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Modest Islamic dress for women (ladies only please!)

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Hi, I'm a very ordinary English girl who recently converted to Islam on marriage. I've always been a jeans / trousers wearer but I've agreed to wear long skirts, long-sleaved blouses and a simple hijab that comes down over my head and shoulders leaving my face exposed. My husband and his family are now pressing me to cover myself fully including niqab (face veil) and gloves. I badly want to please my new family and but I'm frightened I'll feel very confined and isolated. Am I justified in resisting their demands? What do other Muslim ladies think?
What should a young Muslim wife wear outside the home or in the presence of men other than her husband, father or borothers (non-mahran)
Abaya (long, loose overdress) and hijab (head covering), but revealing face and hands?
Abaya, hijab and niqab (face veil)?
Long skirt, long-sleaved blouse and hijab?
Jeans / trousers, long-sleaved blouse and hijab?
Long skirt without hijab?
Knee-length skirt and stockings but without hijab?
She is free to dress as she pleases?
Any other (please specify)?
If she wears niqab, how much of the face must it cover?
Her mouth and all her hair MUST be covered - she is free to leave the rest of her face exposed
Her entire face MUST be covered, include her eyes ad eyebrows (e.g. with a semi-transparent veil or mesh covering the opening)
She can reveal her eyes and eyebrows but the rest of her face should be covered
She can reveal her eyes, so long as she wears no eye makeup and the opening should be as restricted as possible
Should a young wife wear gloves outside the home and in the presence of non-mahran men?
It is OK to reveal her hands, provided she doesn't paint her nails
She should always wear gloves whether her mails are painted or not
If a wife wears abaya, niqab and gloves what colours are permissable?
Any plain, dark colour
Any colour at all
Black only
If you personally wear abaya / niqab what is the reason?
Husband / father insists
My free choice
I don't wear it
Other (please specify)
If you do wear abaya and niqab how do you feel about it?
It was hard to start with but I got used to it and now it is OK
It was hard to start with but I got used to it and now I enjoy it
I'll never get used to it. I wear it because I have to.
I neither like it nor dislike it - its just a fact of life.
I've always liked it.
Other (please specify)
What are the good points of wearing abaya, niqab etc (please tick all that apply)?
Shows respect for my husband
Shows commitment to my religion
Protects me from non-mahan men
Makes me feel safe
Enhances my feminity by reserving them for my husband
I fit in with family and friends
Other (please specify)
What are the bad points of wearing abaya, niqab etc (please tick all that apply)
It makes me feel inferior to men
It humiliates me by suppressing my femininity
It is uncomfortable and impratical (all those layers!)
It restricts my freedom of movement
It makes it hard to see properly
I can't breathe freely
It isolates me from the outside world
Other (please specify)
If she wears a long skirt and an abaya outside the home, should she also wear?
Tights / stockings
Slip (underskirt)
Tights or stockings and a slip
Neither are required (its up to her)
Should a woman wear a special prayer dress for salat?
Only if what she is wearing would not fully cover her during prayer
She should always wear a special dress for prayer - to show full respect and seriousness
A special prayer dress is not required
By preference I'm a jeans / trousers girl but my husband says that trousers are men's clothes and insists I wear skirts all the time, inside and outside the home. Is he justified?
Yes
No
Which of the following, if any, are good reasons for making me wear skirts all the time inside and outside the home Please ick all that apply)?
Girls look prettier and more feminine in skirts
When men wear the trousers and girls wear skirts this encourages healthy gender roles and relations
A skirt worn with slip and stockings is more modest than tight trousers that reveal the shape of a girl's thighs, crotch and bottom
Wearing a skirt encourages a girl to feel, think and act in a feminine manner
A girl who wears trousers lacks respect for men
Wearing trousers can lead to rebellious, unfeminine behaviour in a young wife
The desire to wear trousers may be a sign of l*sb*an tendencies requiring prompt correction.
The desire to wear trousers may be a sign of feminist tendencies requiring prompt correction.
Any other (please specify)?
None of the above - a girl should be able free to wear trousers with her husband's permission
None of the above (a girl should be free to wear trousers if she choses, regardless of her husband's views)
My husband insisted that I gave up my job to become a full-time housewife. What do you think?
He is quite right. A wife must concentrate on housework and childcare. She shouldn't work.
He is within his rights but it is OK for a wife to work with her husband's permission.
He is wrong. A wife may work provided it does not require contact with non-mahan men.
He is wrong. A wife has the right to work regardless of her husband's views.
My husband says that a young wife should ask her husband's permission before leaving the house.
He is quite right: her place is in the home
Asking his permission is a courtesy that a wife should show to her husband
She is free to come and go as she pleases
When I go out he insists that I'm escorted by him or his mother, Is this right?
Quite right. A young wife should not leave the house unchaperoned (except in emergency)
Quite wrong, you should be free to come and go on your own
What relations may I have with non-mahran men (please tick all that apply)?
I should always be fully veiled in their presence
I shouldn't speak in their presence
I shouldn't speak in their presence but modest telephone calls are OK with my husband's permision
Modest converstaion is OK with my husband's permission
Modest emails are OK if permitted by my husband
I can be unveiled provided I don't speak
It is OK to be unveiled and to speak to them provided there is no physical contact such as handshaking
There are no restrictions - how I behave is up to me
Any other comments (please specify)
Many thanks for participating. If you have any comments please add them here or send me a message via the discussion board (women only please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
This poll was created on 2010-06-25 15:48:07 by TraceyInSkirts