WUNRN
Pew Research Center
How People in Muslim Countries Prefer Women to Dress in Public - Survey
The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research conducted a study in seven
Muslim-majority countries which asked the question "Which one of these
women is dressed most appropriately for public places?"
An
important issue in the Muslim world is how women should dress in public. A recent survey from the University
of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research conducted in seven
Muslim-majority countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey), finds that most people prefer that a woman completely cover
her hair, but not necessarily her face. Only in
The
survey treated the question of women’s dress as a visual preference. Each
respondent was given a card depicting six styles of women’s headdress and asked
to choose the woman most appropriately outfitted for a public place. Although
no labels were included on the card, the styles ranged from a fully-hooded
burqa (woman #1) and niqab (#2) to the less conservative hijab (women #4 and
#5). There was also the option of a woman wearing no head covering of any type.
Overall, most respondents say woman #4, whose hair and ears are
completely covered by a white hijab, is the most appropriately dressed for
public. This includes 57% in
In
Pakistan, there is an even split (31% vs. 32%) between woman #3 and woman #2,
who is wearing a niqab that exposes only her eyes, while nearly a quarter (24%)
choose woman #4. In Saudi Arabia, a 63%-majority prefer woman #2, while an
additional 11% say that the burqa worn by woman #1 is the most appropriate
style of public dress for women.
In
several countries, substantial minorities say it is acceptable for a woman to
not cover her hair in public. Roughly a third (32%) of Turks take this view, as
do 15% of Tunisians. Nearly half (49%) in Lebanon also agree that it is
acceptable for a woman to appear in public without a head covering, although
this may partly reflect the fact that the sample in Lebanon was 27% Christian.
Demographic information, including results by gender, were not included in the
public release of this survey.
Even
as publics in many of the surveyed countries express a clear preference for
women to dress conservatively, many also say women should be able to decide for
themselves what to wear. This attitude is most prevalent in