A burqa or a burka[a] (/ˈbɜːrkə/; Arabic: برقع) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree[b] (/ˈtʃæd(ə)riː/; Pashto: چادري) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a paranja (/ˈpærənˌdʒɑː/; Russian: паранджа́; Tatar: пәрәнҗә) in Central Asia, the Arab version of the burqa is called the boshiya and is usually black. The term burqa is sometimes conflated with the niqāb even though, in more precise usage, the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes uncovered, while a burqa covers the entire body from the top of the head to the ground, with a mesh screen which only allows the wearer to see in front of her.
The wearing of the burqa and other types of face veils have been attested to since pre-Islamic times. Face veiling has not been regarded as a religious requirement by most Islamic scholars, either in the past or the present. A minority of scholars in the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) consider it to be obligatory for Muslim women when they are in the presence of non-related (i.e., non-mahram) males. This is in order to prevent men from looking (perversely) at women. Additionally, this does not oblige men to wear eye-covering,[clarification needed] but instead to lower their gaze. Women may wear the burqa for a number of reasons, including compulsion, as was the case during the Taliban's first rule of Afghanistan.[1]
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^Sullivan, Rory (16 August 2021). "What rules will the Taliban impose on women in Afghanistan?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021. During the repressive Taliban regime of the 1990s and early 2000s ... girls were prevented from going to school, and women were forced to wear the burqa and were not allowed out in public without a male guardian.