosque seizure]] of 1979, and in 1982 the veil was temporarily banned in schools to prevent its introduction in Indonesia.<ref name="auto17"/>

Under Indonesian national and regional law, female head covering is entirely optional and not obligatory. The Indonesian province of [[Aceh]] encourages Muslim women to wear hijab in public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/indonesia|title=2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Indonesia|year=2022|publisher=U.S. Department of State|access-date=16 July 2025|archive-date=23 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723012324/https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/indonesia/|url-status=live}}</ref> In Indonesia, the term ''jilbab'' is used without exception to refer to the ''hijab''.<ref>John M. Echols, Hassan Shadily, ''An English-Indonesian dictionary: Kamus Inggris-Indonesia Kamus Inggris-Indonesia'' University Press: 1975, {{ISBN|0-8014-9859-7}}, 660 pages</ref> Many [[Christianity in Indonesia|Christian]] nuns refer to their habit as a ''jilbab'', perhaps out of the colloquial use of the term to refer to any religious head covering.

Some women may choose to wear a headscarf to be more "formal" or "religious", such as the ''jilbab'' or ''kerudung'' (a native tailored veil with a small, stiff visor). Such formal or cultural Muslim events may include official governmental events, funerals, circumcision (''sunatan'') ceremonies or weddings. However, wearing Islamic attire to Christian relatives' funerals and weddings and entering the church is quite uncommon.
Young girls may elect to wear the ''hijab'' publicly to avoid unwanted low-class male attention and [[sexual harassment]] and thus display their respectability as "good Muslim girls": that is, they are not "easy" conquests.<ref>S. A. Niessen, Ann Marie Leshkowich, Carla Jones, ''Re-orienting fashion: the globalization of Asian dress'': Berg Publishers: 2003: {{ISBN|1-85973-539-8}}, {{ISBN|978-1-85973-539-8}}, 283 pages pp 206–207</ref>

Islamic private school uniform code dictate that female students must wear the ''jilbab'' (commonly white or blue-grey, Indonesia's national secondary school colors), in addition to long-sleeved blouse and ankle-length skirt. Islamic schools must by law provide access to Christians (and vice versa [[Catholic Church in Indonesia|Catholic]] and [[Protestantism in Indonesia|Protestant]] schools allow Muslim students), and so it is mandated to be worn by Christian students who attend Muslim school, while its use by Muslim students is not objected to in Christian schools. In May 2021, a government decree was issued banning schools from enforcing the ''jilbab'' as part of their uniform, after reports of discrimination against girls who removed them surfaced.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 11, 2021|title=Court strikes down Indonesia hijab ban|work=[[The Australian]]|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/court-strikes-down-indonesia-hijab-ban/news-story/2d7419964edd9878348b597b1489a897}}</ref> In July 2021, [[Supreme Court of Indonesia|Indonesia's Supreme Court]] reversed a government regulation issued earlier that had allowed girls under 18 in state schools to not wear a mandatory ''jilbab.''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-07-01|title=Indonesia Supreme Court Supports Mandatory Jilbab Rule|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/01/indonesia-supreme-court-supports-mandatory-jilbab-rule|access-date=2021-09-19|website=[[Human Rights Watch]]|language=en|archive-date=27 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227130636/https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/01/indonesia-supreme-court-supports-mandatory-jilbab-rule|url-status=live}}</ref> However, based on Minister of Education and Culture Regulation Number 45 of 2014 it has been regulated that there should be no coercion in using certain religious attributes in state schools. Hence the Supreme Court's reversal can't be used to force certain religious attributes to female students in state schools and that Muslim female students wearing the ''jilbab'' is still optional.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Eko Ari Wibowo|url=https://nasional-tempo-co.translate.goog/read/1618607/kasus-siswi-dipaksa-pakai-jilbab-disdikpora-diy-siapkan-sanksi-bagi-guru-dan-sekolah?_x_tr_sl=id&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc|trans-title=In the case of female students forced to wear the hijab, the DIY Education and Youth Department prepares sanctions for teachers and schools|title=Kasus Siswi Dipaksa Pakai Jilbab, Disdikpora DIY Siapkan Sanksi bagi Guru dan Sekolah|work=tempo.co|language=id|date=2022-08-03|access-date=2024-08-08|archive-date=8 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808160658/https://nasional-tempo-co.translate.goog/read/1618607/kasus-siswi-dipaksa-pakai-jilbab-disdikpora-diy-siapkan-sanksi-bagi-guru-dan-sekolah?_x_tr_sl=id&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc|url-status=live}}</ref>

Compounding the friction and often anger toward ''baju Arab'' (Arab clothes), is the ongoing [[physical abuse|physical]] and [[Psychological abuse|emotional abuse]] of Indonesian women in [[Saudi Arabia]], as [[Foreign worker|guest workers]], commonly maids or as [[Hajj|Hajj pilgrims]] and Saudi [[Wahhabi]] intolerance for non-Saudi dress code has given rise to mass protests and fierce Indonesian debate up to the [[Indonesia–Saudi Arabia relations|highest levels of government]] about boycotting Saudi Arabia—especially the profitable all Hajj pilgrimage—as many high-status women have been physically assaulted by [[Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia)|Saudi morality police]] for nonconforming headwear or even applying lip balm, leading some to comment on the post–[[Pan-Arabism|pan Arabist]] repressiveness of certain Arab nations due to excessively rigid, narrow, and erroneous interpretation of [[Sharia]] law.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insideindonesia.org/content/view/223/29|title=Insideindonesia.org|website=InsideIndonesia.org|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=11 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411044104/http://www.insideindonesia.org/content/view/223/29|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Iran===
{{main|Hijab in Iran}}

{{See also|Kashf-e hijab|Fashion in Iran|}}
[[File:Two Iranian women.jpg|thumb|Two young women wearing hijabs in [[Tehran]]]]
 
In Iran, since 1981, after the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]], the hijab has become compulsory. All women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a headscarf in public.<ref name="Ramezani10">Ramezani, Reza (2010). ''Hijab dar Iran az Enqelab-e Eslami ta payan Jang-e Tahmili [Hijab in Iran from the Islamic Revolution to the end of the Imposed war]'' (Persian), Faslnamah-e Takhassusi-ye Banuvan-e Shi’ah [Quarterly Journal of Shiite Women], Qom: Muassasah-e Shi’ah Shinasi, {{ISSN|1735-4730}}</ref><ref name="Milani">Milani, Farzaneh (1992). ''Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers'', Syracuse, New York: [[Syracuse University Press]], p. 19, 34–37, {{ISBN|9780815602668}}</ref>
 
During the [[Middle Ages]], [[Turkic peoples|Turkic nomadic tribes]] from [[Central Asia]] arrived, whose women did not wear headscarves.<ref name="Heath">Heath, Jennifer (2008). ''The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics'', Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, p. 66, 252–253, 256, 260, {{ISBN|9780520255180}}</ref><ref name="Keddie">Keddie, Nikki R. (2005). "2. The past and present of women in the Muslim world" in Moghissi, Haideh: ''Women and Islam: Images and realities'', Vol. 1, p. 53-79, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: [[Routledge]]; [[Taylor & Francis]], {{ISBN|9780415324199}}</ref> However, after the [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] centralization in the 16th century, the headscarf became defined as the standard head dress for many religious women in urban areas all around the [[Safavid Iran|Iranian Empire]].<ref>Mitchell, Colin P. (2011). ''New Perspectives on Safavid Iran: Empire and Society'', Abingdon, Oxon; New York: [[Taylor & Francis]], p. 98-99, 104, {{ISBN|9780415774628}}</ref> Exceptions to this were seen only in the villages and among nomadic tribes,<ref name="Heath"/><ref name="Keddie"/><ref name="Floor">Floor, Willem M. (2003). ''Agriculture in Qajar Iran'', Washington, DC: Mage Publishers, p. 113, 268, {{ISBN|9780934211789}}</ref><ref name="Chehabi">Chehabi, Houchang Esfandiar (2003): "11. The Banning of the Veil and Its Consequences" in Cronin, Stephanie: ''The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921–1941'', p. 203-221, London; New York: [[Routledge]]; [[Taylor & Francis]], {{ISBN|9780415302845}}</ref><ref name="Bullock">Bullock, Katherine (2002). ''Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical & Modern Stereotypes'', Herndon, Virginia; London: [[International Institute of Islamic Thought]], p. 90-91, {{ISBN|9781565642874}}</ref> such as [[Qashqai people|Qashqai]]. Covering the whole face was rare among the Iranians and was mostly restricted to [[Iranian Arabs|local Arabs]] and [[Afghans in Iran|local Afghans]]. Later, during the economic crisis in the late 19th century under the [[Qajar family|Qajar dynasty]], the poorest religious urban women could not afford headscarves.<ref name="Floor"/><ref>''Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers'', Syracuse, New York: [[Syracuse University Press]], p. 19, 34–37, {{ISBN|9780815602668}}</ref>

On 8 January 1936,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://navideshahed.com/en/news/385296/how-did-reza-pahlavi%E2%80%99s-dictatorship-affect-iranian-women|title=How did Reza Pahlavi's dictatorship affect Iranian women?|website=navideshahed.com|access-date=6 May 2018|archive-date=3 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103183129/https://navideshahed.com/en/news/385296/how-did-reza-pahlavi%e2%80%99s-dictatorship-affect-iranian-women|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Reza Shah]] issued a decree, [[Kashf-e hijab]], banning all veils.<ref name="Hoodfar">[[Homa Hoodfar|Hoodfar, Homa]] (fall 1993). ''The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women'', Resources for feminist research (RFR) / Documentation sur la recherche féministe (DRF), Vol. 22, n. 3/4, p. 5-18, Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE), {{ISSN|0707-8412}}</ref><ref name="Milani"/><ref name="Paidar">Paidar, Parvin (1995): ''Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran'', Cambridge Middle East studies, Vol. 1, Cambridge, UK; New York: [[Cambridge University Press]], p. 106-107, 214–215, 218–220, {{ISBN|9780521473408}}</ref><ref name="Majd">Majd, Mohammad Gholi (2001). ''Great Britain and Reza Shah: The Plunder of Iran, 1921–1941'', Gainesville: [[University Press of Florida]], p. 209-213, 217–218, {{ISBN|9780813021119}}</ref><ref name="CurtisHooglund">Curtis, Glenn E.; Hooglund, Eric (2008). ''Iran: A Country Study'', 5th ed, Area handbook series, Washington, DC: [[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]], p. 28, 116–117, {{ISBN|9780844411873}}</ref> The ban was left in place for a period of five years, from 1936 to 1941.

Official measures were relaxed in 1941 under Reza Shah's successor, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], and the wearing of a headscarf or [[chador]] was no longer an offence, but was still considered an indicator of backwardness or of membership of the lower class.<ref name="El Guindi">El Guindi, Fadwa (1999). ''Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance'', Oxford; New York: [[Berg Publishers]]; [[Bloomsbury Academic]], p. 3, 13–16, 130, 174–176, {{ISBN|9781859739242}}</ref> In the 1970s, the chador was usually a patterned or of a lighter color such as white or beige; black chadors were typically reserved for mourning and only became more acceptable everyday wear starting in the mid-1970s—however, in the period before the [[Iranian Revolution]] the black chador's usage outside of the city of [[Qom]] was associated with allegiance with political Islam and was stigmatized by areas of Iranian society. Discrimination against women wearing the headscarf or chador occurred, with public institutions discouraging their use, and some eating establishments refusing to admit women who wore them.<ref name="Hoodfar"/><ref name="Ramezani8">Ramezani, Reza (2008). ''Hijab dar Iran, dar doure-ye Pahlavi-ye dovvom [Hijab in Iran, the second Pahlavi era]'' (Persian), Faslnamah-e Takhassusi-ye Banuvan-e Shi’ah [Quarterly Journal of Shiite Women], Qom: Muassasah-e Shi’ah Shinasi, {{ISSN|1735-4730}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the revolution, hijab was made compulsory in stages.<ref name="Milani"/> In 1979, [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]] announced that women should observe Islamic dress code. Almost immediately after, starting from 8 March 1979 ([[International Women's Day]]), thousands of women began [[International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979|protesting against mandatory Hijab]]. The protests lasted six days, until 14 March. The demonstrations were met by government assurances that the statement was only a recommendation.<ref name="Milani"/><ref name=Algar84>Algar, Hamid (2001). ''Roots of the Islamic Revolution in Iran: Four Lectures'', Oneonta, New York: Islamic Publications International (IPI), p. 84, {{ISBN|9781889999265}}</ref> However, according to one source, rules on wearing hijab are "tantamount" to the Islamic Republic's "raison d'etat".{{clarify|date=September 2022}} Two slogans of the 1979 revolution were: "Wear a veil, or we will punch your head" and "Death to the unveiled".<ref name="DW-2020">{{cite news |title=Why Iranian authorities force women to wear a veil |url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-iranian-authorities-force-women-to-wear-a-veil/a-56014027 |access-date=30 August 2021 |agency=DW |date=21 December 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108111409/https://www.dw.com/en/why-iranian-authorities-force-women-to-wear-a-veil/a-56014027 |url-status=live }}</ref> Under Book 5, article 638, women in Iran who do not wear a hijab may be imprisoned from 10 days to two months, and/or required to pay fines from 50,000 up to 500,000 [[Iranian rial|rials]] adjusted for inflation.<ref name="article_638_iran_law">{{cite book |title=Book #5 of the Islamic Penal Code (Sanctions and deterrent penalties) | language =fa|article=638}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-justice/resource/the_islamic_penal_code_of_iran_book_5|title=The Islamic Penal Code of Iran, Book 5|date=January 2013|access-date=30 August 2021|archive-date=17 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817072210/https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-justice/resource/the_islamic_penal_code_of_iran_book_5|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1983, the Islamic Consultative Assembly decided that women who do not cover their hair in public will be punished with 74 lashes. Since 1995, unveiled women can also be imprisoned for close to 60 days.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knipp |first=Kersten |date=21 December 2020 |title=Why Iranian authorities force women to wear a veil |url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-iranian-authorities-force-women-to-wear-a-veil/a-56014027 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108111409/https://www.dw.com/en/why-iranian-authorities-force-women-to-wear-a-veil/a-56014027 |archive-date=8 November 2022 |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en-GB}}</ref>

;White Wednesday
In May 2017, [[My Stealthy Freedom]], an Iranian online movement advocating for women's freedom of choice, created the [[My Stealthy Freedom|White Wednesday]] movement: a campaign that invites men and women to wear white [[veil]]s, [[Scarf|scarves]], or [[bracelet]]s to show their opposition to the mandatory forced veiling code.<ref name=":0b">{{Cite news |last=Alimardani |first=Mahsa |date=30 January 2018 |title=The 'Girls of Revolution Street' Protest Iran's Compulsory Hijab Laws |url=https://globalvoices.org/2018/01/30/the-girls-of-enghelab-street-protest-irans-compulsory-hijab-laws/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130230332/https://globalvoices.org/2018/01/30/the-girls-of-enghelab-street-protest-irans-compulsory-hijab-laws/ |archive-date=30 January 2018 |access-date=11 March 2018 |work=Global Voices}}</ref> The movement was geared toward women who proudly wear their veils, but reject the idea that all women in [[Iran]] should be subject to forced veiling.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sofia Lotto Persio |date=14 June 2017 |title=On Wednesday we wear white: Women in Iran challenge compulsory hijab |url=http://www.newsweek.com/women-iran-wear-white-wednesdays-challenge-compulsory-hijab-625453 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309062541/http://www.newsweek.com/women-iran-wear-white-wednesdays-challenge-compulsory-hijab-625453 |archive-date=9 March 2018 |access-date=11 March 2018 |work=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> [[Masih Alinejad]], an Iranian-born journalist and activist based in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] and the [[United States|US]], created the movement to protest Iran's mandatory [[hijab]] rule.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-white-wednesday-iran-women-are-fighting-for-the-freedom-to-dress-how-they-want-7767786|title=Why This One Video of a Woman Protesting in Iran Is Going Viral|last=Kasana|first=Mehreen|work=Bustle|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=12 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312083131/https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-white-wednesday-iran-women-are-fighting-for-the-freedom-to-dress-how-they-want-7767786|url-status=live}}</ref> She described her 2017 movement via [[Facebook]], saying, "This campaign is addressed to women who willingly wear the veil, but who remain opposed to the idea of imposing it on others. Many veiled women in Iran also find the compulsory imposition of the veil to be an insult. By taking videos of themselves wearing white, these women can also show their disagreement with compulsion."<ref name=":1" /> The campaign resulted in Iranian women posting pictures and videos of themselves wearing pieces of white clothing to [[social media]].<ref name=":0b" />

;Compulsory female veiling
{{main|Iranian protests against compulsory hijab}}

On 27 December 2017, 31-year-old [[Vida Movahed]], also known as "The Girl of [[Enghelab Street]]" was arrested for being unveiled in public after a video of the woman went viral on social media.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/iran-29-women-arrested-over-anti-hijab-protests-inspired-by-girl-enghelab-street-1658143|title=Iran: 29 women arrested over anti-hijab protests inspired by 'girl of Enghelab Street'|last=Gerretsen|first=Isabelle|date=1 February 2018|work=International Business Times UK|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235410/https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/iran-29-women-arrested-over-anti-hijab-protests-inspired-by-girl-enghelab-street-1658143|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thearabweekly.com/vida-movahed-woman-who-sparked-anti-hijab-protests-iran|title=Vida Movahed, the woman who sparked anti-hijab protests in Iran {{!}} The Arab Weekly|work=The Arab Weekly|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=12 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312083207/https://thearabweekly.com/vida-movahed-woman-who-sparked-anti-hijab-protests-iran|url-status=live}}</ref> The video showed Movahed silently waving her hijab, a white headscarf that she had removed from her head and placed on a stick, for one hour on Enqelab Street, Tehran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.axios.com/hijab-protests-in-iran-da243ead-3bf2-4e3f-9115-e117e7f9cc62.html|title=The high stakes of hijab protests in Iran|website=Axios|date=17 February 2018|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=17 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217232010/https://www.axios.com/hijab-protests-in-iran-da243ead-3bf2-4e3f-9115-e117e7f9cc62.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> At first it was assumed that her act was connected to the widespread protests taking place in Iran, but Movahed confirmed that she performed the act in support of the 2017 [[My Stealthy Freedom|White Wednesday]] campaign.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40218711|title=Why Iranian women are wearing white on Wednesdays|last=Hatam|first=Nassim|date=14 June 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=10 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310003517/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40218711|url-status=live}}</ref> Vida's arrest sparked outrage from social media, where many Iranians shared footage of her protest along with the hashtag "#Where_Is_She?". On 28 January 2018, [[Nasrin Sotoudeh]], a renowned [[human rights]] lawyer, posted on Facebook that Vida had been released.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/NasrinSotoudehOfficial/posts/832433473629861|title=Nasrin Sotoudeh نسرین ستوده|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=25 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725142947/https://www.facebook.com/NasrinSotoudehOfficial/posts/832433473629861|url-status=live}}</ref> It was not until a few weeks later that Sotoudeh revealed the girl's identity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2018/Jan-22/434875-iran-lawyer-raises-concern-over-missing-hijab-protester.ashx|title=Iran lawyer raises concern over missing hijab protester|date=22 January 2018|work=The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235413/http://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Middle-East/2018/Jan-22/434875-iran-lawyer-raises-concern-over-missing-hijab-protester.ashx|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the following weeks, multiple people re-enacted Vida's public display of removing their hijabs and waving them in the air.<ref name=":2" /> On 1 February 2018, the [[Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian police]] released a statement saying that they had arrested 29 people, mostly women, for removing their headscarves, contrary to Iranian law.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-police-arrest-hijab-head-scarf-protest-tehran/29013882.html|title=Iranian Police Arrest 29 Women Protesting Against Veiling Law|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235409/https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-police-arrest-hijab-head-scarf-protest-tehran/29013882.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One woman, Shima Babaei, was arrested after removing her headdress in front of a court as a symbol of her continued dedication to the cause.

On 23 February 2018, Iranian Police released an official statement saying that any women found protesting Iran's compulsory veiling code would be charged with "inciting corruption and prostitution", which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/02/iran-dozens-of-women-ill-treated-and-at-risk-of-long-jail-terms-for-peacefully-protesting-compulsory-veiling/|title=Iran: Dozens of women ill-treated and at risk of long jail terms for peacefully protesting compulsory veiling|website=www.amnesty.org|date=26 February 2018|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929100050/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/02/iran-dozens-of-women-ill-treated-and-at-risk-of-long-jail-terms-for-peacefully-protesting-compulsory-veiling/|url-status=live}}</ref> Before this change, according to article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, "Anyone in public places and roads who openly commits a ''[[Haram|harām]]'' (sinful) act, in addition to the punishment provided for the act, shall be sentenced to two months imprisonment or up to 74&nbsp;lashes; and if they commit an act that is not punishable but violates public prudency, they shall only be sentenced ten days to two months' imprisonment or up to 74&nbsp;lashes. Note- Women who appear in public places and roads without wearing an Islamic ''hijab'', shall be sentenced ten days to two months' imprisonment or a fine of five hundred to fifty thousand rials."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/human-rights-documents/iranian-codes/1000000351-islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five.html#.U0QcO6hdWdE|title=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center – Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Book Five|website=www.iranhrdc.org|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310195447/http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/human-rights-documents/iranian-codes/1000000351-islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five.html#.U0QcO6hdWdE|archive-date=10 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the announcement, multiple women reported being subjected to physical abuse by police following their arrests.<ref name=":3" /> Some have since been sentenced to multiple years in prison for their acts of defiance.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/03/woman-who-removed-headscarf-in-public-sentenced-to-prison-as-supreme-leader-tries-to-diminish-hijab-protests/ |title=Woman Who Removed Headscarf in Public Sentenced to Prison as Supreme Leader Tries to Diminish Hijab Protests – Center for Human Rights in Iran |website=www.iranhumanrights.org |access-date=11 March 2018 |date=10 March 2018 |archive-date=10 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310191139/https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/03/woman-who-removed-headscarf-in-public-sentenced-to-prison-as-supreme-leader-tries-to-diminish-hijab-protests/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In one video, a woman stands on top of a tall box, unveiled, waving her white scarf at passers by. The video then shows a man in a police uniform tackling the woman to the ground.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-25/iran-chides-police-for-using-force-against-female-veil-protester|title=Iran Chides Police for Using Force Against Female Veil Protester|date=25 February 2018|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=13 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313024740/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-25/iran-chides-police-for-using-force-against-female-veil-protester|url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly after the video went viral, the [[Ministry of Interior (Iran)]] scolded police for using physical force against the woman. Salman Samani, a spokesman for Ministry released a statement on 25 February 2018 saying "No one has a license to act against the law even in the role of an officer dealing with crimes."<ref name=":6" />

On 8 March 2018, a video of three [[Women in Iran|Iranian women]] singing a [[Feminism|feminist]] fight song in Tehran's subway went viral on social media.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-womens-day-hijab-protest-tehran-subway/29089222.html|title=Feminist Trio Takes Defiant Song To Tehran's Subway, Video Goes Viral|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|access-date=11 March 2018|last1=Esfandiari|first1=Golnaz|archive-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311070308/https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-womens-day-hijab-protest-tehran-subway/29089222.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The women were singing in honor of [[International Women's Day]] and to highlight women's continued challenges caused by forced veiling and other discriminatory laws against women.<ref name=":5" /> The video, in which three bare-headed Iranian women sing ''I am a Woman'', calls upon women to join efforts to fight injustice and create "another world" of "[[Gender equality|equality]]". The women hold hands, display pictures of a previous [[women's rights]] protest, and ask the other women on the subway train to clap in honor of "having lived and fought all their lives against all kinds of discrimination, violence, humiliation, and insults." At the end of the video, one of the protestors is heard saying "Happy Women's Day to all of you."<ref name=":5" />

That same day, the [[Supreme Leader of Iran]], [[Ali Khamenei]], made a speech during a gathering of religious poets in Tehran, posting a series of [[Twitter|tweets]] in response to the series of peaceful hijab protests.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/khamenei-claims-iran-enemies-behind-hijab-protests/29088809.html|title=Khamenei Claims Iran's 'Enemies' Behind Anti-Hijab Protests|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311071340/https://www.rferl.org/a/khamenei-claims-iran-enemies-behind-hijab-protests/29088809.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Khamenei defended the dress code, praising Islam for keeping women "[[Modesty|modest]]" and in their "defined roles" such as educators and mothers. He also lashed out at the [[Western world]] for, in his view, leading its own women astray.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/03/08/irans-leader-finds-another-western-threat-the-activist-energy-of-international-womens-day/|title=Iran's supreme leader in tweetstorm: Western countries lead women to 'deviant lifestyle'|last=Cunningham|first=Erin|date=8 March 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=11 March 2018|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311082918/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/03/08/irans-leader-finds-another-western-threat-the-activist-energy-of-international-womens-day/|url-status=live}}</ref> "The features of today's Iranian woman include modesty, chastity, eminence, protecting herself from abuse by men", Khamenei tweeted. He claimed that the most sought after characteristic of a Western woman is her ability to physically attract men.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor|title=Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) {{!}} Twitter|website=twitter.com|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=18 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718155425/https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also outside of Iran, in June 2022, when [[Melika Balali]], an Iranian-Scottish wrestler, became the British champion she protested in the match against compulsory hijab by raising a sign with writing on it "Stop forcing hijab, I have the right to be a wrestler".<ref>{{Cite web |title='I Learned Freedom in the UK': Iranian-Born Wrestler Melika Balali on Taking a Stand Against Forced Hijab |url=https://iranwire.com/en/women/105316-i-learned-freedom-in-the-uk-iranian-born-wrestler-melika-balali-on-taking-a-stand-against-forced-hijab |website=Iran wire}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=قهرمان ایرانی‌تبار کشتی بریتانیا خواستار آزادی انتخاب پوشش در ایران شد |url=https://www.radiofarda.com/a/melika-balali-iranian-champion-women-s-wrestling-champion-in-britain/31920772.html |newspaper=رادیو فردا}}</ref>

The [[Iranian protests against compulsory hijab]] continued into the [[September 2022 Iranian protests]] which was triggered by the alleged killing of [[Mahsa Amini]], who fell into a coma and died shortly after she was violently arrested by the [[Guidance Patrol|Morality Police]] and accused of wearing an "improper hijab".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Strzyżyńska |first1=Weronika |title=Iranian woman dies 'after being beaten by morality police' over hijab law |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/sep/16/iranian-woman-dies-after-being-beaten-by-morality-police-over-hijab-law |website=The Guardian |access-date=30 October 2023 |date=16 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920020636/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/sep/16/iranian-woman-dies-after-being-beaten-by-morality-police-over-hijab-law |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2024 [[Masoud Pezeshkian]], President of Iran, said that the [[Guidance Patrol|Morality Police]] would no longer bother women who did not wear hijab and that they were no longer supposed to confront women who do not adhere to hijab laws.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran's morality police will not 'bother' women, president says |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnn3562yjo |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=www.bbc.com |date=16 September 2024 |language=en-GB |archive-date=2 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002154758/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnn3562yjo |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Iraq===
[[File:Iraqi Women (29910186726).jpg|thumb|Iraqi women wearing hijab in [[Baghdad]]]]

The Iraqi sociologist [[Ali Al-Wardi]] mentioned that [[women in Iraq]] were not used to wearing the form of veiling known as the [[hijab]], as the hijab was not common before the 1930s, and the hijab was only widespread among the wives of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] employees and clerics during the Ottoman period.<ref name="A Study into the Nature of Iraqi Society, pg. 270">[[Ali al-Wardi]] 1965, pg. 270</ref>

In the 1920s, when the Iraqi women's movement begun under the [[Women's Awakening Club]], the opposing conservatives accused it of wanting to unveil women.<ref>Noga Efrati: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=weoC4c745zcC&dq=women+baghdad+1934&pg=PT272 Women in Iraq: Past Meets Present]''</ref>

Majda al-Haidari, wife of [[Raouf al-Chadirchi]], has sometimes been said to be the first woman in Baghdad to have appeared unveiled in the 1930s,<ref name="auto">Haifa Zangana: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5VHz9DaQHDQC&dq=iraq+history+veil&pg=PT20 City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance]''</ref> but the [[Popular Unity Party (Iraq)|Communist]] Amina al-Rahal, sister of [[Husain al-Rahhal|Husain al-Rahal]], have also been named as the first unveiled role model in [[Baghdad]].<ref>Zahra Ali: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xrBoDwAAQBAJ&dq=iraq+qasim+Ba%27ath+Party+veil&pg=PA47 Women and Gender in Iraq: Between Nation-Building and Fragmentation]''</ref> In the 1930s and 1940s, female College students gradually started to appear unveiled,<ref name="auto"/> and most upper- and middle class urban women in Iraq were said to be unveiled by 1963.<ref>Gustav Adolph Sallas, United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PXUCZngdyggC&dq=iraq+history+veil&pg=PA5 Labor Law and Practice in Iraq]'', 1963, s. 5</ref> 
In early [[Ba'athist Iraq]] (1968–1979), the Secular Socialist [[Baath Party (Iraq)|Baath Party]] women were officially stated to be equal to men, and urban women were normally unveiled.<ref name="Sexuality, Health and Human Rights">Sonia Corrêa, Rosalind Petchesky, Richard Parker: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NqR4BkJYHaoC&dq=iraq+unveiled+women+baath&pg=PA258 Sexuality, Health and Human Rights]'', s. 258</ref><ref name="books.google.com">Jennifer Heath: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PJ7ssQn7V1MC&q=+veil+iraq&pg=PA332 The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics]'', s. 37</ref><ref name="ReferenceE">Brian Glyn Williams: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_x82DQAAQBAJ&dq=iraq+qasim+Ba%27ath+Party+veil&pg=PA21 Counter Jihad: America's Military Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria]'', s. 21</ref>

After the [[Iraq War|fall]] of [[Saddam Hussein]] in 2003, there was a surge in threats and harassment of unveiled women, and the use of hijab became common in Iraq.<ref>Sherifa Zuhur: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=f77YE92sEGIC&dq=iraq+unveiled+women&pg=PA30 Iraq, Women's Empowerment, and Public Policy]''</ref> In 2017, the [[Iraqi Ground Forces|Iraqi army]] imposed a burqa ban in the liberated areas of [[Mosul]] for the [[Islamic calendar|Islamic month]] of [[Ramadan]]. Police stated that the temporary ban was for security measures, so that [[Islamic State|ISIS]] bombers could not disguise themselves as women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-army-mosul-ramadan-burqa-ban-isis-use-attacks-suicide-bomb-shooting-islamic-state-a7766461.html|title=Iraqi army imposes Ramadan 'burqa ban' in Mosul fearing Isis will use it for attacks|date=1 June 2017|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=10 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110014838/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-army-mosul-ramadan-burqa-ban-isis-use-attacks-suicide-bomb-shooting-islamic-state-a7766461.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Iraq in general does not have laws pertaining to headscarves; however, it is advised to wear hijab in the holy cities of [[Najaf]] and [[Karbala]].

=== Israel ===
{{Further|Islam in Israel|Islam in Palestine}}

[[File:TiraMarket.jpg|thumb|175px|Mannequins with traditional Muslim [[veil]] and hoods at a Saturday market in [[Tira, Israel|Tira]]]]In July 2010, some Israeli lawmakers and women's rights activists proposed a bill to the [[Knesset]] banning face-covering veils. According to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', the measure was generally "regarded as highly unlikely to become law." Chana Kehat, founder of the Jewish women's rights group [[Kolech]], criticized a ban and also commented "fashion also often oppresses women with norms which lead to anorexia." Eilat Maoz, general coordinator for the [[Coalition of Women for Peace]], referred to a ban as "a joke" that would constitute racism.<ref>{{cite news |title=MKs discuss France-like burka ban |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=181604 |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |archive-date=19 October 2012 |access-date=18 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019171225/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=181604 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Jordan ===
[[File:WRK2975.jpg|left|thumb|Jordanian computer engineering graduates]]There are no laws requiring the wearing of headscarves nor any banning such from any public institution.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

In the 1950s, the [[Dina bint Abdul-Hamid|Queen of Jordan]] appeared unveiled in public for the first time, and after this, it became acceptable for educated urban women to appear unveiled.<ref>Lina Edward Khamis: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=YiRZDwAAQBAJ&dq=jordan+veil+queen+unveiled&pg=PA21 Cultural Policy in Jordan: System, Process, and Policy]'', p. 21</ref> The use of the headscarf increased during the 1980s in response to the [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]]. However, the use of the headscarf is generally prevalent among the lower and lower-middle class. Veils covering the face as well as the ''[[chador]]'' are extremely rare. It is widely believed that the Hijab is increasingly becoming a fashion and cultural statement rather than a religious one in Jordan with some Jordanian women wearing stylish headscarves along with modern-style clothing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marketplace.org/2008/02/29/jordan-hijabs-inspire-style/|title=In Jordan, hijabs inspire style|website=marketplace.org|date=29 February 2008|access-date=22 November 2022|archive-date=23 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123013352/https://www.marketplace.org/2008/02/29/jordan-hijabs-inspire-style/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Kazakhstan ===
[[File:Kazakh women.jpg|thumb|[[Women in Kazakhstan|Kazakh women]] wearing [[kimeshek]] (traditional headgear of married woman)]]
The word "hijab" was used only for certain style of ''hijab'', and such style of hijab was not commonly worn by Muslims there until the fall of the [[Soviet Union]]. Some Islamic adherents (like [[Uzbeks]]) used to wear the [[paranja]], while others ([[Chechens]], [[Karachays|Kara-Chai]], [[Tajiks]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Turkmens]], etc.) wore traditional scarves the same way as a [[Kerchief|bandana]] and have their own traditional styles of headgear which are not called by the word ''hijab''.
In the 1920s during the Soviet era, a series of policies and actions were taken by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], initiated by [[Joseph Stalin]], to remove all manifestations of [[gender inequality]], especially on the systems of female [[veil]]ing and seclusion practiced in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="Subaltern">[[#Subaltern|Northrop (2001a)]], p. 115.</ref>

In September 2017, schools in some regions of Kazakhstan banned girls wearing headscarves from further attendance. Attempts by Muslim parents to challenge the ban had failed {{As of|2018|04|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2018|title=KAZAKHSTAN: Parents challenge schoolgirl headscarf ban|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5af009144.html|website=[[UN Refugee Agency]]|publisher=[[Forum 18]]|language=en}}</ref> In February 2018, the government proposed a ban on people wearing ''niqabs'' and similar forms of female dress in public.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Almaz Kumenov|date=February 15, 2018|title=Kazakhstan Steps Up Campaign Against Ultra-Orthodox Islam|url=https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-steps-up-campaign-against-ultra-orthodox-islam|website=Eurasianet|language=en|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921061954/https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-steps-up-campaign-against-ultra-orthodox-islam|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 18 October 2023, a ban was begun on hijabs for students and teachers in schools.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weisskopf |first1=Anatolij |title=Kazakhstan announces ban on hijabs in schools |url=https://www.dw.com/en/kazakhstan-announces-ban-on-hijabs-in-schools/a-67175196 |website=www.dw.com |publisher=DW |access-date=20 November 2024 |archive-date=4 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241104173728/https://www.dw.com/en/kazakhstan-announces-ban-on-hijabs-in-schools/a-67175196 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Kuwait===
During the liberal nationalist era in the 1950s and 1960s, the unveiling of Kuwaiti women was viewed as a natural part of the progress of Kuwait as a new independent nation;<ref name="unveiling" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQ9tAAAAIAAJ&q=Kuwait+is+a+primary+example+of+a+Muslim+society+which+embraced+liberal+and+Western+attitudes+throughout+the+sixties+and+seventies.|title=Muslim Education Quarterly |publisher=Islamic Academy |date=1990 |volume=8 |page=61}}</ref> Kuwaiti feminists like [[Lulwah Al-Qatami]] and Fatima Hussain burned their veils and abaya in public.<ref name="ReferenceA">Deborah L. Wheeler: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=v6aWc8fM1iEC&dq=veil+kuwait&pg=PA99 Internet in the Middle East, The: Global Expectations And Local Imaginations ...]'', s. 98–101</ref><ref name="qatami">{{Cite journal|title=A Kuwaiti Pioneer: An Interview with Lulwa Al-Qatami|url=https://www.kockw.com/sites/EN/Periodicals/July%20September%202016.pdf|page=11|journal=The Kuwait Digest|volume=July - September 2016|archive-date=17 January 2024|access-date=25 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117202706/https://www.kockw.com/sites/EN/Periodicals/July%20September%202016.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The majority of Kuwaiti women did not wear the hijab in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Rubin |editor-first=Barry |url={{google books|wEih57-GWQQC|page=306|plainurl=yes}} |title=Guide to Islamist Movements |volume=1 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=Armonk, New York |date=2010 |page=306 |isbn=978-0-7656-4138-0}}</ref><ref name="unveiling">{{cite book |first=Deborah L. |last=Wheeler |url={{google books|v6aWc8fM1iEC|page=99|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Internet in the Middle East: Global Expectations And Local Imaginations |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany, New York |page=99 |isbn=978-0-7914-6586-8|year=2006}}</ref> At [[Kuwait University]] throughout the 1960s and most of the 1970s, [[miniskirt]]s were more common than the hijab.<ref>{{cite news |first=Evan |last=Osnos |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/07/11/in-kuwait-conservatism-a-launch-pad-to-success/|title=In Kuwait, conservatism a launch pad to success |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=11 July 2004|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701080119/https://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-07-11/news/0407110232_1_kuwait-university-mutairi-kuwaiti/2 |archive-date=1 July 2015 }}</ref>

This development gradually turned around due to the growing Islamization of Kuwaiti society, which made veiling the norm again by the mid-to-late 1990s in response to the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic revolution in Iran]] and the [[Grand Mosque seizure]].<ref name="ReferenceA" /> In 1978, [[Sheikh]]a Latifa Al-Sabah, then-wife<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 February 1992|title=Filipina maid allegedly kills member of Kuwait's ruling family|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/02/15/Filipina-maid-allegedly-kills-member-of-Kuwaits-ruling-family/4846698130000/|access-date=15 December 2020|website=UPI|language=en|archive-date=27 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127185553/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/02/15/Filipina-maid-allegedly-kills-member-of-Kuwaits-ruling-family/4846698130000/|url-status=live}}</ref> of Emir [[Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah]], established the Islamic Care Association, seeking to spread Islam along with the associated lifestyle and conduct of Muslim life.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhw3DwAAQBAJ&dq=kuwait+the+Islamic+Care+Association+sabah&pg=PP88|title=Islam, Democracy and the Status of Women: The Case of Kuwait|author=Helen M. Rizzo|date=2017|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135873899 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=brzPDwAAQBAJ&dq=kuwait+the+Islamic+Care+Association+sabah&pg=PT32|title=Gender and Politics in Kuwait: Women and Political Participation in the Gulf|author=Meshal Al-Sabah|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780857734051 }}</ref> However in recent decades, an increasing number of Kuwaiti women have been unveiling or choosing to not wear the hijab;<ref>{{Cite web|year=2019| url=https://purehost.bath.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/228555610/FINAL_PHD_THESIS_DOHA_SALEH_ALMUTAWAA_28_OCT_2019_Redacted.pdf|title=Negotiating Gender Relations through Resisting Gendered Rituals: A Study of ExHijabi Arab-Muslim Women|work=[[University of Bath]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1 May 2023|title=Paradoxes of (un)veiling and the extended self: the experiences of Arab-Muslim women in Kuwait|url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIMA-07-2022-0196/full/pdf?title=paradoxes-of-unveiling-and-the-extended-self-the-experiences-of-arab-muslim-women-in-kuwait|journal=Journal of Islamic Marketing|doi=10.1108/JIMA-07-2022-0196 |language=en |last1=Almutawaa |first1=Doha Saleh |last2=Nuttall |first2=Peter |last3=Mamali |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Al-Mutawa |first4=Fajer Saleh |last5=Aljuma |first5=Doha Husain Makki |pages=172–191 |volume=15 |issue=ahead-of-print |s2cid=258410794 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 March 2004|title=Letter from Kuwait City: The hijab reveals a lot about young women|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/letter-from-kuwait-city-the-hijab-reveals-a-lot-about-young-women-1.317668|work=[[Gulf News]]|quote=More Kuwaiti women today are choosing not to wear the hijab.|access-date=25 October 2023|archive-date=30 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030092920/https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/letter-from-kuwait-city-the-hijab-reveals-a-lot-about-young-women-1.317668|url-status=live}}</ref> including the daughter of Kuwaiti [[Muslim Brotherhood]] leader [[Tareq Al-Suwaidan]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 May 2017|url=https://www.globalmbwatch.com/2017/05/11/daughter-of-kuwaiti-muslim-brotherhood-removes-headscarf-muslim-brotherhood-not-happy-with-decision/|title=Daughter of Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood Removes Headscarf - Muslim Brotherhood Not Happy With Decision|work=The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Watch }}</ref>

As the first Kuwaiti women in [[National Assembly (Kuwait)|parliament]], [[Rola Dashti]] and [[Aseel al-Awadhi]] did not wear a [[hijab]] when they took their seats as MPs in the National Assembly in 2008. This decision was criticized by several [[Islamist]] MPs, including [[Ali al-Omair]]. In 2009, Kuwait's top court officially ruled that veiling is optional not mandatory among Kuwaiti women MPs in parliament.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-43503920091028|title=Kuwait rejects call to force head cover on women MPs|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=28 October 2009}}</ref>

=== Kyrgyzstan ===
The word "hijab" was used only for certain style of ''hijab'', and such style of hijab was not commonly worn by Muslims there until the fall of the [[Soviet Union]]. Some Islamic adherents (like [[Uzbeks]]) used to wear the [[paranja]], while others (Chechens, Kara-Chai, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, etc.) wore traditional scarves the same way as a bandanna and have own traditional styles of headgear which are not called by the word ''hijab''.
In the 1920s during the Soviet era, a series of policies and actions taken by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], initiated by [[Joseph Stalin]], to remove all manifestations of [[gender inequality]], especially on the systems of female [[veil]]ing and seclusion practiced in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="Subaltern" />

Some schools reportedly banned Muslim students from attending classes in 2011 and 2012 over their headscarf. A school in [[Kara-Suu]] officially banned wearing the ''hijab'' for classes in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-04-29|title=Hijab ban in Kyrgyz school irks Muslims|url=https://en.irna.ir/news/81590526/Hijab-ban-in-Kyrgyz-school-irks-Muslims|website=[[Islamic Republic News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref>

===Lebanon===
[[File:A Beiruti Woman 19th Century.jpg|thumb|A Lebanese woman in Beirut wearing a traditional head covering, 19th century]]
There is no law requiring the veiling of women in Lebanon, and women are free to dress as they wish. Many women choose not to veil. However, 32.4% of Lebanon's population is in fact [[Christianity in Lebanon|Christian]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Lebanon |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/lebanon/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=U.S. Department of State |language=en |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210022650/https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/lebanon/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Unveiled Muslim women started to appear in Lebanon in the 1920s, but it was a controversial development. During the [[Interwar period]], Syria and Lebanon became scenes of the right to unveil in the Muslim world. Women's rights activists in the modernist Interwar period viewed the veil as a hindrance to women's participation in society as productive citizens, preventing them from benefiting a successful independent nation, and combined their criticism against hijab with their criticism against colonialism.<ref name="Mapping Arab Women's Movements 2012">Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations from Within. (2012). Egypten: American University in Cairo Press.</ref>

In the 1920s, the feminist women's press in Lebanon and Syria published images of unveiled Turkish women and gave room to women's voices when the indigenous press normally avoided to mention or show images of women.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 137">Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 137</ref>
The modernization reform program of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] in Turkey abolished [[sex segregation]] and encouraged women to unveil as a part of a social revolution in order to make Turkey a modern state.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 129">Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 129</ref>
The feminist pioneer [[Anbara Salam Khalidi]] removed her veil in public in 1927, and has been called the first Muslim woman in Lebanon to publicly abandon the veil.<ref name="amazon">{{cite book|title=Memoirs of An Early Arab Feminist|isbn=978-0745333564|author=Anbara Salam Khalidi|date=16 April 2013|publisher=Pluto Press }}</ref><ref name="salaam">{{cite web|title=Biographical data|url=http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/viewentry.php?id=1447|work=Salaam Knowledge|access-date=5 April 2013|archive-date=18 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018043923/http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/viewentry.php?id=1447|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1924, the women's magazine ''The Boudoir'' sided against hijab and pointed out physical disadvantages, such as the difficulty on breathing in a face veil.<ref>Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. s.130</ref>
[[File:Rawda Kassem.JPG|left|thumb|228x228px|Lebanese actress Rawda Kassem]]
An important event in the growing trend of unveiling among upper-class women in Lebanon and Syria in the 1920s was the publication of ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' by [[Nazira Zain al-Din|Nazira Zeineddine]] in 1928, claiming that Islam did not consider veiling necessary.<ref name="ReferenceB">Pernille Arenfeldt, Nawar Al-Hassan Golley: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=GmpjEAAAQBAJ&dq=General+Union+of+Yemeni+Women+%28GUYS%29&pg=PT280 Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations]''</ref> 
This became a great object of controversy in the hijab debate in the Middle East, specifically Lebanon and Syria.<ref name="Mapping Arab Women's Movements 2012"/> 
In her capacity of daughter to a scholar, she claimed Islam did not demand women to veil. This created great controversy, because it made veiling or unveiling an issue of religion, when previously it had been a question of personal choice; the ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' made unveiling an issue of religion, tradition and culture imperialism, which made the debate much more intense.<ref name="Mapping Arab Women's Movements 2012 p. 70">Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations from Within. (2012). Egypten: American University in Cairo Press. p. 70</ref> 
The Mufti of [[Beirut]] stated that hijab was a religious issue and that: "The call to lift the veil is a call to wickendess.... modern women who smash the pillars of chastity and honor".<ref>Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 133</ref>
Conservative Muslims reacted with rage, and male Muslim attacked unveiled women in the streets of Beirut with [[Acid attack|acid]] and iron prongs.<ref>Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 136</ref>

After the ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' controversy of 1928, unveiling came to be supported by the [[Francophile]] upper class and by the Modernist [[Arab nationalism|Arab Nationalists]], and opposed by the Populist [[Islamism|Islamists]], while the heated controversy made the organized women's movement to avoid the issue.<ref name="Keddie, N. R. 2012 p.96">Keddie, N. R. (2012). Women in the Middle East: Past and Present. Ukraina: Princeton University Press. p.96</ref> Despite the heated opposition, unveiling became normal in Lebanon during the Interwar period Beirut.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

===Malaysia===
[[File:Laugh Out Loud.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Young [[Malaysia]]n woman wearing a hijab]]
The headscarf is known as a {{transliteration|ms|[[tudung]]}}, which simply means "cover". (The word is used with that meaning in other contexts, e.g. {{transliteration|ms|tudung saji}}, a dish cover for food.) Muslim women may freely choose whether or not to wear the headscarf. The exception is when visiting a mosque, where the {{transliteration|ms|tudung}} must be worn.

Although headscarves are permitted in government institutions, public servants are prohibited from wearing the full-facial veil or ''niqab''. A judgment from the then-[[Federal Court of Malaysia|Supreme Court of Malaysia]] in 1994 cites that the ''niqab'', or ''purdah'', "has nothing to do with (a woman's) constitutional right to profess and practise her Muslim religion", because Islam does not make it obligatory to cover the face.<ref>''Hjh Halimatussaadiah bte Hj Kamaruddin v Public Services Commission, Malaysia & Anor'' [1994] 3 MLJ 61.</ref>

Although wearing the hijab, or tudung, is not mandatory for women in Malaysia, some government buildings enforce within their premises a dress code which bans women, Muslim and non-Muslim, from entering while wearing "revealing clothes".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hassim|first1=Nurzihan|journal=SEARCH: The Journal of the South East Asia Research Center for Communication and Humanities|date=2014|volume=6|issue=1|pages=79–96|title=A Comparative Analysis on Hijab Wearing in Malaysian Muslimah Magazines|url=http://search.taylors.edu.my/journalonline/Vol%206%20Issue%201/Paper%205.pdf|access-date=2 December 2015|issn=2229-872X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002703/http://search.taylors.edu.my/journalonline/Vol%206%20Issue%201/Paper%205.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Leongfashion" /> This directive has been much criticised, and after a spate of incidents where women (and men) were denied service because their clothing was deemed to violate arbitrary modesty rules, the government rolled back the regulations for front-line and emergency services such as police stations and public hospitals and assured citizens that they would be served at these premises without regard to their manner of dress.

{{As of|2013}}, the vast majority of Muslim Malaysian (mostly ethnic [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]]) women wear the tudung, a type of hijab. This use of the tudung was uncommon prior to the [[Islamic revival]]ism caused by the 1979 [[Grand Mosque seizure]] and [[Iranian revolution|Iranian Revolution]],<ref name="Booconservative">Boo, Su-lyn. "[http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/tudung-industry-in-malaysia-cashing-in-on-conservative-islam Tudung industry in Malaysia: Cashing in on conservative Islam]". ''[[The Malay Mail]]''. 9 May 2015. Retrieved on 28 August 2015. [https://news.yahoo.com/tudung-industry-malaysia-cashing-conservative-islam-222400769.html See version at] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235407/https://news.yahoo.com/tudung-industry-malaysia-cashing-conservative-islam-222400769.html|date=31 March 2019}} [[Yahoo! News]].</ref> and the places that had women in tudung tended to be rural areas. The usage of the tudung sharply increased after the 1970s,<ref name="Leongfashion">Leong, Trinna. "[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/malaysian-women-face-rising-pressure-from-muslim-fashion-police_55aeb0b1e4b0a9b94852d441 Malaysian Women Face Rising Pressure From Muslim 'Fashion Police']" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150910151107/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/malaysian-women-face-rising-pressure-from-muslim-fashion-police_55aeb0b1e4b0a9b94852d441 Archive]). ''[[Huffington Post]]''. 21 July 2015. Retrieved on 28 August 2015.</ref> as religious conservatism among Malay people in both Malaysia and Singapore increased.<ref>Koh, Jaime and Stephanie Ho. ''Culture and Customs of Singapore and Malaysia'' (Cultures and Customs of the World). [[ABC-CLIO]], 22 June 2009. {{ISBN|0313351163}}, 9780313351167. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MWlFCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 31].</ref>

Several members of the [[Kelantan]] [[ulama]] in the 1960s believed the hijab was not mandatory.<ref name="Booconservative" /> By 2015, the Malaysian ulama believed this previous '[[fatwa]]' was un-Islamic.<ref name="FernandezC">Fernandez, Celine. "[https://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/04/18/why-some-women-wear-a-hijab-and-some-dont/ Why Some Women Wear a Hijab and Some Don’t]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150905040001/http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/04/18/why-some-women-wear-a-hijab-and-some-dont/ Archive]). ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. 18 April 2011. Retrieved on 28 August 2015.</ref>

By 2015, Malaysia had a fashion industry related to the tudung.<ref name="Booconservative" />

Malaysian activist Maryam Lee reportedly received vitriolic backlash and death threats in 2020 for criticizing what she saw as institutional patriarchy in Islam and speaking out about her decision to not wear the hijab. Malaysian authorities questioned her for possibly breaching a law against insulting the religion.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news|date=September 2020|title=Unveiling: Malaysian activist fights for hijab freedom|work=[[Bangkok Post]], [[Agence France Presse]]|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1989067/unveiling-malaysian-activist-fights-for-hijab-freedom|archive-date=26 December 2024|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226112613/https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1989067/unveiling-malaysian-activist-fights-for-hijab-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Maldives ===
[[File:Fazna Ahmed attended the graduation ceremony of Chimes Preschool 07.jpg|left|thumb|[[Fazna Ahmed]] accompanied by veiled Maldivian women at a graduation ceremony]]

There are no laws in the Maldives that require women to cover their heads, but since the early 21st-century [[Maldivians|Maldivian]] women have typically worn hijab and niqab in public. Although the majority of Maldivian women wear the veil (2017),<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/269180.pdf|title=MALDIVES 2016 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT|date=2016|website=US Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815171236/https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/269180.pdf|archive-date=2017-08-15|url-status=dead}}</ref> this is a phenomenon experienced in the past two decades or so, as a response to increased religious conservatism.<ref name="auto14">Emma Fulu ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=EVVtAAAAQBAJ&dq=women+veil+maldives&pg=PA101 Domestic Violence in Asia: Globalization, Gender and Islam in the Maldives]'', p. 101-103</ref>

The Maldives became [[Islam in the Maldives|Islamised]] in the 12th century but women did not veil: in 1337, the Muslim traveller [[Ibn Battuta]] expressed his dislike of the fact that the Muslim women of the Maldives did not veil<ref>Guity Nashat Becker, Guity Nashat, Judith E. Tucker: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ndqLZK3ba8gC&dq=maldives+unveiled+women&pg=PA55 Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Restoring Women to History]'', s. 55</ref> and only wore a skirt (called ''feyli'') over the lower half of their bodies, leaving their breasts and heads uncovered (similar to the customs of [[Nair]] women in [[Kerala]] with which Maldives had intense [[Indian maritime history|naval contact]] before British rule), which was a [[culture shock]] that intensely scandalised the [[Maghrebis|Maghrebi]] traveller and that he had no success in ordering them to cover up.<ref name="auto10">Emma Fulu ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=EVVtAAAAQBAJ&dq=women+veil+maldives&pg=PA101 Domestic Violence in Asia: Globalization, Gender and Islam in the Maldives]'', p. 101</ref>  With the exception of a failed attempt to force women to veil in the 17th-century, veiling continued to be uncommon in the Maldives until the 20th century.<ref name="auto10" />

From the 1980s onward, veiling started to become more common in the Maldives due to growing Islamic conservatism triggered by the [[Grand Mosque seizure]] and [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]], and in the early 21st-century women and girls were put under growing social pressure to veil, resulting in hijab and black robes becoming common public wear by 2006.<ref name="auto14" />
 
In 2007, the [[US Department of State]]'s annual ''International Religious Freedom Report'' referenced one instance in which a female student was restricted from attending school for wearing a headscarf, despite civil servants wearing them at work without issue;<ref>{{cite web|title=Maldives|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90231.htm|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=25 May 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131801/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90231.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=7 March 2023 |title=MALDIVES: Children's rights in the Special Procedures' reports |url=https://www.crin.org/en/library/publications/maldives-childrens-rights-special-procedures-reports |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226131333/https://www.crin.org/en/library/publications/maldives-childrens-rights-special-procedures-reports |archive-date=26 February 2017 |access-date=26 February 2017 |website=Child Rights International Network}}</ref> conversely, there are reports of women being pressured into covering themselves by close relatives;<ref>{{cite news |title=Hijab and the Maldives: stigma, shaming and the struggle to take it off |url=https://maldivesindependent.com/feature-comment/hijab-and-the-maldives-stigma-shaming-and-the-struggle-to-take-it-off-135211 |access-date=18 October 2018 |work=Maldives Independent |date=17 January 2018 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226044120/https://maldivesindependent.com/feature-comment/hijab-and-the-maldives-stigma-shaming-and-the-struggle-to-take-it-off-135211 |url-status=live }}</ref> of unveiled women being harassed, and of school girls being pressured to veil by their teachers.<ref name="auto14" /> 
Women who refuse to wear a veil or decide to remove it face social stigma<ref name=":0" /> from both their families and members of the public.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2018 |title=Hijab and the Maldives: stigma, shaming and the struggle to take it off |url=http://maldivesindependent.com/feature-comment/hijab-and-the-maldives-stigma-shaming-and-the-struggle-to-take-it-off-135211 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226044120/https://maldivesindependent.com/feature-comment/hijab-and-the-maldives-stigma-shaming-and-the-struggle-to-take-it-off-135211 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |access-date=2018-05-15 |website=Maldives Independent |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Myanmar===
At a conference in [[Yangon]] held by the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion on 21 June 2015, a group of [[Buddhist nationalism|nationalist Buddhist]] monks locally called [[Patriotic Association of Myanmar|Ma Ba Tha]] declared that the headscarves "were not in line with school discipline", recommending the Burmese government to ban the wearing of ''hijabs'' by [[Islam in Myanmar|Muslim]] schoolgirls and to ban [[Qurban (Islamic ritual sacrifice)|animal slaughter]] on the [[Eid al-Fitr|Eid]] holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Simon |date=2015-06-22 |title=Buddhist monks seek to ban schoolgirls from wearing headscarves in Burma |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/22/buddhist-monks-seek-to-ban-schoolgirls-from-wearing-headscarves |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref>

===Oman===
[[File:Craftswoman Oman 2.jpg|thumb|An elderly woman in Oman wearing the [[Battoulah]]]]

The rules of modesty in Islamic culture require a woman to be modestly covered at all times, especially when traveling farther from the home. At home, the Omani woman wears a long dress to her knees along with ankle-length pants and a leeso, or scarf, covering her hair and neck. Multitudes of lively colored ''Jalabiyyas ''are also worn at home. Once outside the home, dress is varied according to regional tastes. For some of a more conservative religious background, the [[burqa]] is expected to be worn to cover her face in the presence of other males, along with the wiqaya, or head scarf, and the abaya, an all-enveloping cloak revealing only her hands and feet.<ref name="Wikan, Unni 1982">Wikan, Unni. Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1982.</ref> Many women from varying regions of the Sultanate wear the scarf to cover only their hair.

The cotton burqa is symbolic of the expectations of the ideal woman and act as a mark of respect to represent her modesty and honor as well as her status. The burqa, first worn by a young girl after her seven-day honeymoon, is on whenever she is in the presence of strangers or outside the home, covering most of her face from view. The highest and lowest classes of Omanis do not wear the burqa—the highest being the children and relatives of the Sultan and the lowest being the poorest women in the town. This makes the burqa a symbol of rank as well. Some burqa differ in regions and designs as well, varying in size, shape and color. The Quran, however, makes no references specific to the modern day burqa.<ref name="Wikan, Unni 1982" />

The ''[[abaya]] ''is the conservative dress of choice, favored by women of most social classes and regions. The multitudes of designs and decadent embellishments on the modern day ''abaya ''has allowed it to become a versatile clothing that can be made either plain or a fashion statement, in Oman and in other neighboring Islamic countries.

The new freedom for Omani women after the [[1970 Omani coup d'état]] also included the freedom to unveil. A woman employed at the Omani television in the 1970s later commented:<ref>Al-Azri, K. M. (2013). Social and Gender Inequality in Oman: The Power of Religious and Political Tradition. Storbritannien: Routledge. p. 115</ref> <blockquote>at that time, the only concern of Omani men and women was how to build the nation...How can we help each other to elevate the social and economic conditions of people. Women, like men were fighting for a better future for Oman. We women for instance managed to establish the first [[Omani Women's Association]] in 1972... I used to travel throughout the country with the production team, reporting on the achievements of the renaissance such as the development of new schools, health clinics and hospitals, we were men and women, and there was no real concern for me as a woman travelling and presenting a programme without veiling or without being accompanied by a male relative. </blockquote>

===Pakistan===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Muhammad Ali Jinnah with sister Fatima Jinnah (cropped).JPG
| caption1          = Wax statue of [[Fatima Jinnah]] at [[Pakistan Monument]] museum, [[Lahore]]
| image2            = Benazir Bhutto.jpg
| caption2          = [[Benazir Bhutto]] at [[Newark, California|Newark]] in 2004
| total_width       = 300
| image3            = Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif - White House - 2013 (cropped).jpg
| caption3          = [[Kulsoom Nawaz]] accompanying [[Nawaz Sharif|her husband]] on his visit to the [[White House]] in 2013
| footer            = Pakistani Muslim women use the [[dupatta]] as a headscarf, a practice they share with [[Sikh]] and North Indian [[Hindu]] women.
}}

In [[Pakistan]], hijab is not mandated by law. As most Pakistani women wear the [[Shalwar kameez|salwar kameez]], the [[dupatta]] is used as a headscarf, a practice also found among [[Sikhs]] and [[Hindus]] in [[North India]]. Niqab and burqas are more common in the northwest, especially in [[Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|insurgency]]-hit [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]]-majority [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], bordering Afghanistan and a stronghold of the  [[Pakistani Taliban]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} 

{{Multiple image
| image1            = All India Muslim League Working Committee Lahore 1940.jpg
| caption1          = [[Amjadi Bano]], dressed here in a full body covering burqa, was the lone woman signatory of the [[Lahore Resolution]] adopted by the [[All Pakistan Muslim League]] in 1940.
| image2            = Nusrat Bhutto (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = An unveiled [[Nusrat Bhutto]] in 1980s
| total_width       = 300
}}

The [[purdah]] for Muslim upper- and middle-class women in [[India]] and later Pakistan, both in the form of gender segregation as well as the veil, fell out of fashion due to women's active mobilisation in the anticolonial struggle for independence.<ref name="auto6" /> The anti colonial independence movement in the Muslim world was dominated by secular modernists, who considered women's liberation as a natural part of achieving a modernized and revitalized Muslim world, and by the 1930s, Muslim upper-class women had started to appear unveiled.<ref name="auto6" />

During the [[Islamization in Pakistan|Islamization]] policy of [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] from 1977 to 1988, women were highly encouraged to veil, and although no law of general compulsory veiling was introduced, all women employed by the federal government (including flight attendants and state television anchors), and university students were mandated to veil.<ref name="auto6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistanis split over mandatory burqas for women – DW – 09/24/2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/pakistanis-split-over-mandatory-burqas-for-women/a-50564634 |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en}}</ref> In June 1988, General Zia decreed Sharia law as the supreme law of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fineman |first=Mark |date=1988-06-16 |title=Pakistan's Zia Decrees Islamic Law for Nation |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-16-mn-6836-story.html |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106022512/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-16-mn-6836-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> These regulations were repealed after the death of Zia-ul-Haq.

In 2019, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mandated a law requiring burqa for female students; however, it was reversed after backlash.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/pakistanis-split-over-mandatory-burqas-for-women/a-50564634 | title=Pakistanis split over mandatory burqas for women | website=[[Deutsche Welle]] | access-date=20 January 2023 | archive-date=20 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120105608/https://www.dw.com/en/pakistanis-split-over-mandatory-burqas-for-women/a-50564634 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Pulse Consultant's research over ten years has found that among Pakistan's young urban female students aged 16–28 the dupatta was still the favourite form of covering, with 40% responding that they wear it, but those who choose hijab more than doubled, going from 9% in 2008 to 25% in 2018, while those observing no form of head covering at all in that demographic fell from 34% in 2008 to 8% in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 September 2019 |title=Trend of hijab, headscarf on the rise among urban female students: survey |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/529602-trend-of-hijab-headscarf-on-the-rise-among-urban-female-students-survey |access-date=10 April 2023 |website=[[The News International]] |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410130003/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/529602-trend-of-hijab-headscarf-on-the-rise-among-urban-female-students-survey |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Palestine ===
[[File:Ramallah chat 1890.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A Palestinian man and woman wearing a hijab talking in [[Ramallah]] (1890)]]In the 1920s, the Palestinian women's movement started, and pioneer feminists such as [[Tarab Abdul Hadi]] were active in the campaign against the [[veil]], an initiative launched by local women encouraging Palestinian women to remove their veils.<ref name="PASSIA">{{cite web |title=Palestine Facts – Personalities: Chronological listing |url=http://www.passia.org/ |access-date=2008-09-11 |publisher=Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) |archive-date=3 December 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981203133521/http://www.passia.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

;Gaza Strip
{{See also|Islamism in the Gaza Strip}}

Successful informal coercion of women by sectors of society to wear Islamic dress or ''hijab'' has been reported in the [[Gaza Strip]] where [[Mujama al-Islamiya]], the predecessor of [[Hamas]], reportedly used a mixture of consent and coercion to {{Double+single}}restore' ''hijab''" on urban-educated women in Gaza in the late 1970s and 1980s.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3012687?seq=1 "Women and the Hijab in the Intifada", Rema Hammami] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031161607/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3012687?seq=1 |date=31 October 2022 }} ''Middle East Report'', May–August 1990</ref> Similar behavior was displayed by Hamas during the [[First Intifada]].<ref>Rubenberg, C., ''Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank'' (USA, 2001) p.230</ref> Hamas campaigned for the wearing of the ''hijab'' alongside other measures, including insisting that women stay at home, should be segregated from men, and the promotion of polygamy. During the course of this campaign women who chose not to wear the ''hijab'' were verbally and physically harassed, with the result that the ''hijab'' was being worn "just to avoid problems on the streets".<ref name="Ruben">Rubenberg, C., ''Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank'' (USA, 2001) p.231</ref>

Following the takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas attempted to implement Islamic law in the Gaza Strip, mainly at schools, institutions and courts by imposing the Islamic dress on women.<ref name="xinhua">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514030330/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/03/content_12748559.htm Hamas encourages Gaza women to follow Islamic code] xinhuanet.com, 3 January 2010</ref> Hamas has imposed analogous restrictions on men as well as women. For example, men are no longer allowed to be shirtless in public.<ref name="mercury">{{cite web |title=mercurynews.com |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17480257?nclick_check=1 |access-date=26 October 2017 |website=MercuryNews.com}}</ref>

School officials have rejected a hijab policy for women.<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web |date=4 May 1990 |title=Women, the Hijab and the Intifada |url=https://merip.org/1990/05/women-the-hijab-and-the-intifada |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926213139/https://merip.org/1990/05/women-the-hijab-and-the-intifada/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They have also targeted those who seek to impose the hijab.<ref name="auto3" />

When Palestinian Supreme Court Justice Abdel Raouf Al-Halabi ordered women lawyers to wear headscarves and caftans in court, attorneys contacted satellite television stations including [[Al Arabiya|Al-Arabiya]] to protest, causing Hamas's Justice Ministry to cancel the directive.<ref name="bloomberg">[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118123632/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk |date=18 November 2015 }} By Daniel Williams, Bloomberg, 30 November 2009</ref>

Unlike Hamas, [[Palestinian]] [[Militants]] belonging to the [[Unified National Leadership of the Uprising]] (UNLU) have rejected a hijab policy for women,<ref name="auto8">{{cite web|url=https://merip.org/1990/05/women-the-hijab-and-the-intifada/|title=Women, the Hijab and the Intifada|date=4 May 1990|access-date=26 January 2023|archive-date=16 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616022812/https://merip.org/1990/05/women-the-hijab-and-the-intifada/|url-status=live}}</ref> targeting those who seek to impose the hijab.<ref name="auto8" />

===Philippines===
[[File:DepEd Philippines - National Festival of Talents 2014 (02).jpg|thumb|[[Moro people|Moro]] girl in [[Mindanao]] region of Philippines wearing a hijab]]
Philippine law recognizes the right of [[Islam in the Philippines|Muslim]] women to wear headscarves including the hijab. The [[Commission on Human Rights (Philippines)|Commission on Human Rights]] issued on CHR Advisory number 2013–002 on 8 August 2013, that its Gender Ombud affirms the human rights of Muslim women to wear hijab, burka, and niqabs as part of their freedom of expression and freedom of religion as a response to schools implementing a ban on wearing the headscarves. It cited the Magna Carta of Women, particularly Section 28 which states that "the state shall recognize and respect the rights of Moro and indigenous women to practice, promote, protect, and preserve their own culture, traditions, and institutions and to consider these rights in the formulation and implementation of national policies and programs."<ref>{{cite news |title=Muslim women are now free to wear 'hijabs' in schools, gov't institutions – CHR |url=https://pcw.gov.ph/muslim-women-are-now-free-to-wear-hijabs-in-schools-govt-institutions-chr/ |access-date=21 April 2022 |work=Philippine Commission on Women |date=16 September 2013 |archive-date=26 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626090513/https://pcw.gov.ph/muslim-women-are-now-free-to-wear-hijabs-in-schools-govt-institutions-chr/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Armed Forces of the Philippines]], [[Philippine Coast Guard]], and [[Philippine National Police]], and the [[Bureau of Jail Management and Penology]] allows its female Muslim personnel to wear headscarves as part of their official uniform.<ref>{{cite news |title=Philippine Coast Guard allows female Muslim personnel to wear hijab |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2017831/world |access-date=21 April 2022 |work=Arab News |date=3 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

===Qatar===
Women and men are expected to dress in a manner that is modest, but the dress code is generally driven by social customs and is more relaxed in comparison to other nations in the region. Qatari women generally wear customary dresses that include "long black robes" and black head cover "hijab", locally called ''bo'shiya''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Abu Saud|1984|p=39}}</ref><ref name="ABC">{{cite web |last=King |first=Courtney |date=11 April 2003 |title=For Qatari Women, Change Slow in Coming |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79539&page=1#.UbToAflOQto |access-date=24 August 2018 |work=ABC News |archive-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703091744/http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79539&page=1#.UbToAflOQto |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the more traditional Sunni Muslim clothing for women are the black colored body covering known as the [[abaya]]h together with the black scarf used for covering their heads known as the shayla.<ref name="Hilal">{{cite web |title=The Culture of Qatar |url=http://www.hilalplaza.com/islamic-culture/Qatar/Qatar_Muslim_culture.html |access-date=15 January 2016 |publisher=HilalPlaza |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003453/http://www.hilalplaza.com/islamic-culture/Qatar/Qatar_Muslim_culture.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Abaya and [[Shayla]] is expected to be worn by Qatari women. Women who do not comply may face harsh consequences by their families or spouses.

It is believed that Qatari women began using face masks in the 19th century amid substantial immigration. As they had no practical ways of concealing their faces from foreigners, they began wearing the same type of face mask as their Persian counterparts.<ref>{{Harvnb|Abu Saud|1984|p=52}}</ref>

===Saudi Arabia===
[[File:Saudi in niqab.jpg|thumb|A typical Muslim woman in Saudi Arabia, dressed in niqab and [[abaya]]|left]]

Until the Islamic revivalism which occurred in Saudi Arabia after the [[Grand Mosque seizure]] in 1979, there were no legal requirements for women to veil. In the [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Faisal]] era (1964–1975), women's access to education, work and public visibility expanded,<ref name="auto16">The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics. (2016). Storbritannien: Oxford University Press.</ref> and in the 1970s, some women went unveiled<ref>{{cite web | url=https://magazine.zenith.me/en/society/saudi-arabia-and-1979 | title=The Transformation of Our Generation | date=30 January 2019 | access-date=25 March 2023 | archive-date=20 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320154242/https://magazine.zenith.me/en/society/saudi-arabia-and-1979 | url-status=live }}</ref> and appeared in public without an [[abaya]] or niqab.<ref name="segregation-debate">Wagner, Rob L. (23 April 2010) [https://sites.google.com/site/roblwagnerarchives/s "Saudis Debate Gender Segregation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010023550/https://sites.google.com/site/roblwagnerarchives/s |date=10 October 2013 }}"NewsTilt"</ref><ref name="wright">{{Cite book|last=Wright|title=Sacred Rage|year=2001|page=[https://archive.org/details/sacredragewratho00wrig_0/page/155 155]|publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=0-7432-3342-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/sacredragewratho00wrig_0/page/155}}</ref>

After the Grand Mosque seizure of 1979, this changed, and it became mandatory for women to veil in public.<ref name="auto16"/> According to some popular [[Salafi movement|Salafi]] scholars, a woman is to cover her entire body, including her face and hands, in front of unrelated men. Hence, the vast majority of traditional Saudi women were expected on a social standing to cover their body and hair in public.<ref name="auto13">Marfuqi, Kitab ul Mar'ah fil Ahkam, pg 133</ref> The Saudi niqāb usually leaves a long open slot for the eyes; the slot is held together by a string or narrow strip of cloth.<ref>Moqtasami (1979), pp. 41–44</ref>  After 2018, covering has become more relaxed.<ref name="auto13"/>

Until 2018, the Saudi Arabian dress code required all women, local and foreign, to wear an [[abaya]], a garment that only covers the body and arms in public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expatwoman.com/saudi-arabia/guide/saudis-crown-prince-says-abaya-not-necessary-for-women|website=Expatwoman|access-date=28 July 2019|title=Saudi's Crown Prince Says Abaya Not Necessary for Women|date=20 March 2018|archive-date=28 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728151158/https://www.expatwoman.com/saudi-arabia/guide/saudis-crown-prince-says-abaya-not-necessary-for-women|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/women-in-saudi-arabia-do-not-need-to-wear-head-cover-says-crown-prince-1.3433096|title=What's That You're Wearing? A Guide to public dress|last=Goldman|first=Russell|date=3 May 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 March 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115083146/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/women-in-saudi-arabia-do-not-need-to-wear-head-cover-says-crown-prince-1.3433096|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, it was made clear that the hijab or any other form of headcovering were no longer legally required in Saudi Arabia. According to Crown Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]], women are not required to cover their heads or wear the abaya, provided their clothing is "decent and respectful."<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 March 2018 |title=Women in Saudi Arabia do not need to wear head cover, says crown prince |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/women-in-saudi-arabia-do-not-need-to-wear-head-cover-says-crown-prince-1.3433096 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115083146/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/women-in-saudi-arabia-do-not-need-to-wear-head-cover-says-crown-prince-1.3433096 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |access-date=28 July 2019 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |agency=Reuters}}</ref>

Although the hijab is not compulsory, it is expected to be worn in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saudi Arabia Dress Code for Males and Females – Travel Basics|url=https://www.saudiarabiavisa.co.uk/dress-code-foreigners.html|access-date=2021-12-18|website=Saudi Visa UK|language=en|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202142247/https://www.saudiarabiavisa.co.uk/dress-code-foreigners.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sri Lanka===
A Sri Lankan MP called for [[Islam in Sri Lanka|Muslim]] women to be banned from wearing both [[burqa]] and [[Niqāb|niqab]] in wake of the [[2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings|Easter terror attack]] which happened on 21 April 2019 during a local parliamentary session.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 April 2019 |title=Sri Lankan MP wants to ban the burqa in the wake of the Easter massacre |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lanka-bombing-burqa-ban-isis-islam-ashu-marasinghe-a8883801.html |access-date=25 April 2019 |website=The Independent |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425142913/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lanka-bombing-burqa-ban-isis-islam-ashu-marasinghe-a8883801.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=24 April 2019 |title=Fear of retaliation against Sri Lankan Muslims grows as MP calls for burqa ban |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lanka-attacks-burqa-ban-muslims-terrorism-bombings-a8885056.html |access-date=25 April 2019 |website=The Independent |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425012250/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lanka-attacks-burqa-ban-muslims-terrorism-bombings-a8885056.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Range |first=Irangika |title=Ban 'niqab, burqa' – Prof. Ashu |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2019/04/24/local/183684/ban-%E2%80%98niqab-burqa%E2%80%99-prof-ashu |access-date=25 April 2019 |website=Daily News |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428014346/http://www.dailynews.lk/2019/04/24/local/183684/ban-%E2%80%98niqab-burqa%E2%80%99-prof-ashu |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Sri Lankan government banned all types of clothing covering the face, including the burqa and niqab, on 29 April 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Covering the face banned from tomorrow |newspaper=Daily Mirror |url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Covering-the-face-banned-from-tomorrow/108-166091 |archive-date=14 May 2019 |access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514190358/http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Covering-the-face-banned-from-tomorrow/108-166091 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Syria===
[[File:Great Mosque of Aleppo, Women of Syria in hijabs, Aleppo, Syria.jpg|thumb|Women in hijabs, [[Great Mosque of Aleppo]], Syria]]
[[File:Naziq al-Abid, 1920.jpg|thumb|[[Nazik al-Abid|Naziq al-Abid]], 1920]]

During the [[Interwar period]], Syria and Lebanon became scenes of the right to unveil in the Muslim world.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

During the visit of the [[King–Crane Commission]] in [[Damascus]] in 1919, women's rights activists (of the [[Nur al-Fayha]] organization) attended unveiled to demonstrate the progressive modernist ambitions of the Faisal Government.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 128">Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 128</ref>
During a nationalist demonstration in Damascus during a visit of [[Arthur Balfour|Lord Balfour]] the women demanded the abolition of the veil, which created tension with their male counterparts.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 129"/>
When a petition on women's suffrage was discussed in the [[Syrian National Congress|Syrian Congress]] in 1920, [[Sheikh|Shaykh]] Abd al-Qadir al-Kaylani stated that to given [[Women's suffrage|women the right to vote]] would be the same thing as abolish sex segregation and allow women to appear unveiled.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 128"/>

Women's rights activists in the modernist Interwar period viewed the veil as a hindrance to women's participation in society as productive citizens, preventing them from benefiting a successful independent nation, and combined their criticism against hijab with their criticism against colonialism.<ref name="Mapping Arab Women's Movements 2012"/>
In 1922, during a women's march in protest of the imprisonment of Shahbandar by the French, the participating women removed their veils.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 128"/>

In the 1920s, the feminist women's press in Lebanon and Syria published images of unveiled Turkish women and gave room to women's voices when the indigenous press normally avoided to mention or show images of women.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 137"/>
The modernization reform program of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] in Turkey abolished sex segregation and encouraged women to unveil as a part of a social revolution in order to make Turkey a modern state.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 129"/>
The social revolution in Turkey created a debate in Syria, where Turkish postcards displayed modern unveiled Turkish women, and according to the US Consul in Damascus in 1922: "I am informed that they attract considerable attention in local feminine circles", and the women's magazine Dimashqiya (The New Woman) celebrated Atatürk for his reforms and published photographs of unveiled Turkish woman.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 129"/>

An important event in the growing trend of unveiling among upper-class women in Lebanon and Syria in the 1920s was the publication of ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' by [[Nazira Zain al-Din|Nazira Zeineddine]] in 1928, which did not consider veiling to be Islamically necessary,<ref name="ReferenceB"/> which became a great object of controversy in the hijab debate in the Middle East, specifically Lebanon and Syria.<ref name="Mapping Arab Women's Movements 2012"/> 
In her capacity of daughter to a scholar, she claimed Islam did not demand women to veil. This created great controversy, because it made veiling or unveiling an issue of religion, when previously it had been a question of personal choice; the ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' made unveiling an issue of religion, tradition and culture imperialism, which made the debate much more intense.<ref name="Mapping Arab Women's Movements 2012 p. 70"/> 
After the  ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' controversy of 1928, unveiling came to be supported by the [[Francophile]] upper class and by the Modernist [[Arab nationalism|Arab Nationalists]], and opposed by the Populist [[Islamism|Islamists]], while the heated controversy made the organized women's movement to avoid the issue.<ref name="Keddie, N. R. 2012 p.96"/>

During the 1920s, upper-class women in Syria started to appear unveiled in public, which caused great opposition from religious conservatives, who sometimes attacked unveiled women [[Acid attack|with acid]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/>  
When the conservative [[Taj al-Din al-Hasani|Shaykh Taj]] became Prime minister in Damascus in 1928, a campaign started by preachers in the mosques who called upon believers to attack unveiled women, which was followed by men attacking unveiled women on the street with [[acid]]; and a women's march against the hijab, which was held in [[Al-Hamidiyah|Hamidiya]] was attacked by a mob.<ref>Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 136</ref>

The fact that women started to appear unveiled in public during the Interwar era created great opposition; Islamic conservatives debated on whether women should be allowed to appear in public, and unveiled women were harassed in order to frighten women from accessing the public space.<ref>Keddie, N. R. (2012). Women in the Middle East: Past and Present. Ukraina: Princeton University Press. p.97</ref> The Islamist group al-gharra demanded that all women be forced to veil completely from head to toe, while the French colonial press condemned the men who made unveiled women afraid to leave their home in fear of violence.<ref>Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 139</ref> 
As a reaction to the progressive unveiling trend among women, the League of Modesty was founded by conservative women in 1934, whose members patrolled the streets in white shrouds and attacked unveiled women armed with scissors and bottles of acid.<ref>Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p. 138</ref>

In the 1940s, [[Thuraya Al-Hafez]] campaigned for women's right to choose if she wished to veil or not.<ref>Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations from Within. (2012). Egypten: American University in Cairo Press. p. 85-86</ref>
In the summer of 1943, Thuraya Al-Hafez headed a women's march of 100 women to the Marja Square in Damascus demonstrating against hijab, with the claim that the Quran did not demand for women to veil.<ref>Meininghaus, E. (2016). Creating Consent in Ba‘thist Syria: Women and Welfare in a Totalitarian State. Storbritannien: Bloomsbury Publishing. p.59</ref> In 1944, Islamic groups in Syria demanded sex segregation in schools and public transport, to prohibit women from visiting the cinema, and that women be forced to wear hijab by a morality police.<ref name="Meininghaus, E. 2016 p.58">Meininghaus, E. (2016). Creating Consent in Ba‘thist Syria: Women and Welfare in a Totalitarian State. Storbritannien: Bloomsbury Publishing. p.58</ref>
To appease the Islamic groups, the government introduced sex segregation on public transportation in Damascus during religious holidays in 1944.<ref>Keddie, N. R. (2012). Women in the Middle East: Past and Present. Ukraina: Princeton University Press. p.98</ref> 
In May 1944, a rumour was spread that a ball attended by unveiled Muslim women was to take place at Nuqtar al-halib. As a response, the Islamic al-ghurra group launched a campaign in the mosques with the demanded that the government stop the ball, and riots occurred in Damascus, [[Aleppo]], [[Homs]] and [[Hama]]h. In response, [[Adila Bayhum|Adila Bayyhum]], a member of the Nuqtat al-halib, stopped her philanthropic distribution of milk to the poor until the government threatened to stop their own grain distribution if the Islamic riot campaign did not stop.<ref name="Meininghaus, E. 2016 p.58"/>

In 2010, Ghiyath Barakat, Syria's minister of higher education, announced a ban on women wearing full-face veils at [[university|universities]]. The official stated that the face veils ran counter to secular and academic principles of Syria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Syria bans face veils at universities |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10684359 |date=19 July 2010 |access-date=19 July 2010 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-date=8 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208151128/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10684359 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the ban strictly addresses veils that cover the head and mouth, and does not include hijabs, or headscarves, which many Syrian women wear.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/20/syria-bans-niqab-from-universities|title=Syria bans niqab from universities|agency=Associated Press|date=20 July 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517215357/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/20/syria-bans-niqab-from-universities|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tajikistan ===
[[File:Tajikistan (502891603).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tajik woman wearing a hijab]]
The word "hijab" was used only for certain style of ''hijab'', and such style of hijab was not commonly worn by Muslims there until the fall of the [[Soviet Union]]. Some Islamic adherents (like Uzbeks) used to wear the [[paranja]], while others (Chechens, Kara-Chai, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, etc.) wore traditional scarves the same way as a bandanna and have own traditional styles of headgear which are not called by the word ''hijab''. In the 1920s during the Soviet era, a series of policies and actions taken by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], initiated by [[Joseph Stalin]], to remove all manifestations of [[gender inequality]], especially on the systems of female [[veil]]ing and seclusion practiced in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="Subaltern"/>

In 2017, the government of [[Tajikistan]] passed a law requiring people to "stick to traditional national clothes and culture", which has been widely seen as an attempt to prevent women from wearing Islamic clothing, in particular the style of headscarf wrapped under the chin, in contrast to the traditional Tajik headscarf tied behind the head.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tajikstan [''sic''] passes law 'to stop Muslim women wearing hijabs'|author=Harriet Agerholm|date=1 September 2017|newspaper=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tajikstan-muslim-hijabs-stop-women-law-headscarfs-central-asia-islam-a7923886.html|archive-date=6 September 2017|access-date=30 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906141934/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tajikstan-muslim-hijabs-stop-women-law-headscarfs-central-asia-islam-a7923886.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Tajik authorities have reportedly enforced this with warnings, fines, sacking from employment, or refusal of services in hospitals and schools.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mushfig Bayram|date=July 2021|title=TAJIKISTAN: Male police continue targeting women wearing hijabs|url=https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2676|website=[[Forum 18]]|language=en-gb|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920164202/https://forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2676|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 19 June 2024, the Majlisi Milli, the upper house of the [[National Assembly of Tajikistan]], approved a bill banning ''hijab'', prohibiting citizens and legal entities<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mmk.tj/system/files/Legislation/gj.pdf |title=Law of the Republic of Tajikistan on Regulation Celebrations and Ceremonies in the Republic of Tajikistan. Text of the bill in Tajiki. The ban is defined in the section 18, chapter 5. |date=7 July 2024 }}</ref> from the "import, sale, promotion and wearing of clothing foreign to the national culture". This bill had previously been approved by the [[Majlisi Namoyandagon]], the lower house, on 8 May.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ozodi.org/a/khulosai-majlisi-milli-ba-man-i-idgardak-va-libosi-begona-/32999332.html |title="Ҳамааш қабул шуд." Хулосаи Маҷлиси Миллӣ ба манъи идгардак ва либоси "бегона" |newspaper=Радиои Озодӣ |trans-title="All accepted." Conclusion of the National Assembly on the prohibition of "foreign" clothing |publisher=Ozodi.org |language=tg |date=19 June 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/tajik-parliament-upper-chamber-approves-bill-banning-hijab/32999679.html |title=Tajik Parliament's Upper Chamber Approves Bill Banning Hijab |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=19 June 2024 |access-date=19 June 2024 |archive-date=19 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619212444/https://www.rferl.org/a/tajik-parliament-upper-chamber-approves-bill-banning-hijab/32999679.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===United Arab Emirates===
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2025}}
There are no laws banning or mandating veiling in the United Arab Emirates.

In practice, women are expected to dress what is societally defined as "modest" and it is common for Emirati women to wear abaya and cover their head with a hijab or shayla, although the traditional face cover known as ''[[battoulah]]'' became less common in the 21st century.

=== Uzbekistan ===
[[File:Hujum.png|thumb|right|Photograph of a veil-burning ceremony in Uzbekistan in 1920s]]
The word "hijab" was used only for certain style of ''hijab'', and such style of hijab was not commonly worn by Muslims there until the fall of the [[Soviet Union]]. Some Islamic adherents (like Uzbeks) used to wear the [[paranja]], while others (Chechens, Kara-Chai, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, etc.) wore traditional scarves the same way as a bandanna and have own traditional styles of headgear which are not called by the word ''hijab''.
In the 1920s during the Soviet era, a series of policies and actions taken by the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], initiated by [[Joseph Stalin]], to remove all manifestations of [[gender inequality]], especially on the systems of female [[veil]]ing and seclusion practiced in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="Subaltern"/>

Uzbek authorities in 2012 reportedly prohibited the selling of religious clothing, specifically hijabs and face veil, at several [[Tashkent]] markets following a secretive ban on their sales.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khan|first=Ali|date=March 17, 2012|title=Uzbekistan Bans Islamic Clothing|url=https://archive.siasat.com/news/uzbekistan-bans-islamic-clothing-270040/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919072625/https://archive.siasat.com/news/uzbekistan-bans-islamic-clothing-270040/|archive-date=2021-09-19|website=[[The Siasat Daily]]|language=en-US}}</ref> An Uzbek imam was sacked in 2018 after he urged President [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]] to lift a ban on personal religious symbols including hijabs.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-09-10|title=Uzbek imam sacked after urging president to allow hijabs, beards|language=en|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uzbekistan-islam-hijab-idUSKCN1LQ0VP|archive-date=2 June 2020|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602131705/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uzbekistan-islam-hijab-idUSKCN1LQ0VP|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Yemen ===
In 1956 the [[Adeni Women's Club]] engaged in favor of unveiling on the initiative of [[Radhia Ihsan]], when six unveiled women, followed by about thirty unveiled women by car, attended a procession through the streets of Aden to the office of the news papers ''[[Al-Ayyam (Yemen)|al-Ayyam]]'' and ''Fatat al-jazira'', were they issued a press statement condemning the veil as a hindrance against the participation of women in public society.<ref name="ReferenceC">Pernille Arenfeldt, Nawar Al-Hassan Golley, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=GmpjEAAAQBAJ&dq=General+Union+of+Yemeni+Women+%28GUYS%29&pg=PT280 Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations]''</ref>  After the foundation of the Communist [[South Yemen|People's Democratic Republic of Yemen]] in 1967, the [[General Union of Yemeni Women]] supported unveiling and women's rights in all spheres, though the policies they introduced in South Yemen was reversed after the Yemeni Unification in the 1990s.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

Although there is no dress code that legally forces veiling upon women in Yemen, the abaya and niqab are social norms in Yemen and are worn by girls from a young age. In some areas, the hijab is part of school uniforms. Yemeni women who choose to not wear headscarves are at risk of oppression.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.almadaniyamag.com/english/2017/7/13/removing-hijabs-and-discarding-prejudice-yemeni-women-abroad|title=Removing Hijabs and Discarding Prejudice: Yemeni Women Abroad|work=al madaniya|access-date=11 March 2018|archive-date=12 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312024107/https://www.almadaniyamag.com/english/2017/7/13/removing-hijabs-and-discarding-prejudice-yemeni-women-abroad|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When Nobel Peace Laureate [[Tawakkol Karman]] was asked by journalists about her ''hijab'' with regard to her intellect and education, she replied, "man in early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I'm wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It's the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient times."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hautehijab.com/blogs/hijab-fashion/4966602-tawakkul-karman-first-arab-woman-and-youngest-nobel-peace-laureate-in-hijab|title=Tawakkul Karman – First Arab Woman and Youngest Nobel Peace Laureate|access-date=18 March 2012|archive-date=8 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008030045/http://www.hautehijab.com/blogs/hijab-fashion/4966602-tawakkul-karman-first-arab-woman-and-youngest-nobel-peace-laureate-in-hijab|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Europe==
{{Main|Islamic dress in Europe}}

[[File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Young Greeks in the Mosque - 62.85 - Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg|thumb|[[Greek Muslims]] praying inside a mosque, 1865 oil painting by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]]. The woman in the painting is wearing a white headscarve over her [[Greek dress]], in a [[Head covering for Christian women|manner]] similar to her contemporary church-going [[Religion in Greece|Greek Christian]] women. This is what many contemporary European Muslims do, as an outward expression of their Muslim faith.]]

European Commissioner [[Franco Frattini]] said in November 2006, that he did not favor a ban on the ''burqa''.<ref>Reformatorisch dagblad: ''[http://www.reformatorischdagblad.nl/artikel/1283448/Brussel+tegen+boerkaverbod.html Brussel tegen boerkaverbod] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203050702/http://www.reformatorischdagblad.nl/artikel/1283448/Brussel+tegen+boerkaverbod.html |date=3 December 2007 }}'', 30 November 2006.</ref> This was considered to be the first official statement on the issue of prohibition of Islamic dress from the [[European Commission]], the executive of the [[European Union]].

Islamic dress is also seen as a symbol of the existence of [[Parallel society|parallel societies]], and the failure of [[cultural assimilation|integration]]: in 2006, British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] described the face veil as a "mark of separation".<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6058672.stm Blair's concerns over face veils]  [[BBC News Online]]. 17 October 2006.</ref> Proposals to ban hijab may be linked to other related cultural prohibitions, with Dutch politician [[Geert Wilders]] proposing a ban on ''hijab'', on [[Madrasa|Islamic schools]], the [[Quran]], on new [[List of mosques in Europe|mosques]], and on non-western immigration.

In France and Turkey, the emphasis is on the secular nature of the [[Sovereign state|state]], and the symbolic nature of the Islamic dress. In Turkey, bans previously applied at state institutions (courts, [[civil service]]) and in state-funded education, but were gradually lifted during the tenure of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]. In 2004, France passed a law banning "symbols or clothes through which students conspicuously display their religious affiliation" (including hijab) in public primary schools, middle schools, and secondary schools,<ref name=french-headscarf-ban>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3474673.stm French MPs back headscarf ban]  BBC News (BBC). Retrieved on 13 February 2009.</ref> but this law does not concern universities (in French universities, applicable legislation grants students freedom of expression as long as public order is preserved<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006525517 |title=Education Code. L811-1 §2 |language=fr |publisher=Legifrance.gouv.fr |date=26 January 1984 |access-date=16 September 2010 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604234351/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006525517 |url-status=live }}</ref>). These bans also cover Islamic headscarves, which in some other countries are seen as less controversial, although [[law court]] staff in the Netherlands are also forbidden to wear Islamic headscarves on grounds of 'state neutrality'.

An apparently less politicized argument is that in specific professions (teaching), a ban on "veils" (''niqab'') may be justified on the grounds that being able to see [[facial expression]]s and making [[eye contact]] can be helpful in communicating.  This argument has featured prominently in [[employment tribunal|judgments]] in Britain and the Netherlands, after students or teachers were banned from wearing face-covering clothing.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

Public and political response to such prohibition proposals is complex, since by definition they mean that the government decides on individual clothing. Some non-Muslims, who would not be affected by a ban, see it as an issue of [[civil liberties]], as a [[slippery slope]] leading to further restrictions on private life. A public opinion poll in London showed that 75&nbsp;percent of Londoners support "the right of all persons to dress in accordance with their religious beliefs".<ref>Guardian: [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/20/london.religion Livingstone decries vilification of Islam], 20 November 2006.</ref> In another poll in the UK by [[MORI|Ipsos MORI]], 61&nbsp;percent agreed that "Muslim women are segregating themselves" by wearing a veil, yet 77&nbsp;percent thought they should have the right to wear it.<ref>Ipsos MORI [http://www.ipsos-mori.com/polls/2006/itv.shtml Muslim Women Wearing Veils] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202122337/http://www.ipsos-mori.com/polls/2006/itv.shtml |date=2 December 2007 }}.</ref> In a later FT-Harris poll conducted in 2010 after the French ban on face covering went into effect, an overwhelming majority in Italy, Spain, Germany, and the UK supported passing such bans in their own countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/french-burqa-ban-widely-supported-europe|title=Atlantic Council|website=acus.org|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511091109/http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/french-burqa-ban-widely-supported-europe|archive-date=11 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The headscarf is perceived to be a symbol of the [[Clash of Civilizations|clash of civilizations]] by many. Others would also argue that the increase of laws surrounding the banning of headscarves and other religious paraphernalia has led to an increase in not just the sales of headscarves and ''niqabs'', but an increase in the current religiosity of the Muslim population in Europe: as both a product of and a reaction to westernization.<ref>Scott, 2007, pg. 5</ref>

According to a 2017 ruling by the European Court of Justice on a case involving two Belgian women, employers in the EU may restrict the wearing of religious symbols if such regulations on appearance are applied consistently.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-03-14|title=EU workplace headscarf ban 'can be legal', says ECJ|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39264845|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210717082205/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39264845%23comments|archive-date=2021-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2017|title=ECJ rules employers can ban staff from wearing Islamic headscarf|work=[[Financial Times]]|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c27c99b2-089c-11e7-ac5a-903b21361b43|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210718051604/https://www.ft.com/content/c27c99b2-089c-11e7-ac5a-903b21361b43%23comments-anchor|archive-date=2021-07-18}}</ref> The court ruled again on a 2021 case from Germany that EU companies could ban employees from wearing religious symbols, including headscarves, to present a "neutral image".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Scully|first=Rachel|date=2021-07-15|title=EU court rules employees' headscarves can be banned in some cases|url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/563154-eu-court-rules-employees-headscarves-can-be-banned-in-some-cases|access-date=2021-09-19|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718065353/https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/563154-eu-court-rules-employees-headscarves-can-be-banned-in-some-cases|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Albania===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Ad017.jpg
| caption1          = Veiled [[Islam in Albania|Albanian Muslim]] woman in the late 19th century
| image2            = Muslim woman, engraving from JC Hοbhouse, “A Journey through Albania”, London 1813 - 1827.jpg
| caption2          = Veiled Albanian Muslim woman as depicted in a British travelogue of 1820s
| footer            = Veiling was a common practice in the Muslim-majority Albania like other traditional Muslim societies
| direction         = horizontal
| total_width       = 250
}}

When Albania became independent in 1920, it was declared to be a secular country, and veiling were regarded as not only a symbol of religious power but also as a symbol of the gender segregation and isolation of women from society which constituted a wasted societal resource.<ref name="books.google.se">Stephanie Cronin: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=s6twAwAAQBAJ&dq=albania+veil&pg=PA237 Anti-Veiling Campaigns in the Muslim World: Gender, Modernism and the ...]'', p. 229-236</ref> A ban was introduced in 1929, but not enshrined in law until 1937.<ref>Anna-Mari Almila, David Inglis: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=REYrDwAAQBAJ&dq=communist+albania+veil&pg=PA7 The Routledge International Handbook to Veils and Veiling]'', p. 7</ref>

King [[Zog I|Zogu I]] initiated a number of reforms in women's rights as a part of his modernization policy, which were enforced via the local branches of a national [[Gruaja Shqiptare|women's organization]], and one of these reforms were a ban on veiling which was introduced in 1937.<ref name="books.google.se"/>  The veil ban in Albania was not aggressively enforced, since this was not seen as effective, but through persuasion, campaigns by the women's organization, and by the king's sisters, who acted as role models by appearing unveiled.<ref name="books.google.se"/>  Unveiling was finally fully accomplished during the [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Communist era]].

=== Austria ===
{{Main|Islam in Austria}}

[[File:Matthias Laurenz Gräff - "Liebende Eltern".jpg|thumb|180px|"Liebende Eltern (Loving parents)", painting about the discussion about the face-covering clothing, showing Austrian chancellor [[Sebastian Kurz]], vice chancellor [[Heinz-Christian Strache]] and a little Muslim child by [[Matthias Laurenz Gräff]] (2018)]]

Arab visitors to [[Zell am See]] in 2014 were issued brochures by local authorities urging them to take off any burqas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ho|first=Spencer|date=May 2014|title=Act more Austrian, Arab tourists told|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/act-more-austrian-arab-tourists-told/|website=[[Times of Israel]]|language=en-US|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=17 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117111852/https://www.timesofisrael.com/act-more-austrian-arab-tourists-told/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, a legal ban on face-covering clothing was adopted by the [[Austria]]n parliament.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article164642964/Oesterreich-stellt-Tragen-von-Burka-und-Nikab-unter-Strafe.html|title=Integration: Österreich stellt Tragen von Burka und Nikab unter Strafe|last=WELT|first=DIE|date=16 May 2017|via=www.Welt.de|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=Die Welt|archive-date=8 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208130647/https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article164642964/Oesterreich-stellt-Tragen-von-Burka-und-Nikab-unter-Strafe.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/02/burqa-ban-takes-effect-austria|title=Burqa ban takes effect in Austria|website=News|date=2 October 2017|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026163755/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/02/burqa-ban-takes-effect-austria|url-status=live}}</ref> Headscarves were also banned in 2019 from primary schools, but [[Kippah|Kippas]] worn by [[History of the Jews in Austria|Jewish]] boys and the [[turban]] worn by [[Sikhs|Sikh]] boys were exempted in the legislature.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/oesterreich-beschliesst-kopftuch-verbot-an-grundschulen-a-1267656.html|title=Österreich beschließt Kopftuchverbot an Grundschulen|date=15 May 2019|newspaper=[[Spiegel Online]]|language=DE|access-date=18 May 2019|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517133921/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/oesterreich-beschliesst-kopftuch-verbot-an-grundschulen-a-1267656.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Austrian legislators said their motivation was promoting equality between men and women and improving social integration with respect to local customs, and parents who send their child to school with a headscarf would be fined €440 ($427 or £386 {{As of|2022|lc=y}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tageblatt.lu/nachrichten/international/oesterreich-verbietet-kopftuecher-an-grundschulen/|title=Österreich verbietet Kopftücher an Grundschulen|last=Lëtzebuerg|first=Tageblatt|date=16 May 2019|website=Tageblatt.lu|language=DE|access-date=18 May 2019|archive-date=18 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518072650/http://www.tageblatt.lu/nachrichten/international/oesterreich-verbietet-kopftuecher-an-grundschulen/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, however, the law was overturned by the constitutional court after it was found to be unconstitutional. The court said the legislature was required to treat various religious convictions equally, because the ban did not apply to the Jewish Kippa or to the turban worn by Sikh males.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Austrian constitutional court rules headscarf ban in primary schools 'unconstitutional'|url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2020/12/12/austrian-constitutional-court-rules-headscarf-ban-in-primary-schools-unconstitutional|last=Chadwick|first=Lauren|date=12 December 2020|website=Euronews|access-date=14 May 2022|archive-date=14 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514183512/https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2020/12/12/austrian-constitutional-court-rules-headscarf-ban-in-primary-schools-unconstitutional|url-status=live}}</ref> But in 2025 Austria banned girls under the age of fourteen from wearing headscarves at recess and lessons in school, with the law taking effect in September 2026.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/world/europe/austria-head-scarf-ban-schools.html | title=Austria Bans Head Scarves in Schools for Girls Under 14 | date=2025-12-12 | website=www.nytimes.com}}</ref> 

=== Azerbaijan ===

[[File:Young Muslim Woman at End-of-Year Ceremony at Prep School - Sheki - Azerbaijan (18265069615).jpg|thumb|Azeri Muslim female student in [[Sheki, Azerbaijan|Sheki]] wearing a red hijab.]]
Veil as a part of woman's wardrobe was the trait of all cities where trade was developing. The anti-veil movement was initially started in 1908 in [[Baku]] by liberal bourgeoisie well before the Soviet [[Hujum]] in 1927. However, the anti-veil protests were suppressed by Islamic clergy, causing a major setback. While some women stopped wearing the veil then, many still wore the veil out of social pressure.<ref name=":0a">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4KfqLnqFHfkC&pg=PA89|title=Azeri Women in Transition: Women in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan|last1=Heyat|first1=Farideh|last2=Nfa|first2=Dr Farideh|date=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780700716623|pages=89–100|language=en}}</ref>  A prominent Azeri women's organization based in Baku, the [[Ali Bayramov Club]], successfully participated in the campaign to encourage women to take off the veil.<ref name=":0a" /> The [[Statue of a Liberated Woman]] was erected in memory over the abolition of mandatory hijab.

With Azerbaijan's secular tradition, there has reportedly been a general perception in the country linking the hijab with extremism. Many covered women have reported experiencing job discrimination.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Austin Clayton|date=May 1, 2019|title=As hijab spreads in Azerbaijan, covered women complain they can't find jobs|url=https://eurasianet.org/as-hijab-spreads-in-azerbaijan-covered-women-complain-they-cant-find-jobs|website=[[Eurasianet]]|language=en|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207083356/https://eurasianet.org/as-hijab-spreads-in-azerbaijan-covered-women-complain-they-cant-find-jobs|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Belgium ===
{{Main|Islam in Belgium}}

[[File:ITU Workshop on Data Processing and Management for IoT and Smart Cities & Communities - 2018 (39669184914).jpg|thumb|Hijab-clad women attending an workshop of the [[International Telecommunication Union]] at [[Brussels]] in 2018.]]

{{As of|2015}}, Belgium has specific bans on face-covering dress, such as the ''niqab'' or ''burqa''. On 11 July 2017, the European Court of Human Rights upheld Belgium's ban on burqas and full-face veils.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-burqa-ban-upheld-european-court-of-human-rights-dakir-v-full-face-islamic-veils-headscarf-a7835156.html |title=European Court of Human Rights upholds Belgium's ban on burqas and full-face Islamic veils |work=The Independent |date=11 July 2017 |access-date=2022-11-12 |archive-date=29 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429024204/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-burqa-ban-upheld-european-court-of-human-rights-dakir-v-full-face-islamic-veils-headscarf-a7835156.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

An estimated 80 percent Belgian schools ban students from wearing hijabs. A majority of these permit the wearing of other religious symbols, and one school disclosed to a researcher that "A visible cross or yarmulke is no problem, in fact everything is allowed except the headscarf".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Observers |first1=Strasbourg |title=Mikyas v. Belgium: one more 'headscarf case' that manifestly fails to acknowledge applicants' concerns |url=https://strasbourgobservers.com/2024/07/17/mikyas-v-belgium-one-more-headscarf-case-that-manifestly-fails-to-acknowledge-applicants-concerns/ |access-date=26 August 2024 |work=Strasbourg Observers |date=17 July 2024 |archive-date=26 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826140452/https://strasbourgobservers.com/2024/07/17/mikyas-v-belgium-one-more-headscarf-case-that-manifestly-fails-to-acknowledge-applicants-concerns/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Bosnia and Herzegovina ===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Mostar, Mahomedan woman, Herzegowina, Austro-Hungary-LCCN2002710858.tif
| caption1          = [[Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Austro-Hungarian era]] picture of a [[Bosniak]] woman in [[Mostar]].
| total_width       = 350
| image3            = Elementary education of Bosnian women in 1948.jpg
| caption3          = A classroom in Bosnia in 1948, featuring [[adult education|elderly]] Muslim women studying alongside young Muslim boys.
}}

With the slim [[Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Muslim majority]] (43%) and the country divided between the Muslim [[Bosniaks]] and [[Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Christians]], who are in turn divided between [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian Serb]] followers of the [[Eastern Orthodoxy in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Eastern Orthodox Church]] and the [[Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Catholic]] [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian Croats]], both denominations individually accounting for about 30-33% of the population, Bosnia and Herzegovina is officially a secular country, largely as a legacy of the [[Bosnian War|Bosnian war]]. 

Muslim [[Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina|women in Bosnia]] generally continued to live veiled and in traditional [[harem]] [[Islam and gender segregation|sex segregation]] until the [[First World War]] (1914–1918).<ref name="fg21">Giomi, F. (2021). Making Muslim Women European: Voluntary Associations, Gender, and Islam in Post-Ottoman Bosnia and Yugoslavia (1878–1941). Ungern: Central European University Press.</ref>
When Bosnia became a part of Yugoslavia in 1918, male Muslim intellectual modernists like [[Dževad Sulejmanpašić]] (1893–1976) advocated for Muslim women to leave harem sex segregation, appear unveiled, educate themselves and become active members of society; and during the [[Interwar period]] a minority of Muslim middle class women left sex segregation with their family's support and became [[New Woman|new women]], who appeared unveiled and became educated professionals, though these remained a minority.<ref name="fg21"/>

During the regime of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]] the traditional face veil (Bosnian: ''Zar'') was officially banned in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unveiling Muslim Women in Socialist Yugoslavia|work=brill.com|url=https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/rag/7/2/article-p184_4.xml}}</ref>

Communist SFR Yugoslavia assigned the [[Women's Antifascist Front (Yugoslavia)|Women's Antifascist Front of Yugoslavia]] (AFZ) to campaign in favor of the abolition of the veil in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo in 1947<ref name="auto4">:''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ECqTDAAAQBAJ&dq=bosnia+veil+1950&pg=PA144 A Muslim Reformist in Communist Yugoslavia: The Life and Thought of Husein Đozo]''</ref> because of the socialist ideal of gender equality.<ref name="auto5">:''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Pf8EAQAAQBAJ&dq=bosnia+veil+1950&pg=PP550  The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War]''</ref> The campaign was met with opposition from the rural [[imam]]s, but were supported by the [[General Assembly of the Islamic Community]], who stated that hijab and veiling were not necessary within Islam <ref name="auto4"/> and that Islam did not ban women from appearing unveiled in public, and during the campaign in 1947–1950 most women in [[Sarajevo]] stopped wearing the veil.<ref name="auto5"/>  However the campaign had little success outside of Sarajevo, and therefore a ban was introduced against the veil on 28 September 1950, a ban which was followed by Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia as well.<ref>Xavier Bougarel: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=auA3DwAAQBAJ&dq=bosnia+veil+1950&pg=PA77 Islam and Nationhood in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Surviving Empires]'', p. 77</ref>

During the 1960s, the hijab and other forms of [[religious clothing]] were banned for both men ([[Fez (hat)|fez]] and turbans) and women. Since Bosnia's independence in 1992, the ban was lifted. Today, the number of Muslim women wearing the hijab has grown after the end of the SFR Yugoslavia, but they still do face discrimination. In 2016, the hijab and other religious symbols were banned from courts and other institutions but were faced with protests from Muslim women on 7 February 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bosnia women protest at ban on headscarf|work=BBC News|date=7 February 2016|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35518768|archive-date=16 March 2018|access-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316232112/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35518768|url-status=live}}</ref> The law still exists in a minority of cantons and has been criticized by the Muslim population. Today, in these cantons, female Muslim lawyers, prosecutors, and others employed in judicial institutions cannot wear the hijab to work.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

=== Bulgaria ===
{{Main|Islam in Bulgaria}}

[[File:Pomaks.jpg|thumb|left|Elderly [[Pomaks|Pomak]] women in Bulgaria]]
In 2016, a ban on the wearing of face-covering clothing in public was adopted by the [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|Bulgarian parliament]].<ref name="auto7">[https://www.smh.com.au/world/bulgaria-the-latest-european-country-to-ban-the-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-places-20160930-grss9q.html Bulgaria the latest European country to ban the burqa and niqab in public places] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019170440/http://www.smh.com.au/world/bulgaria-the-latest-european-country-to-ban-the-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-places-20160930-grss9q.html |date=19 October 2017 }}, Smh.com.au: accessed 5 December 2016.</ref> The Bulgarian parliament enacted the ban on the basis of security concerns; however, the ban stimulated conflict as 10&nbsp;percent of the country's population identifies as [[Islam in Bulgaria|Muslim]]. Women who violate the burqa ban face fines up to €770 ($747 or £676 {{As of|2022|lc=y}}) and have their social security benefits suspended.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bulgaria-burka-ban-benefits-cut-burkini-niqab-a7340601.html|title=Another European country just banned the burqa|date=1 October 2016|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225165528/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bulgaria-burka-ban-benefits-cut-burkini-niqab-a7340601.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Denmark ===
{{Main|Islam in Denmark}}

In late 2017, the [[Denmark|Danish]] government considered adopting a law prohibiting people to wear "attire and clothing masking the face in such a way that it impairs recognizability".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/denmark-ban-full-face-covering-burqa-jakob-ellemann-jensen-a7986561.html|title=Denmark is about to ban the burqa|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=6 October 2017|access-date=28 January 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613011126/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/denmark-ban-full-face-covering-burqa-jakob-ellemann-jensen-a7986561.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The proposal was met with support from the three largest political parties<ref>[https://www.ft.dk/samling/20171/lovforslag/L219/105/afstemninger.htm L 219 Forslag til lov om ændring af straffeloven.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308124913/https://www.ft.dk/samling/20171/lovforslag/L219/105/afstemninger.htm |date=8 March 2021 }}, [[Folketinget]]</ref> and was passed into law on 31 May 2018, becoming § 134 c of the [[Danish Penal Code]], stating that "[a]ny person who in a public place wears a item of clothing that covers said person's face shall be liable to a fine" with an exception for coverings that serve "a creditable purpose" (e.g., sports equipment, protection against the cold, masks for carnivals, masquerades etc.).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/31/denmark-passes-law-banning-burqa-and-niqab|title=Denmark passes law banning burqa and niqab|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=31 May 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=31 May 2018|archive-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815112801/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/31/denmark-passes-law-banning-burqa-and-niqab|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.dk/ripdf/samling/20171/lovforslag/l219/20171_l219_som_vedtaget.pdf|title=L 219 Forslag til lov om ændring af straffeloven. (Law as passed.)|website=Website of The Danish Parliament|language=da|trans-title=L 219 Motion to amend the penal code. (Law as passed.)|access-date=31 July 2018|archive-date=19 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619162456/http://www.ft.dk/ripdf/samling/20171/lovforslag/l219/20171_l219_som_vedtaget.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The law came into force on 1 August 2018. On the first day of the implementation of the burqa ban, hundreds of protesters rallied wearing face veils in public. According to the ban, wearing a burqa or a niqab in public can lead to a fine of 1,000 [[Danish krone|kroner]] ($130, €134, or £118 {{As of|2022|lc=y}}) in case of first time offences, rising to 10,000 kr. ($1,300, €1,340, or £1,180 {{As of|2022|lc=y}}) in case of the fourth offence.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/denmark-s-burqa-ban-is-greeted-by-protest-and-confusion-1.3583365|title=Denmark's burqa ban is greeted by protest and confusion|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109035645/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/denmark-s-burqa-ban-is-greeted-by-protest-and-confusion-1.3583365|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/31/denmark-becomes-latest-european-country-ban-full-islamic-face/|title=Denmark becomes latest European country to ban full Islamic face veil in public spaces|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=31 May 2018|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2 June 2018|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=18 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318102251/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/31/denmark-becomes-latest-european-country-ban-full-islamic-face/|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the ban, police are instructed to order women to remove their veils or to leave the public space. Police officers that fail to obey the orders of the ban are subject to be fined.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

=== France ===
{{Main|Islam in France}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Hijabs sportifs France 2022.jpg
| caption1          = Mannequins advertising [[sports hijab]] at a [[Foot Locker]] outlet in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Parisian suburbs]]
| total_width       = 350
| image2            = Myriam Soumaré 2010.jpg
| caption2          = French athlete [[Myriam Soumaré]] sporting a hijab
| image3            = Mannequins Béziers 02.jpg
| caption3          = Mannequins advertising the traditional hijab in [[Béziers]]
}}

France is a [[Laicite|strongly secular]] country. One of the key principles of the [[1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State]] is the freedom of religious exercise. Therefore, this law prohibited public servants from wearing any religious signs during work.

In 1994, the French Ministry for Education sent out recommendations to teachers and headmasters to ban the Islamic veil (specified as hijab, chador, niqab, and burqa) in educational institutions. According to a 2019 study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsroom.iza.org/en/archive/research/effects-of-banning-the-islamic-veil-in-public-schools/|title=Behind the Veil: The Effect of Banning the Islamic Veil in Schools|website=newsroom.iza.org|access-date=2021-06-10|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227130642/https://newsroom.iza.org/en/archive/research/effects-of-banning-the-islamic-veil-in-public-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref> a higher proportion of girls of Muslim background born after 1980 graduated from high school, bringing their graduation rates closer to the non-Muslim female cohort. Having a "Muslim background" was defined as having an immigrant father from a predominantly Muslim country (hence, indigenized Muslims with a longer history in France were not considered), as the study was highlighting the "difficulties faced by adolescents with a foreign cultural background in forming their own identity". Males in the Muslim group also had a lower graduation rate than males in the non-Muslim group. While secularism is often criticized for restricting freedom of religion, the study concluded that for the French context, the "implementation of more restrictive policies in French public schools ended up promoting the educational empowerment of some of the most disadvantaged groups of female students".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsroom.iza.org/en/archive/research/effects-of-banning-the-islamic-veil-in-public-schools/|title=Effects of banning the Islamic veil in public schools|website=newsroom.iza.org|access-date=2019-12-27|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227130642/https://newsroom.iza.org/en/archive/research/effects-of-banning-the-islamic-veil-in-public-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, the [[French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools]] banned most religious signs, including the hijab, from public primary and secondary schools in France. The proposed ban was extremely controversial, with both sides of the political spectrum being split on the issue, some people arguing that the law went against religious freedom and was racist because it affects mostly Muslim women and Jewish men.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

In 2010, a [[French ban on face covering|ban on face covering]],<ref>{{Citation|title=LOI n° 2010-1192 du 11 octobre 2010 interdisant la dissimulation du visage dans l'espace public|date=11 October 2010|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000022911670|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=29 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129102742/https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000022911670|url-status=live}}</ref> targeting especially women wearing [[chador]] and [[burqa]], was adopted by the French Parliament. According to the Guardian, the "Burqa ban", was challenged and taken to the [[European Court of Human Rights]] which upheld the law on 1 July 2014, accepting the argument of the French government that the law was based on "a certain idea of living together".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/01/france-burqa-ban-upheld-human-rights-court|title=France's burqa ban upheld by human rights court|last1=Willsher|first1=Kim|date=1 July 2014|access-date=1 July 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104085600/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/01/france-burqa-ban-upheld-human-rights-court|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013 "the applicant" stood outside Elysée Palace in niqab and subsequently received a criminal conviction. The French criminal courts noted in 2014 that the lower court was wrong to dismiss her rights covered under article 18 but dismissed her appeal.{{rp|16}} The French delegation argued that wearing face coverings violated the principle of "living together". Judges [[Angelika Nussberger]] and [[Helena Jäderblom]] dissented, calling the concept, "far-fetched and vague",{{rp|61}} going on to note that the very decision of declaring what a woman is allowed to wear was hypocritical and antithetical to the aim of protecting human rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=001-145466&filename=|title=GRAND CHAMBER CASE OF S.A.S. v. FRANCE (Application no. 43835/11) JUDGMENT STRASBOURG|date=1 July 2014|publisher=ECHR|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235410/https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=001-145466&filename=|url-status=live}}</ref> The committee came to the determination in 2018 that the case had been incorrectly dismissed after review by a single judge on the grounds that, "the conditions of admissibility laid down in articles 34 and 35 of the Convention [had] not been met." Upon review the committee concluded that the applicants' human rights had been violated under article 18 and 26 of the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]].{{rp|13}} The committee dismissed the notion of "living together" as a vague notion not protected under international law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR/C/123/D/2747/2016&Lang=en|title=CCPR/C/123/D/2747/2016; Human Rights Committee Views adopted by the Committee under article 5 (4) of the Optional Protocol, concerning communication No. 2747/2016*,**,***|date=7 December 2018|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235408/https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2FC%2F123%2FD%2F2747%2F2016&Lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

A broader ban on hijab is regularly proposed by conservative and right-wing politicians.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/13/french-pm-ban-islamic-headscarves-universities-manuel-valls|title=French PM calls for ban on Islamic headscarves at universities|last=Chrisafis|first=Angelique|date=13 April 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 January 2018|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Such a broader ban would include a ban in public universities. However, presidents of universities and most student unions oppose such a ban.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/education/interdire-le-voile-aux-etudiantes-les-presidents-d-universite-disent-non_1782396.html|title=Interdire le voile aux étudiantes? Les présidents d'université disent "non"|date=13 April 2016|work=LExpress.fr|access-date=12 January 2018|language=fr|archive-date=13 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113035512/https://www.lexpress.fr/education/interdire-le-voile-aux-etudiantes-les-presidents-d-universite-disent-non_1782396.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2021, [[Emmanuel Macron]]'s party [[Renaissance (French political party)|Renaissance]] barred a Muslim woman from running as one of its local election candidates because she wore a hijab for a photograph on a campaign flier.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Samuel Osborne|date=May 12, 2021|title=Emmanuel Macron's party bars woman from running as candidate because she wore a hijab|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/emmanuel-macrons-party-bars-woman-from-running-as-candidate-because-she-wore-a-hijab/ar-BB1gEMut|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210709083321/https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/emmanuel-macrons-party-bars-woman-from-running-as-candidate-because-she-wore-a-hijab/ar-BB1gEMut%23comments|archive-date=2021-07-09|website=[[Microsoft News]], [[The Independent]]}}</ref>

=== Germany ===
{{Main|Islam in Germany}}

[[File:Muslims (15481161212).jpg|thumb|Burqa-clad Muslim women roaming in the streets of Germany in 2014.]]
In 2017, a ban on face-covering clothing for soldiers and state workers during work was approved by [[Germany|German]] parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Bundestag-beschliesst-Sicherheitspaket-article19813154.html|title=Bundestag beschließt Sicherheitspaket|first=n-tv|last=Nachrichtenfernsehen|website=n-tv.de|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=28 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428142454/http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Bundestag-beschliesst-Sicherheitspaket-article19813154.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the [[2015 European migrant crisis|European migrant crisis]], rapid demographic changes in Germany caused by immigration from [[Muslim world|Muslim countries]], public debates ensued which among other topics concerned Islamic veils from the turn of the century onward.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-conference-on-islamic-veil-sparks-controversy/a-48581723|title=German conference on Islamic veil sparks controversy {{!}} DW {{!}} 2 May 2019|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en-GB|access-date=13 October 2019|archive-date=23 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923212929/https://www.dw.com/en/german-conference-on-islamic-veil-sparks-controversy/a-48581723|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, Susanne Schröter, an academic at [[Goethe University Frankfurt]] planned a conference titled "The Islamic veil – Symbol of dignity or oppression?" which led to a group of students protesting that value judgments on the veil should not be made. The protestors criticized the invitation of journalist [[Alice Schwarzer]] and publisher of feminist magazine [[Emma (magazine)|''EMMA'']]. Schröter is a critic of Islamic veils and argues that the veil restricts a woman's freedom and usually comes with a bundle of restrictions. Schröter was backed by the president of Frankfurt University who stressed that it is her job to organize academic conferences where diverse opinions can be voiced. The president of the {{Interlanguage link|Deutscher Hochschulverband|de||lt=German Association of University Professors and Lecturers|WD=}} argued that [[freedom of speech]] meant that controversial topics should be resolved by debate, not "boycotts, mobbing or violence". Members of the {{Lang|de|Uni gegen antimuslimischen Rassismus}} (English: "University against anti-Muslim racism") boycotted the conference due to their objections regarding the invited participants.<ref name=":8" />

The [[Alternative for Germany]] are the largest party in Germany that advocates a ban on the burqa and niqab in public places.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

===Ireland===
{{Main|Islam in the Republic of Ireland}}

In 2018, [[Taoiseach]] (Prime Minister) [[Leo Varadkar]] ruled out a burka ban in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], saying "I don't like it but I think people are entitled to wear what they want to wear. [...] I believe in the [[freedom of religion]]. I don't agree with the doctrine of every religion or necessarily any religion, but I do believe in the freedom of religion."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/no-burqa-ban-ireland-4161037-Aug2018/|title=Leo Varadkar: 'There will be no burqa ban in Ireland'|first=Christina|last=Finn|date=5 August 2018|access-date=23 September 2018|archive-date=23 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923235157/http://www.thejournal.ie/no-burqa-ban-ireland-4161037-Aug2018/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businesspost.ie/politics/varadkar-rules-burqa-ban-calls-women-priesthood-422505|title=Varadkar rules out burqa ban, calls for women in priesthood – BusinessPost.ie|first=Hugh|last=O'Connell|access-date=23 September 2018|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235407/https://www.businesspost.ie/politics/varadkar-rules-burqa-ban-calls-women-priesthood-422505|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Italy ===
In October 2025, the Italian government led by [[Giorgia Meloni]] proposed a bill to forbid Islamic face coverings.<ref name="auto9">[https://www.reuters.com/world/new-italian-bill-targets-islamic-face-coverings-religious-funding-2025-10-08/ Reutrrs: New Italian bill targets Islamic face coverings and religious funding], 8 October 2025</ref>

===Kosovo===
{{Main|Islam in Kosovo}}

[[File:Mother and Child in Street - Prizren - Kosovo.jpg|thumb|Hijab wearing Muslim woman with child in [[Prizren]]]]
Since 2009, the hijab has been banned in public schools and universities or government buildings.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11065911 Headscarf ban sparks debate over Kosovo's identity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318002440/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11065911 |date=18 March 2021 }} news.bbc.co.uk 24 August 2010. Link retrieved 24 August 2010</ref> In 2014, the first female parliamentarian with hijab was elected to the [[Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo|Kosovo parliament]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160329120906/http://www.worldbulletin.net/hijab/138709/kosovo-elects-first-lawmaker-to-wear-a-headscarf World Bulletin]}} Kosovo elects first lawmaker to wear a headscarf</ref>

=== Latvia ===
In 2016, ''[[The Independent]]'' reported that a legal ban of face-covering Islamic clothing was adopted by the [[Latvia]]n parliament.<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/islamic-muslim-face-veil-niqab-burqa-banned-latvia-despite-being-worn-by-just-three-women-entire-a6993991.html|title=A European government has banned Islamic face veils despite them being worn by just three women|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=21 April 2016|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=21 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121050903/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/islamic-muslim-face-veil-niqab-burqa-banned-latvia-despite-being-worn-by-just-three-women-entire-a6993991.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After long public discussions, draft legislation was approved by Latvian government on 22 August 2017; however, it was never adopted by the parliament as a law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mk.gov.lv/lv/aktualitates/ministru-kabinets-atbalsta-sejas-aizsegsanas-ierobezojuma-likumprojektu|title=A Ministru kabinets atbalsta Sejas aizsegšanas ierobežojuma likumprojektu|date=22 August 2017|access-date=11 April 2020|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411183711/https://www.mk.gov.lv/lv/aktualitates/ministru-kabinets-atbalsta-sejas-aizsegsanas-ierobezojuma-likumprojektu|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Malta ===
Malta has no restrictions on Islamic dressing such as the veil ([[hijab]]) nor the full face veil ([[burqa]] or [[niqab]]);<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MwzsW6k6pzAC&pg=PA389 ''Yearbook of Muslims in Europe''], Volume 4 p. 393.</ref><ref name="maltatoday.com.mt">Dalli, Miriam (2015), [http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/56071/mp_calls_for_banning_of_the_burqa_decision_requires_rational_debate "MP calls for banning of the burqa: ‘Decision requires rational debate’"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728074548/http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/56071/mp_calls_for_banning_of_the_burqa_decision_requires_rational_debate |date=28 July 2017 }}, [[Malta Today]].</ref> however, an official ban on face covering for religious reasons is ambiguous.<ref>Camilleri, Neil (2015), [http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-07-11/local-news/In-Malta-wearing-a-burqa-while-driving-is-not-illegal-police-6736138692 "In Malta, wearing a burqa while driving is ‘not illegal’ – police"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728074619/http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-07-11/local-news/In-Malta-wearing-a-burqa-while-driving-is-not-illegal-police-6736138692 |date=28 July 2017 }}, [[The Malta Independent]].</ref> However it is guaranteed that individuals are allowed to wear as they wish at their private homes and at the Mosque.<ref name="maltatoday.com.mt"/> Imam El Sadi, from [[Mariam Al-Batool Mosque]], has said that the banning of the niqab and the burka "offends Muslim women".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/58764/imam_says_burqa_and_niqab_ban_offends_muslim_women_#.VmTiv3p4WrU|title=Imam says burqa and niqab ban 'offends' Muslim women|access-date=13 June 2017|archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510070532/http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/58764/imam_says_burqa_and_niqab_ban_offends_muslim_women_#.VmTiv3p4WrU|url-status=live}}</ref> El Sadi said that the Maltese's "attitude towards Muslim women" is positive and despite cultural clashes their dressing is tolerated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130121/local/-Muslim-women-should-be-able-to-wear-hijab-at-work-.454136 |title=Times of Malta ‒ 'Muslim women should be able to wear hijab at work' |website=Timesofmalta.com |date=21 January 2013 |access-date=13 June 2017 |archive-date=28 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728121302/https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130121/local/-Muslim-women-should-be-able-to-wear-hijab-at-work-.454136 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some Muslim women share the belief that it is sinful to be seen in public without veiling themselves;<ref name="euroinfo.ee">{{cite web |url=http://www.euroinfo.ee/malta/pdf/25.pdf |title=Report on Equality |website=Euroinfo.ee |language=et |access-date=13 June 2017 |archive-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222080633/http://www.euroinfo.ee/malta/pdf/25.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="timesofmalta1">{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110529/local/Election-of-Muslim-girl-champions-diversity.367835|title=Election of Muslim girl champions diversity|date=29 May 2011|access-date=13 June 2017|archive-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728123850/https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110529/local/Election-of-Muslim-girl-champions-diversity.367835|url-status=live}}</ref> however, they are lawfully required to remove it when needed—such as for photos on identifications.<ref name="Jørgen Nielsen 2014 p.411">Jørgen Nielsen; Samim Akgönül; Ahmet Alibašić; Egdunas Racius (2014), [https://books.google.com/books?id=a-NTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA411 ''Yearbook of Muslims in Europe''], Volume 6, Brill, p. 411.</ref>

=== Netherlands ===
{{Main|Islam in the Netherlands}}

[[File:Op het trottoir - On the sidewalk - Flickr - FaceMePLS.jpg|thumb|Burqa-clad Muslim woman riding a bicycle in the sidewalks of [[The Hague]] in 2007]]

The [[States General of the Netherlands]] enacted a ban on face-covering clothing, popularly described as the "burqa ban", in January 2012.<ref>[http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/ministers-vote-dutch-‘burqa-ban’ "Ministers vote Dutch ‘burqa ban’"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210030405/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/ministers-vote-dutch-%E2%80%98burqa-ban%E2%80%99 |date=10 February 2012 }}, rnw.nl</ref><ref>The Telegraph [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/8765673/Netherlands-to-ban-the-burka.html "Netherlands to ban the burka"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331235407/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/8765673/Netherlands-to-ban-the-burka.html |date=31 March 2019 }}, 15 September 2011</ref> The burqa ban came into force on 1 August 2019 in schools, public transport, healthcare, and government buildings, but there are doubts over whether it will be applied in practice.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/01/europe/netherlands-burqa-ban-scli-intl/index.html The Netherlands has introduced a 'burqa ban' – but its enforcement is in doubt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801111527/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/01/europe/netherlands-burqa-ban-scli-intl/index.html |date=1 August 2019 }}, CNN, 1 August 2019</ref> [[Amsterdam]] Mayor [[Femke Halsema]] spoke out in her opposition of the law. She stated that removing someone wearing a burqa from public transport in the capital would not be fitting with current Dutch society. Chairman of the Dutch Public Transport Association Pedro Peters also voiced his opinion on the ban. Peters said: "You are not going to stop the bus for half an hour for someone wearing a burqa", waiting for the police to arrive; "we are also not allowed to refuse anyone because we have a transport obligation".<ref name="French">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-the-netherlands-burqa-ban-takes-effect-police-and-transport-officials-refuse-to-enforce-it/2019/08/01/a91fb648-b461-11e9-acc8-1d847bacca73_story.html|title=As the Netherlands' burqa ban takes effect, police and transport officials refuse to enforce it|first=James|last=McAuley|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106214918/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-the-netherlands-burqa-ban-takes-effect-police-and-transport-officials-refuse-to-enforce-it/2019/08/01/a91fb648-b461-11e9-acc8-1d847bacca73_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Known officially as the Partial Ban on Face-Covering Clothing Act, the act also details that those who refuse to uncover their faces may pay a fine of at least €150 ($146 or £132 {{As of|2022|lc=y}}) and can be arrested.<ref name="French"/> Dutch police have also stated that enforcing the ban is not a priority, and that they likely would not respond to a complaint within a thirty-minute timeframe.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/01/dutch-police-signal-unwillingness-enforce-new-burqa-ban|title=Dutch 'burqa ban' rendered largely unworkable on first day|last=Boffey|first=Daniel|date=1 August 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=6 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The Dutch government has also come under fire for the "burqa ban" from certain members of the UN claiming it is discriminatory toward Muslim women. On 7 October 2019, Tendayi Achiume, the UN Special Rapporteur on racism, wrote a report questioning the perceived inclusivity of Dutch society and how that perception masks a reality of treating racial and ethnic minorities as foreign. Speaking about the "burqa ban" Achiume said "The political debate surrounding the adoption of this law makes plain its intended targeting of Muslim women, and even if this targeting was not the intent, it has certainly been the effect".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25101&LangID=E|title=OHCHR {{!}} The Netherlands: UN expert calls for greater equality and tolerance|website=www.ohchr.org|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926160739/https://ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25101&LangID=E|url-status=live}}</ref> In her report, Achiume also references a [[whistleblower]] in the Hague police department. She said that this whistleblower raised concerns about a culture of racism and targeted discrimination within the police department, and the government must act quickly to combat it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/dutch-told-burka-ban-discriminates-against-muslim-women-1.4045396|title=Dutch told burka ban discriminates against Muslim women|last=Hague|first=Peter Cluskey in The|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref>

===Northern Cyprus===
[[File:Turkish Cypriot folk dancers.jpg|thumb|A Turkish Cypriot children's folk dance group. Both boys and girls wear head coverings in accordance with [[Islamic clothing|Islamic dressing norms]].]]

All [[Turkish Cypriots|Turkish-Cypriot]] women wear traditional Islamic headscarves.<ref name="Cypriot Attire Project">[http://eastorwest.multiply.com/journal/item/18 Cypriot Attire Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313075209/http://eastorwest.multiply.com/journal/item/18 |date=13 March 2010 }}, ''Cyprus History in Brief''</ref> When leaving their homes, Muslim Cypriot women would cover their faces by pulling a corner of the headscarf across their nose and mouth, a custom recorded as early as 1769.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyprusexplorer.globalfolio.net/eng/history/mariti/index03.php|title=Giovanni Mariti. Travels in the Island of Cyprus. Cyprus Explorer|website=www.CyprusExplorer.GlobalFolio.net|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026162932/http://www.cyprusexplorer.globalfolio.net/eng/history/mariti/index03.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Their head dress [...] consists of a collection of various handkerchiefs of [[muslim]], prettily shaped, so that they form a kind of [[Helmet|casque]] of a palm's height, with a [[pendant]] behind to the end of which they attach another handkerchief folded in a triangle, and allowed to hang on their shoulders. When they go out of doors modesty requires that they should take a corner and pull it in front to cover the chin, mouth and nose. The greater part of the hair remains under the ornaments mentioned above, except on the forehead where it is divided into two locks, which are led along the temples to the ears, and the ends are allowed to hang loose behind over the shoulders.|[[Giovanni Mariti]], ''Travels in the Island of Cyprus'', 1769, though it should be remembered Mariti is describing general Cypriot women's dress, and not Muslim Cypriot dress specifically}}

In accordance with the islands' strict moral code, Turkish Cypriot women also wore long skirts or [[Trousers|pantaloons]] in order to cover the soles of their feet. Most men covered their heads with either a headscarf (similar to a wrapped ''[[keffiyeh]]'', "a form of turban"<ref>[[Joanne Eicher|Eicher, Joanne Bubolz]], ''Dress and Ethnicity: Change Across Space and Time'', p. 35, 1995</ref>) or a [[Fez (hat)|fez]]. Turbans have been worn by Cypriot men since ancient times and were recorded by [[Herodotus]], during the [[Ancient history of Cyprus|Persian rule]] of the island, to demonstrate their "[[oriental]]" customs compared to [[Greeks]].<ref>Irwin, Elizabeth K., ''Reading Herodotus: A Study of the Logoi in Book 5 of Herodotus' Histories'', p. 273, 2007</ref>

Following the [[globalization]] of the island, however, many younger Sunni Muslim Turkish-Cypriots abandoned wearing traditional dress, such as headscarves.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Athanasiadis |first1=Iason |title=Northern Cyprus espouses 'Islam lite' |url=https://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2004/Apr-24/62909-northern-cyprus-espouses-islam-lite.ashx |access-date=2020-01-27 |work=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]] |date=24 April 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004121549/http://www.iason.ws/cyprus/articles.aspx?id=11 |archive-date=2011-10-04 |url-status=live}}</ref> Yet they are still worn by older Muslim Cypriot women.

Until the temporary removal of the ban on headscarves in universities in [[Turkey]] in 2008,<ref>[http://www.haberkktc.com/haber/basortusu-yasagi-kalkti-3693.html Haber KKTC, 7 June 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104013058/https://www.haberkktc.com/haber/basortusu-yasagi-kalkti-3693.html |date=4 November 2020 }} Ban on headscarf was removed in Turkey</ref> women from Turkey moved to study in [[Northern Cyprus]] since many universities there did not apply any ban on headscarf.<ref>Tavernise, Sabrina, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/world/europe/09benli.html?pagewanted=all Under a Scarf, a Turkish Lawyer Fighting to Wear It]", ''[[The New York Times]]'', 9 February 2008</ref> Whilst many Turkish Cypriot women no longer wear headscarves, recent immigrants from Turkey, settled in villages in Northern Cyprus, do.<ref>[http://www.mephisto-diving.com/questions-and-answers/ Cyprus: Culture and language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409145258/http://www.mephisto-diving.com/questions-and-answers/ |date=9 April 2016 }}, ''Mephisto''</ref>

=== Norway ===
{{Main|Islam in Norway}}

In 2018 the Norwegian parliament voted to ban the burqa in schools and universities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/norway-burqa-ban-schools-universities-parliament-vote-niqab-latest-a8387826.html|title=Norway votes in favour of banning burqa in schools and universities|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=7 June 2018|access-date=8 June 2018|archive-date=12 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312230232/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/norway-burqa-ban-schools-universities-parliament-vote-niqab-latest-a8387826.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/norway-bans-burqas-niqabs-schools-211009300.html|title=Norway bans burqas and niqabs at schools|website=au.news.yahoo.com|date=7 June 2018 }}</ref>

In April 2019, the [[Telia Company|Telia telecom company]] received bomb threats after featuring a Muslim woman taking off her [[hijab]] in a commercial. Although the police did not evaluate the threat as likely to be carried out, delivering threats is still a crime in Norway.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nettavisen.no/%C3%B8konomi/telia-har-mottatt-trussel-som-flge-av-hijab-reklame/3423647259.html|title=Telia har mottatt trussel som følge av hijab-reklame|last=Ripegutu|first=Halvor|website=Nettavisen|date=2 April 2019|language=no|access-date=3 April 2019|archive-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403055655/https://www.nettavisen.no/%C3%B8konomi/telia-har-mottatt-trussel-som-flge-av-hijab-reklame/3423647259.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-telia-company-norway-idUSKCN1RE179|title=Phone company Telia threatened in Norway after empowerment advert|date=2 April 2019|work=Reuters|access-date=6 April 2019|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406112657/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-telia-company-norway-idUSKCN1RE179|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Portugal ===
In October 2025, parliament in [[Portugal]] passed a bill banning clothing covering the face.<ref>[https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/14/no-portugal-is-not-banning-all-islamic-practices Euronews: No, portugal is not banning all islamic practices], October 2025</ref>

===Russia===
{{Main|Islam in Russia}}

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Tatar women praying.jpg
| caption1          = [[Tatars|Tatar women]] at a mosque in [[Chistopol]]
| image2            = Grozny, Russia, Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, Courtyard, Visitors.jpg
| caption2          = 2 hijab wearing [[Chechens|Chechen women]] talking among themselves at the premises of the [[Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque]] in [[Grozny]]
| image3            = Dagestani. 1870-1880. Alexandre Roinashvili. Tbilisi History Museum Collection.jpg
| caption3          = [[Dagestani people|Dagestani woman]] photographed in 1870s by [[Alexander Roinashvili]]
| total_width       = 450
}}

Russia's [[Stavropol]] region has a ban on hijabs in schools since 2012, the first of its kind imposed by a region in the Russian Federation. The ruling was upheld by Russia's Supreme Court in July 2013. The hijab is prevalent in [[Islam in Russia|Muslim]] majority North Caucasus republics such as [[Chechnya]] and [[Dagestan]] and less prevalent in [[Tatarstan]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Barry |first1=Ellen |date=19 March 2013 |title=Local Russian Hijab Ban Puts Muslims in a Squeeze |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/world/europe/russian-regions-hijab-ban-puts-squeeze-on-muslims.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 May 2018 |title=The Islamic veil across Europe |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095 |archive-date=9 February 2018 |access-date=22 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209161441/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Supreme-Court-confirmation:-prohibited-to-wear-hijab-in-Russian-high-schools-28440.html|title=Supreme Court confirmation: prohibited to wear hijab in Russian high schools|website=www.asianews.it|access-date=22 December 2021|archive-date=22 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222140206/https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Supreme-Court-confirmation:-prohibited-to-wear-hijab-in-Russian-high-schools-28440.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sweden ===

[[File:20180613 Folkemodet Bornholm burka happening 0110 (40978883920).jpg|thumb| [[Hijabophobia|Anti-hijab]] installation at a park in [[Malmö]].]]

In December 2019, the municipality of [[Skurup]] banned Islamic veils in educational institutions. Earlier, the municipality of [[Staffanstorp]] approved a similar ban.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=96&artikel=7369615 |title=Skurup förbjuder slöja i skolan |trans-title= |work=Sveriges Radio, MalmöhusP4 |access-date=2019-12-19 |language=sv |archive-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219023852/https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=96&artikel=7369615 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Switzerland ===
In a referendum on 7 March 2021, Swiss voters approved a nationwide ban on the burqa, with over 51&nbsp;percent of the electorate supporting it.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/07/switzerland-on-course-to-ban-wearing-of-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-places|title = Switzerland to ban wearing of burqa and niqab in public places|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 7 March 2021|access-date = 7 March 2021|archive-date = 15 December 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211215142423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/07/switzerland-on-course-to-ban-wearing-of-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-places|url-status = live}}</ref>

Earlier, in September 2013, a constitutional referendum in the [[Canton of Ticino]] on a [[Popular initiative (Switzerland)|popular initiative]] banning full-face veils was approved with 66.2&nbsp;percent of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/abstimmungen/abstimmungen/abstimmungen-ti/ja-zum-burka-verbot-im-tessin|title=Ja zum Burka-Verbot im Tessin |work=SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen|access-date=2020-05-17|language=de}}</ref> In May 2017, the [[Landsgemeinde]] in the [[Canton of Glarus]] rejected adopting a similar measure with about two-thirds of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.srf.ch/news/regional/ostschweiz/kein-burka-verbot-im-kanton-glarus|title=Kein Burka-Verbot im Kanton Glarus |work=SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen|access-date=2020-05-17|language=de}}</ref>

In September 2018, the [[Canton of St Gallen]] became the second canton in Switzerland to vote in favor of a ban on facial coverings in public with two-thirds casting a ballot in favor.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.dw.com/en/swiss-canton-st-gallen-votes-for-ban-on-burqas-in-public/a-45607726| title=Swiss canton St Gallen votes for ban on burqas in public &#124; DW &#124; 23.09.2018| website=[[Deutsche Welle]]| access-date=8 March 2021| archive-date=1 June 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601094612/https://www.dw.com/en/swiss-canton-st-gallen-votes-for-ban-on-burqas-in-public/a-45607726| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Turkey===
{{Main|Headscarf controversy in Turkey}}

{{Further|Conservatism in Turkey|Freedom of religion in Turkey|Human rights in Turkey}}
In the early 20th century, the women's movement, such as the [[Sade Giyinen Hanımlar Cemiyeti]], promoted a dress reform for women, including unveiling. They achieved support from the state feminism introduced by [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)]] in the 1920s.
[[File:Çarşaf fermanı.jpg|thumb|upright=0.86|[[Abdul Hamid II|Abdülhamid II]]'s decree dated 2 April 1892 prohibited by the wearing of ''[[çarşaf]].'']] 

Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) had the ambition to transform Turkey into a new modern [[Secularism in Turkey|secular state]]. In 1925, the Turkish government introduced a new Family Law modelled after the Swiss Family Law,<ref>{{Cite book   |year=1977 |last1=Zweigert |first1= Konrad |last2=Kötz |first2=Hein |quote=Authors are  Professor of Law, University of Hamburg; Director, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Private Law  and M.C.L. (Mich.); Professor of Law, University of Konstanz |title= An Introduction to Comparative Law; Translated from the German by Tony Weir, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge |publisher= North Holland Publishing Company |place= Amsterdam, New York, Oxford |volume= I: The Framework |pages=176–177}}</ref> and in the same year, it banned [[Mahmud II]]'s reformation hat for men to be Westernise,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Records of travel in Turkey, Greece, etc|last=Slade|first=Adolphus|year=1854|location=London|pages=194|publisher=William Taylor}}</ref> the [[Fez (hat)|fez]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mehmet Yaman, İnkılap Kanunları Hakkında Anayasal Bir Yorum, Kriter.org sitesi 26.07.2011 |url=http://www.kriter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2042&Itemid=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129064702/http://www.kriter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2042&Itemid=1 |archive-date=29 November 2019 |access-date=10 August 2011}}</ref> 
  
In 1928, the Turkish government removed the official religion provision from the constitution.<ref>[http://kampus.beykent.edu.tr/Paylasim/Dosyalar/Anayasalar_129807210772392500.pdf TC Anayasaları, 1921, 1924, 1961 ve 1982 Anayasalarını karşılaştırılması] beykent.edu.tr {{in lang|tr}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224041757/http://kampus.beykent.edu.tr/Paylasim/Dosyalar/Anayasalar_129807210772392500.pdf |date=24 February 2020 }}</ref> 
The modernization reform program of [[Mustafa Kemal Pasha]] in Turkey abolished sex segregation and encouraged women to unveil as a part of a social revolution in order to make Turkey a modern state.<ref name="Thompson, E. 2000 p. 129"/> He appeared in public with his wife [[Latife Uşaki]] unveiled, and arranged formal state receptions with dinner and dance where men and women could mingle, to encourage women to leave seclusion and adopt modern clothing, and in the mid-1920s, upper- and middle class Turkish women started to appear unveiled in public.<ref name="ReferenceD"/> The Turkish women's movement, lead by [[Latife Bekir]] of the [[Türk Kadinlar Birligi]], voiced their support for the unveiling of women.<ref>Adak, S. (2022). Anti-Veiling Campaigns in Turkey: State, Society and Gender in the Early Republic. Storbritannien: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 65</ref> Mustafa Kemal viewed modern clothing as an essential visual symbol of the new secular nation and encouraged both women and men to wear modern fashion, but in contrast to his law against traditional wear for men, he never introduced a ban against the hijab.<ref name="ReferenceD">M. Kavakci Islam, Merve Kavakci: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=eQtdAQAAQBAJ&dq=latife+ataturk+veil&pg=PT36 Headscarf Politics in Turkey: A Postcolonial Reading]'' via books.google.com</ref>

In Türkiye, the ban on hijab was first implemented during the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état|1980 coup]] in universities and public buildings (including libraries and government buildings, targeting university students and public employees), but the law was further strengthened after the [[1997 Turkish military memorandum|1997 military memorandum]].<ref name="aljazeera.com.tr"/>  

There has been some unofficial relaxation of the ban under governments led by the conservative [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|Justice and Development Party]] (AKP) in recent (after 2003) years:<ref name=hijabworld/> On 7 February 2008, the Turkish Parliament passed an amendment to the constitution, allowing women to wear the headscarf in Turkish universities, arguing that many women would not seek an education if they could not wear the ''hijab''.<ref>Derakhshandeh, Mehran. [http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=639942 Just a headscarf?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120904225902/http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=639942 |date=4 September 2012 }} ''Tehran Times''. Mehr News Agency. 16 February 2008.</ref><ref>Jenkins, Gareth. [http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2372795 Turkey's Constitutional Changes: Much Ado About Nothing?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070625152714/http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2372795 |date=25 June 2007 }} ''Eurasia Daily Monitor''. The Jamestown Foundation. 11 February 2008.</ref><ref name=wp>Ayman, Zehra; Knickmeyer, Ellen. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020900832.html Ban on Head Scarves Voted Out in Turkey: Parliament Lifts 80-Year-Old Restriction on University Attire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019004611/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020900832.html |date=19 October 2017 }}. ''The Washington Post''. 10 February 2008. Page A17.</ref> The decision was met with powerful opposition and protests from [[Secularism in Turkey|secularists]]. On 5 June 2008, the [[Constitutional Court of Turkey]] reinstated the ban on constitutional grounds relating to the secularity of the state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Turkey's high court overrules government on head scarves |author=Sabrina Tavernise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/world/europe/05iht-turkey.4.13505875.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 June 2008 |access-date=10 March 2011 |archive-date=24 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424090707/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/world/europe/05iht-turkey.4.13505875.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Headscarves had become a focal point of the conflict between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the secularist establishment. The ruling was widely seen as a victory for Turks who claim this maintains Turkey's separation of state and religion. 
[[File:Turkish women 2x.jpg|thumb|[[Women in Turkey|Turkish women]] with hijab]]

In 2013, the headscarf ban in public institutions was lifted through a decree,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tr.euronews.com/2013/10/08/turkiye-de-kamuda-basortusu-yasagi-resmen-kalkti|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114115720/http://tr.euronews.com/2013/10/08/turkiye-de-kamuda-basortusu-yasagi-resmen-kalkti/|url-status=dead|title=Türkiye'de kamuda başörtüsü yasağı resmen kalktı|date=8 October 2013|archivedate=14 November 2020}}</ref> with exceptions in the military, police force and judiciary.<ref>{{cite news|title=Turkey Lifts Longtime Ban on Head Scarves in State Offices |date=8 October 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/world/europe/turkey-lifts-ban-on-head-scarves-in-state-offices.html |author1=Sebnem Arsu |author2=Dan Bilefsky |work=The New York Times |agency=New York Times |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref> The ban on wearing hijab in high schools ended in 2014.<ref name="news24.com">{{cite web |date=23 September 2014 |title=Turkey lifts ban on headscarves at high schools |url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/Turkey-lifts-ban-on-headscarves-at-high-schools-20140923 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516215849/https://www.news24.com/World/News/Turkey-lifts-ban-on-headscarves-at-high-schools-20140923 |archive-date=16 May 2020 |access-date=26 December 2016 |website=News24.com}}</ref> In March 2017, the Ministry of Defence in Ankara announced a change in rules to allow women in the armed forces to wear headscarves with their uniforms, which sparked concerns from secularists over creeping [[Islamization|Islamisation]] of the military.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-03-06|title=Turkey is considering relaxing rules on hair in the armed forces – and its proving very controversial|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-military-president-erdogan-armed-forces-hair-beards-headscarves-a7614811.html|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en|access-date=19 September 2021|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728022437/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-military-president-erdogan-armed-forces-hair-beards-headscarves-a7614811.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2022, Turkey's government and opposition both pledged legal steps to establish women's right to wear Islamic headscarves, bringing an issue that previously caused severe splits back to the forefront of political discourse ahead of following year's elections.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Devranoglu |first1=Nevzat |last2=Butler |first2=Daren |title=Islamic headscarf returns to heart of Turkish political debate. |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/islamic-headscarf-returns-heart-turkish-political-debate-2022-10-05/ |website=Reuters |language=en |date=5 October 2022 |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219212100/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/islamic-headscarf-returns-heart-turkish-political-debate-2022-10-05/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The recommendations came as [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]'s governing AK Party and the opposition pushed policy ideas ahead of [[2023 Turkish presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |date=22 October 2022 |title=Turkey: Erdogan proposes vote on right to wear hijab |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-erdogan-proposes-vote-right-wear-hijab |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref> The current official situation regarding the headscarf, which is problematic in terms of the principle of neutrality due to its [[Religious symbol|religious symbolism]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fürstenau |first=Marcel |date=13 July 2024 |title=German lay judge challenges a headscarf ban in court |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-lay-judge-challenges-a-headscarf-ban-in-court/a-69648119 |access-date=6 May 2026 |website=[[Deutsche Welle|DW]] |language=en}}</ref> is revealed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's words at an initial appointment ceremony attended by headscarf-wearing judge and prosecutor candidates also: "Regarding our headscarf-wearing judicial members... It may take some time, there may be some difficulty in accepting it, but God willing, everyone will accept the new Turkey where freedoms are applied equally to everyone."<ref> {{Cite web |last=Şafak |first=Yeni |title=Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ndan önemli mesajlar: Yeni Türkiye'yi herkes kabullenecek {{!}} Gündem Haberleri |url=https://www.yenisafak.com/gundem/cumhurbaskani-erdoganndan-onemli-mesajlar-yeni-turkiyeyi-herkes-kabullenecek-4774571 |access-date=2026-05-06 |website=Yeni Şafak |language=tr-TR}}</ref>
 
Some researchers{{who|date=April 2015}} claim that about 55 to 60&nbsp;percent of Turkish women cover their heads. A number of women wear a headscarf for cultural reasons; that cultural headscarf is used by women that work under the sun to protect their heads from sunburn.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6122010.stm | work=BBC News | title=Headscarf issue challenges Turkey | date=7 November 2006 | first=Sarah | last=Rainsford | archive-date=20 April 2010 | access-date=24 June 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420191433/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6122010.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> In cities like [[Istanbul]] and [[Ankara]] about a half of women cover their heads.<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 September 2007|title=Covered women decreased, we do not look like Malaysia|work=A&G research company|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=234171|url-status=dead|access-date=24 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234208/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=234171|archive-date=30 December 2013}}</ref> In the cities in eastern Turkey, more women cover their heads.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7025294.stm |title=Women condemn Turkey constitution |work=BBC News |first=Sarah |last=Rainsford |date=2 October 2007 |access-date=4 August 2008 |archive-date=13 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813003706/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7025294.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="salon.com">{{Cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/04/23/headscarf/ |title=Head scarves to topple secular Turkey? |work=Salon |first=Tracy |last=Clark-Flory |access-date=4 August 2008 |date=23 April 2007 |archive-date=13 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513032710/http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/04/23/headscarf/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2023, a large, nationally representative research study conduced by Turkish academics found out that the percentage of women who wore a headscarf in some way (including irregularly) is 73%. This indicates that
nearly three-quarters of the female participants over the age of 18 in Turkey engage in this practice. In
contrast, 27% of the participants reported not wearing a headscarf at all. According to the data, 48% of
female participants reported wearing a headscarf "frequently" or "always" when going out, while 47% stated
they "never" or "rarely" do so. A small percentage of 6% indicated that they "sometimes" wear a headscarf
when going out.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nişancı |first=Zübeyir |date=21 March 2023 |title=Faith and Religiosity in Türkiye |url=https://nsp.marmara.edu.tr/dosya/nsp/Resimler/Faith-and-Religiosity-in-T%C3%BCrkiye-Z%C3%BCbeyir-Ni%C5%9Fanc%C4%B1.pdf |access-date=10 April 2023 |website=[[Marmara University]] |page=50 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420223018/https://nsp.marmara.edu.tr/dosya/nsp/Resimler/Faith-and-Religiosity-in-T%C3%BCrkiye-Z%C3%BCbeyir-Ni%C5%9Fanc%C4%B1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://iiit.org/wp-content/uploads/Faith-and-Religiosity-in-T%C3%BCrkiye-2023.pdf | title=Faith and Religiosity in Türkiye | website=iiit.org}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
{{See also|Islam in the United Kingdom|British debate over veils}}

[[File:Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends Iftar reception - 2025 - 54385078845.jpg|thumb|Scenes from an [[iftar]] party held within [[Downing Street]] in 2025 during the [[Premiership of Keir Starmer|tenure of Keir Starmer]], where local Muslims had been invited.]] 

The UK has no specific legislation prohibiting any form of traditional Islamic dress. In some cases, hijabs are worn by young girls from age 6–8.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/other/marks-26-spencer-criticised-for-stocking-hijabs-in-school-essentials-section/ar-BBOgihv|title=Marks & Spencer criticised for stocking hijabs in 'school essentials' section|website=www.msn.com|access-date=12 October 2018|archive-date=12 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012054009/https://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/other/marks-26-spencer-criticised-for-stocking-hijabs-in-school-essentials-section/ar-BBOgihv|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/marksandspencer/status/1050030484342919168|title=M&S on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=12 October 2018|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308112744/https://twitter.com/marksandspencer/status/1050030484342919168|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP) has had a policy to ban full-facial coverings since 2010, while the [[British National Party]] (BNP) favoured banning it only in schools.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-01-17 |title=UKIP's Farage calls for burka ban |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8464124.stm |access-date=2024-03-04 |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908184952/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8464124.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, UKIP clarified their stance, favouring only a ban at schools and places where security is a concern, while the BNP are now in favour of a total ban.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-04 |title=What Would Ukip Do About The Veil? |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/04/nigel-farage-veil_n_4044203.html |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=HuffPost UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-12-20 |title=BNP Say Ban the Burqa NOW! Video {{!}} National News {{!}} British National Party |url=http://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/bnp-say-ban-burqa-now-video |access-date=2024-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220233620/http://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/bnp-say-ban-burqa-now-video |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Government under [[David Cameron]] responded to a 'Ban the Burqa' petition by affirming that "the Government does not support a general ban on the wearing of the niqab or other face coverings in public. Such a proscriptive approach would be out of keeping with our nation's longstanding record of tolerance and freedom of expression. Women should have the freedom to choose what to wear".<ref>Government Response: Ban the Burqa Petition (6 June 2013).</ref>

==North America==

===Canada===
{{See also|Islam in Canada}}
[[File:Affiche 105 Je porte le voile Fr.jpg|thumb|Poster for the movie ''Je Porte le voile'' released in 2009 in [[Quebec]] which deals with the issue of veiling in Islam as encountered by a woman who converted into the faith.]] 

Most Muslim women in Canada wear some form of Islamic head-covering based on the available data. In a 2016 Environics poll, 73% of Canadian Muslim women reported wearing some sort of head-covering in public (58% wear [[hijab]], 13% wear [[chador]] and 2% wear [[niqab]]). Wearing a head covering in public had also increased since the 2006 survey.<ref name="poll">{{cite web |last1=Grenier |first1=Éric |title=Muslim Canadians increasingly proud of and attached to Canada, survey suggests |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-muslim-canadians-environics-1.3551591 |website=CBC News |access-date=2017-04-19 |date=2016-04-27 |archive-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829063803/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-muslim-canadians-environics-1.3551591 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 12 December 2011, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration issued a decree banning the ''[[niqab]]'' or any other face-covering garments for women swearing their oath of citizenship; the ''hijab'' was not affected.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/face-veils-banned-for-citizenship-oaths-1.1048750 Face veils banned for citizenship oaths] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912153314/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/face-veils-banned-for-citizenship-oaths-1.1048750 |date=12 September 2024 }}. CBC. Published 12 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.</ref> This edict was later overturned by a Court of Appeal on the grounds of being unlawful.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

[[Mohamed Elmasry]], a [[Mohamed Elmasry#Opinions and Public Statements|controversial]] former president of the [[Canadian Islamic Congress]] (CIC), has claimed that only a small minority of Muslim Canadian women actually wear these types of clothing. He has also said that women should be free to choose, as a matter of culture and not religion, whether they wear it.<ref name="cbc-news">{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/muslim-group-calls-for-burka-ban-1.863810|title=Muslim group calls for burka ban|date=8 October 2009|publisher=[[CBC News]]|access-date=14 July 2010|archive-date=12 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112031157/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/muslim-group-calls-for-burka-ban-1.863810|url-status=live}}</ref> The CIC criticized a proposed law that would have required voters to show their faces before being allowed to cast ballots. The group described the idea as unnecessary, arguing that it would only promote discrimination against Muslims and provide "political mileage among Islamophobes".<ref>{{Cite news|first=Bryden|last=Joan|title=New bill to ban veiled voters|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=27 October 2007|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/new-bill-to-ban-veiled-voters/article964080/|archive-date=23 November 2022|access-date=23 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123013827/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/new-bill-to-ban-veiled-voters/article964080/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2007, soccer player Asmahan Mansour, part of the team Nepean U12 Hotspurs, was expelled from a Quebec tournament for wearing her headscarf. Quebec soccer referees also ejected an 11-year-old Ottawa girl while she was watching a match.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-quebec-differ-over-soccer-head-scarf-ban-1.632266|title=Ontario, Quebec differ over soccer head scarf ban|date=26 February 2007|publisher=[[CBC News]]|access-date=14 July 2010|archive-date=8 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308144201/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-quebec-differ-over-soccer-head-scarf-ban-1.632266|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2013, a bill commonly referred to as the [[Quebec Charter of Values]] was introduced in the [[National Assembly of Quebec]] by the [[Parti Québécois]] that would ban overt religious symbols in the Quebec public service. Thus would include universities, hospitals, and public or publicly funded schools and [[daycare]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nosvaleurs.gouv.qc.ca/medias/pdf/Charter.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124205655/http://www.nosvaleurs.gouv.qc.ca/medias/pdf/Charter.pdf |title=National Assembly, Bill 60: Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 January 2014|date=24 January 2014|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> Criticism of this decision came from ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' newspaper, saying that such clothing, as worn by "2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner [[Tawakkul Karman]]", was "Good enough for Nobel, but not for Quebec".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/good-enough-for-nobel-but-not-for-quebec/article14892866/|title=Good enough for Nobel, but not for Quebec|first=Sheema|last=Khan|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=17 October 2013|via=www.theglobeandmail.com|archive-date=23 November 2022|access-date=23 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123012838/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/good-enough-for-nobel-but-not-for-quebec/article14892866/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, however, the ruling Parti Québécois was defeated by the [[Liberal Party of Quebec]] and no legislation was enacted regarding religious symbols.

In October 2017, Bill 62, a [[Quebec ban on face covering]], made headlines. {{As of|2018|07}}, the ban has been suspended by at least two judges for violating the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]''. It was first suspended in December 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-religion-quebec-lawsuit/canadian-judge-suspends-quebec-niqab-ban-idUSKBN1DW01B|title=Canadian judge suspends Quebec niqab ban|last=Paperny|first=Anna Mehler|work=U.S.|access-date=22 July 2018|archive-date=22 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722095610/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-religion-quebec-lawsuit/canadian-judge-suspends-quebec-niqab-ban-idUSKBN1DW01B|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAKBN1JO3CI-OCADN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710215438/https://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAKBN1JO3CI-OCADN|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 July 2018|title=Second Canadian judge suspends Quebec niqab ban|last=Paperny|first=Anna Mehler|work=CA|access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-bill-62-face-covering-july1-1.4724863|title=Judge suspends Quebec face-covering ban, says it appears to violate charter|work=CBC News|access-date=22 July 2018|archive-date=5 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805202115/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-bill-62-face-covering-july1-1.4724863|url-status=live}}</ref>

With regards to public opinion, a 27 October 2017 [[Ipsos]] poll found that 76&nbsp;percent of Quebecers backed Bill 62, with 24&nbsp;percent opposing it. The same survey found the 68&nbsp;percent of Canadians in general supported a law similar to Bill 62 in their part of Canada.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Abedi|first1=Maham|title=68% of Canadians want Quebec's face-coverings ban in their province|url=https://globalnews.ca/video/3828903/new-ipsos-poll-reveals-cross-canada-sentiment-about-quebecs-bill-62-face-veil-ban|website=[[Global News]]|access-date=28 October 2017|date=27 October 2017}}</ref> A 27 October [[Angus Reid (market research)|Angus Reid Institute]] poll found that 70&nbsp;percent Canadians outside of Quebec supported "legislation similar to Bill 62" where they lived in the country, with 30&nbsp;percent opposing it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Four-in-ten outside Quebec would prohibit women wearing niqabs from receiving government services|url=http://angusreid.org/bill-62-face-covering/|website=[[Angus Reid (market research)|Angus Reid]]|access-date=28 October 2017|date=27 October 2017|archive-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028145312/http://angusreid.org/bill-62-face-covering/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{As of|2019|06}}, wearing religious symbols is prohibited for all public servants in positions of authority in Quebec: police, judges and teachers.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

People such as [[Tarek Fatah]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/fatah-the-cross-vs-the-crescent-in-europe|title=FATAH: The Cross vs. the Crescent in Europe|work=torontosun|date=12 June 2018|access-date=10 July 2018|archive-date=6 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706174855/https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/fatah-the-cross-vs-the-crescent-in-europe|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/national/memo-to-ford-tarek-fatah-wants-the-burqa-banned-forever/wcm/b05b2646-3baa-42fb-b925-4e8af17f7b75?video_autoplay=true|title=MEMO TO FORD: Tarek Fatah wants the burqa banned forever!|work=edmontonjournal|date=15 June 2018|access-date=4 October 2018|archive-date=25 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125071230/https://edmontonjournal.com/news/national/memo-to-ford-tarek-fatah-wants-the-burqa-banned-forever/wcm/b05b2646-3baa-42fb-b925-4e8af17f7b75?video_autoplay=true|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://torontosun.com/news/national/memo-to-ford-tarek-fatah-wants-the-burqa-banned-forever|title=MEMO TO FORD: Tarek Fatah wants the burqa banned forever!|work=torontosun |date=15 June 2018}}</ref> and [[Ensaf Haidar]]<ref>{{cite web|date=July 2018|title=Wife of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi calls for burqa ban in Ontario|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4307779/raif-badawi-wife-ensaf-haidar-burqa-ban/|website=[[Global News]]}}</ref> have called on the burka to be banned.

===Mexico===
{{See also|Islam in Mexico}}
{{Expand section|date=July 2011}}
There is no ban on any Muslim clothing items. The first article of the [[Political Constitution of the United Mexican States]] protects people against discrimination based on several matters including religion, ethnic origin and national origin.<ref name="Mexconst">{{cite web|title=Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos|url=http://www.constitucion.gob.mx/|publisher=Congress of the Union of the United Mexican States|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722224817/http://www.constitucion.gob.mx/|archive-date=22 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Article 6 of the Constitution grants ''Libertad de Expresión'' (freedom of expression) to all Mexicans which includes the way people choose to dress.<ref name="Mexconst" />

The Muslim community is a minority; according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life there were about 3,700 [[Islam in Mexico|Muslims in Mexico]] as of 2010, representing 0.003&nbsp;percent of the total population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pewforum.org/Muslim/Mapping-the-Global-Muslim-Population(18).aspx|title=Mapping the Global Muslim Population|publisher=Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life|access-date=27 July 2011|date=7 October 2009|archive-date=8 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808112518/http://pewforum.org/Muslim/Mapping-the-Global-Muslim-Population(18).aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> There is an almost complete lack of knowledge of Islam in Mexico,{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} and any interest is more out of curiosity and tolerance than hatred or racism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webislam.com/?idn=11933|title=Los musulmanes de Monterrey (México) – Webislam|last=juntaislamica.com|date=20 April 2023 }}</ref> Some Muslims suggest that it is easier to fit in if they are lax with the rules of their religion, for example by wearing regular clothing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webislam.com/?idn=4163|title=Musulmanes de México – Webislam|last=juntaislamica.com|date=20 April 2023|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718162054/http://www.webislam.com/?idn=4163|url-status=live}}</ref> Muslim women's clothing can vary from non-Muslim clothing to a ''hijab'' or a ''chador''.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

===United States===
[[File:Ilhan Omar, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped) A.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Ilhan Omar]], a prominent hijab-wearing US politician]]
{{See also|Islam in the United States}}
Hijab is commonly worn by Muslim women in the United States, and is a very distinctive cultural feature of Muslims in America. According to a Pew Research Center poll from 2011, most Muslim American women wear hijab with 36% reporting wearing hijab whenever they were in public and an additional 24% indicating they wore it most or some of the time; only 40% indicated that they ''never'' wore the headcover.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Pew Research Center|title=Muslim Americans: No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism; Section 2: Religious Beliefs and Practices|date=30 August 2011|url=http://www.people-press.org/2011/08/30/section-2-religious-beliefs-and-practices/|access-date=25 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820230634/http://www.people-press.org/2011/08/30/section-2-religious-beliefs-and-practices/|archive-date=20 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Contrary to popular beliefs about assimilation, the study found that the number of women wearing hijab was in fact higher among native-born Muslim women compared to first-generation Muslim immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2011/08/30/section-2-religious-beliefs-and-practices/|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=8 December 2020|date=30 August 2011|title=Section 2: Religious Beliefs and Practices|archive-date=1 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901050905/https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2011/08/30/section-2-religious-beliefs-and-practices/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1990s, however, hijabs were not commonly seen in the United States, as overt Islamization became more apparent only during the 21st century.<ref name=ODonnellHarvard/>

The people of the United States have a firm [[First Amendment to the Constitution|constitutional protection]] of [[Freedom of Speech in the United States|freedom of speech]] from government interference that includes clothing items, as described by [[U.S. Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] cases such as ''[[Tinker v. Des Moines]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/393/503|title=John F. TINKER and Mary Beth Tinker, Minors, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT et al.|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=23 November 2022|archive-date=17 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117220000/https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/393/503|url-status=live}}</ref> As such, a ban on Islamic clothing is considered presumptively invalid by US sociopolitical commentators such as [[Mona Charen]] of ''[[National Review]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/399306/could-the-us-ban-the-burqa-too/mona-charen|title=Could the U.S. Ban the Burqa Too?|author=Mona Charen|magazine=[[National Review]]|access-date=14 July 2010|date=7 July 2009|author-link=Mona Charen|archive-date=1 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701120222/http://article.nationalreview.com/399306/could-the-us-ban-the-burqa-too/mona-charen|url-status=live}}</ref> Journalist Howard LaFranchi of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' has referred to "the traditional American respect for different cultural communities and religions under the broad umbrella of universal freedoms" as forbidding the banning of Islamic dress. In his [[Barack Obama speech at Cairo University, 2009|prominent June 2009 speech to the Muslim World]] in [[Cairo]], [[POTUS|President]] [[Barack Obama]] called on [[Western World|the West]] "to avoid dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear" and elaborated that such rules involve "hostility" towards Muslims in "the pretense of [[liberalism]]".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2009/0623/p02s20-usfp.html|title=In battle of the burqa, Obama and Sarkozy differ|first=Howard|last=LaFranchi|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=23 June 2009|access-date=14 July 2010|archive-date=23 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023042012/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2009/0623/p02s20-usfp.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most gyms, fitness clubs, and other workout facilities in the United States are mixed-sex, so [[exercise]] without a ''hijab'' or ''burqa'' can be difficult for many observant Muslim women. Maria Omar, director of media relations for the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), has advised Muslim women to avoid these complexes entirely. Some women decide to wear something [[colloquially]] known as the "sports ''hijab''". Similarly, Muslim women may feel uncomfortable around other women with traditionally revealing American outfits, especially during the summer "[[bikini]] season". An outfit colloquially known as the ''[[burqini]]'' allows Muslim women to swim without displaying any significant amount of skin.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Paris pool bans Muslim woman in 'burqini'|url=https://vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=1885657&sponsor=|access-date=13 August 2010|newspaper=Agence France-Presse|date=12 August 2009}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Despite perceptions of social discrimination against Muslim women, there are no legal restrictions on Islamic modesty garb in the United States, due to universal religious freedom protections in American law. For example, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled against [[Abercrombie and Fitch]] in 2015 in ''[[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores]]'', regarding the store refusing to hire a woman named Samantha Elauf on account of her wearing hijab; the court stated that the dress code policy violated Elauf's religious freedom.<ref>{{cite web|title=Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-86_p86b.pdf|work=Supreme Court of the United States|access-date=26 July 2015|date=October 2014|archive-date=1 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601200505/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-86_p86b.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2017, the [[New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division]] in [[Camden County, New Jersey|Camden County]] dismissed two suits filed by Linda Tisby in summer 2015 against her former employer, the county's Department of Corrections.{{clarify|date=October 2022}} The court decided that a [[New Jersey Superior Court]] was right to rule that it would have been an "undue hardship" for the agency to accommodate her religious beliefs by letting her wear a headscarf "because of overriding safety concerns, the potential for concealment of contraband, and the importance of uniform neutrality".<ref>{{cite web |last=Everett |first=Rebecca |date=19 January 2017 |title=Muslim jail employee fired for wearing headscarf loses appeal |url=http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2017/01/former_jail_employee_fired_for_wearing_headscarf_l.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026164540/http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2017/01/former_jail_employee_fired_for_wearing_headscarf_l.html |archive-date=26 October 2017 |access-date=26 October 2017 |website=NJ.com}}</ref>

In 2019, [[Ilhan Omar]] became the first woman to wear a [[hijab]] on the House floor, after a [[United States House of Representatives ban on head covering]] in the US House was modified.<ref name="Stolberg Dec 30">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/30/us/politics/ilhan-omar-minnesota-congress.html |title=Glorified and Vilified, Representative-Elect Ilhan Omar Tells Critics: 'Just Deal' |last=Stolberg |first=Sheryl Gay |date=December 30, 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202122641/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/30/us/politics/ilhan-omar-minnesota-congress.html |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |url-status=live |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Oceania==

===Australia===
{{Main|Burqa ban in Australia}}

[[File:Say no to Burqas mural in Newtown, New South Wales.jpg|thumb|Say No to Burqas mural in [[Newtown, New South Wales]]]]
In September 2011, [[Australia]]'s most populous state, [[New South Wales]], passed the Identification Legislation Amendment Act 2011 to require a person to remove a face covering if asked by a state official. The law is viewed as a response to a court case of 2011 where a [[Islam in Australia|Muslim]] woman in [[Sydney]] was convicted of falsely claiming that a traffic policeman had tried to sexually assault her by attempting to remove her ''niqab''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/australia-veil-law-burqa-ban_n_1320811.html|title=Australia Muslim Veil Law Requires Women To Remove Face-Covering Niqab In New South Wales, 3 May 2012|website=HuffPost|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-date=10 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310065535/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/australia-veil-law-burqa-ban_n_1320811.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The debate in Australia is more about when and where face coverings may legitimately be restricted.<ref name=Barker>[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UWALawRw/2012/6.pdf The Full Face Covering Debate: An Australian Perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104085621/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UWALawRw/2012/6.pdf |date=4 January 2018 }} by Renae BARKER</ref> In a [[Western Australia|Western Australian]] case in July 2010, a woman sought to give evidence in court wearing a niqab. The request was refused on the basis that the jury needs to see the face of the person giving evidence.<ref name=Barker/>

=== New Zealand ===
{{Main|Islam in New Zealand}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Anjum Rahman MNZM (cropped).jpg
| caption1          = [[Anjum Rahman]]
| image2            = Hafsa Ahmed MNZM (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = [[Hafsa Ahmed]]
| total_width       = 250
| footer            = 2 Muslim personalities who were invested with the [[New Zealand Order of Merit]]
}}

[[File:NZ PM Jacinda Ardern - Kirk HargreavesCCC.jpg|thumb|[[Jacinda Ardern]] sporting a hijab in a show of support to New Zealand's Muslim community following the [[Christchurch mosque shooting]].]]
{{Expand section|April 2026|date=April 2026}}

Although no law explicitly prohibits Islamic veiling practices in New Zealand, there has been an recent surge in harassment of Muslim women sporting the hijab, burqa or other Islamic clothing by [[Far-right politics in New Zealand|far-right]] elements.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Zealand |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/new-zealand/ |access-date=2026-04-05 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Islam|Fashion}}
* [[Hijabophobia]]
* [[Women in Islam]]
* [[Islam in Europe]]
* [[Hijab and burka controversies in Europe|Hijab and burka controversies]]
* [[Clothing laws by country]]
* [[Multiculturalism]]
* [[Muslim feminist views on hijab]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Abu Saud |first=Abeer |title=Qatari Women: Past and Present |year=1984 |isbn=978-0582783720 |publisher=Longman Group |location=United Kingdom}}
* Scott, Joan Wallach (2007). "The Politics of the Veil". Princeton University Press.

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Hijabs by country}}
{{external links|date=October 2017}}
* [http://twocircles.net/2010aug17/burqa_ban_what_it_means_west.html Burqa ban: What it means for the West] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819062322/http://twocircles.net/2010aug17/burqa_ban_what_it_means_west.html |date=19 August 2010 }} – TCN News
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070707130810/http://www.univie.ac.at/veil/Home3/index.htm VEIL Project] – Values, Equality and Differences in Liberal Democracies. Debates about Muslim Headscarves in Europe ([[University of Vienna]])
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3328277.stm Q&A: Muslim headscarves]  from [[BBC News]]
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4832072.stm Shabina Begum case: School wins Muslim dress appeal] (22 March 2006)
* [https://ssrn.com/abstract=940025 The Veil and the British Male Elite]
* [http://www.turkishhijabaya.com Wholeasale turkish hijab fashion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224004840/https://turkishhijabaya.com/ |date=24 December 2022 }}

[[Category:History of Asian clothing]]
[[Category:Hijab]]
[[Category:Islamic female clothing]]
[[Category:Islamism]]
[[Category:Modesty]]
[[Category:Pan-Islamism]]
[[Category:Women's clothing]]
[[Category:Globalization]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]