@Finn123
Not really. While burqas have been made as woman-oppressing chains in the West to raise a banner against Islam fundamentalists (almost no one cared about them before 9/11), when seen in context and taking into account that many women who wear it do so willingly (including women very vocal in favor of women rights) in areas not ruled by fundamentalists, you would find that it has a more proper reason behind.
The same way men traditional clothing and women traditional clothing in many countries are different and no one bats an eye ranting about discrimination, traditional clothing in the Middle East also has a distinction between male and female, and the basis for its modelling are functionality, disponibility and fashion. Climate in most of the Middle East is hot and dry, therefore traditional clothing, both male and female, has as the bare minimum a piece that covers the head, in most cases the whole scalp as it's the part more prone to sweat (=losing body water); they also tend to have some kind of veil to cover the mouth, as it's another major source of loss of water, but since many men traditionally sport beards, they become optional for them; finally, loose clothing that covers the body without sticking to it is a must to endure the sun and the heat. A burqa is a simplification of the former functional aspects joined together in a piece of street wear: they don't wear it inside the house mostly because it's not needed. It just so happens that, from time inmemorial, it has been the case that healthy practices have been traditionally appropiated by religions as precepts (e.g. Middle East religions ban pork because badly cooked pork is a source of diseases), so what was originally a cultural quirk with nothing but functinality and comfortability in mind has been integrated in some regional branches of religion.
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@Finn123
Not really. While burqas have been made as woman-oppressing chains in the West to raise a banner against Islam fundamentalists (almost no one cared about them before 9/11), when seen in context and taking into account that many women who wear it do so willingly (including women very vocal in favor of women rights) in areas not ruled by fundamentalists, you would find that it has a more proper reason behind.
The same way men traditional clothing and women traditional clothing in many countries are different and no one bats an eye ranting about discrimination, traditional clothing in the Middle East also has a distinction between male and female, and the basis for its modelling are functionality, disponibility and fashion. Climate in most of the Middle East is hot and dry, therefore traditional clothing, both male and female, has as the bare minimum a piece that covers the head, in most cases the whole scalp as it's the part more prone to sweat (=losing body water); they also tend to have some kind of veil to cover the mouth, as it's another major source of loss of water, but since many men traditionally sport beards, they become optional for them; finally, loose clothing that covers the body without sticking to it is a must to endure the sun and the heat. A burqa is a simplification of the former functional aspects joined together in a piece of street wear: they don't wear it inside the house mostly because it's not needed. It just so happens that, from time inmemorial, it has been the case that healthy practices have been traditionally appropiated by religions as precepts (e.g. Middle East religions ban pork because badly cooked pork is a source of diseases), so what was originally a cultural quirk with nothing but functinality and comfortability in mind has been integrated in some regional branches of religion.