Niqab

What it is

The niqab leaves an opening for the eyes. It is worn outdoors and anywhere a woman might meet men who are not close relatives, known in Arabic as non-mahram. The Arabic word niqab gives the garment its common English name. In Persian it is called a ruband. Women who wear it are described in Arabic as munaqqabah, or in the plural munaqqabāt; a softer everyday word is niqābīah. It should not be confused with the burqa. The burqa hides the whole body and face behind thick cloth and a mesh screen, and has no sleeves, while the niqab shows the eyes and usually the sleeves.

Origins and history

Face veiling is old. It appears around the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia long before Islam. Tertullian, a Christian writer in Rome, noted that pagan women of Arabia covered their faces. Islamic scholars later treated the practice as a custom rather than a duty; both Al-Ghazali and Ibn Hajar wrote that women have long covered their faces when they go out. The modern niqab took its present shape during the Sunni revival of the late 1970s, when hardline teaching from the oil-producing Arab states, backed by Saudi Arabia, travelled widely and gained ground across the Middle East and North Africa.

Styles and cloth

Two forms are common. The half niqab is a strip of fabric held by elastic or ties, leaving the eyes and part of the forehead bare. The Gulf style, sometimes called the full niqab, ties a band around the forehead and hangs a wide panel over the face with a gap for the eyes. Some have sheer layers that can be flipped over the eyes, and the wearer can still see out through them. Afghanistan has a pleated gown with a crocheted grille over the face. In Pakistan a newer style, the pak chador, joins a large triangular scarf to extra pieces. Many wearers add gloves, and a jilbab or abaya over their clothes.

Rules and bans

Opinion among scholars is varied. The Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i schools do not require the niqab, and most Muslim scholars hold that covering the face is not obligatory. Many governments have gone the other way. About eighteen states have banned the niqab or the burqa, in Africa, Asia and Europe. France first barred religious symbols in state schools in 2004, then in 2010 banned covering the face in public. A United Nations committee found in 2018 that the French ban placed a heavy and unfair burden on women's right to show their beliefs. Azerbaijan also bans it.

Today and change

Since the early 2000s the niqab has drawn hostile attention in the West, especially after the September 11 attacks, where critics read it as a sign of extremism and a rejection of Western values. In Algeria the garment grew more common in the 1990s and became tied in public feeling to the armed Islamist groups of the civil war. In Egypt, Al-Azhar, the leading Sunni centre, barred it from its classrooms and dormitories in 2009. Morocco told businesses in 2017 to stop selling and importing the burqa. Some Muslim women in Western countries wear a long tunic and skirt rather than a one-piece outer robe.

How Niqab is kept

A woman who keeps the niqab puts it on before she leaves the house, and wears it in public: on the street, in shops, and wherever men outside her family may be present. The half form is tied or stretched around the face, while the full form is fixed by a band across the forehead. She may add gloves and a loose outer robe over her everyday clothes. At home, among family, the veil comes off. Which form she chooses, or whether she covers her face at all, follows her own reading and the custom of her community.

When and where

The niqab is not kept to a date. It belongs to daily life, put on for school, work, travel and errands, and taken off at home. Some countries restrict it in particular settings, such as classrooms, public offices or state schools. Across the year its use can rise or fall with the mood of a community and with the law of the place.

It is seen most in the Arabian Peninsula, and generally across the Middle East and North Africa. The sources describe it spreading more widely from the late 1970s, and note its presence in Algeria from the 1990s and its long history in Egypt. Smaller numbers of women wear it in Western countries, including France and Canada.

What Niqab means

For the women who wear it, the niqab is bound up with faith and modesty. It is described as one reading of hijab, kept as an act of worship and a way of guarding the face and body from men outside the family. Scholars stress that this reading is not the only one; the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i schools do not require it. In the West, critics have read the garment as a sign of extremism and a rejection of Western values.

Questions people ask about Niqab

See also

Traditional tattooingThe ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesEid al-FitrThe feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits homeMother's DayA worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careMawlidAn annual festival marking the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, marked by poetry, processions and feasts.

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle
• Chad police: Anyone wearing face veils will be arrestedAl Jazeera, Article
• Denmark passes ban on niqabs and burkasBBC, Article
• Answers to some key questions on Quebec's face-covering lawCBC, Article
• Chad police: Anyone wearing face veils will be arrestedAl Jazeera, Article
• Denmark passes ban on niqabs and burkasBBC, Article
• Answers to some key questions on Quebec's face-covering lawCBC, Article

• Niqab on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.