“You must cover your body. Your face. Your hands. Your ankles. Your hair. Your voice.”
Some men talk about modesty like they’re folding cloth around a secret. But the more you ask, the more you realize: it’s not modesty they’re guarding. It’s control.
I’ve lived long enough to see the transformation of the hijab. It evolved from a quiet symbol of faith to a loud tool of politics.
In many conservative circles across the Muslim world—from Kabul to Riyadh to parts of Islamabad—modesty isn’t just recommended. It’s enforced. And not just modesty, but complete covering: niqab, gloves, loose robes, even forbidding women from speaking in public.
The question is: why?
Do these hardliners have religious texts to support this view? Or are they stretching scripture to fit their fears?
The Verses They Always Quote
Let’s begin with the Qur’an, the source they most often invoke.
The most commonly cited verses are:
Surah An-Nur (24:31):
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not to show their adornment except what is apparent thereof, and to draw their veils over their bosoms…”
Surah Al-Ahzab (33:59):
“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close around them. That will be better, so that they may be recognized and not harmed.”
Hardliners interpret these verses as divine proof that women must cover themselves from head to toe, including the face and hands. They claim that anything “adorned” includes the entire female body, and that “drawing the cloak” must mean full covering.
What the Hadiths Say—And Don’t Say Clearly
They also rely on Hadiths (Prophet Muhammad’s sayings), especially this one:
🗣 Narrated by Abu Dawood:
“Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr, entered upon the Messenger of Allah wearing thin clothes. He turned away and said, ‘O Asma! When a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it is not appropriate that anything should remain exposed except this and this,’ pointing to his face and hands.”
Ironically, while this Hadith is often used to enforce covering, many scholars point out that it actually permits showing the face and hands.
But for hardliners, the ambiguity becomes a canvas. And on it, they paint rules that lean toward excess rather than restraint.
Their Interpretation: Fear Disguised as Piety
Hardliners usually argue this:
- A woman’s beauty is a temptation (fitna).
- Men are weak and easily led astray.
- Society is safer when women are invisible.
- Therefore, to protect morality, women must erase their visibility.
To them, a woman who shows her face is inviting chaos. Even if she’s modest in behavior. Even if she’s intelligent, kind, capable. Her body becomes a battlefield. Her scarf becomes a flag.
But here’s what they won’t admit: this isn’t really about God. It’s about fear.
Fear of sexuality. Fear of losing cultural control. Fear of women becoming equal players in public life.
What They Miss Entirely
Not all scholars agree with this rigid interpretation. Many argue:
- The Qur’an never mandates full-face covering.
- The word “hijab” in the Qur’an doesn’t even refer to clothing—it refers to a curtain or barrier.
- Modesty in Islam is as much about character as it is about clothing.
- And crucially: the command is not just for women. Men are told to lower their gaze first (Surah An-Nur 24:30).
Even within the Islamic tradition, modesty is interpreted differently in Egypt than in Indonesia, in Morocco than in Pakistan.
The problem arises when one reading is weaponized to silence every other.
So, Why the Obsession?
Because the full covering of women becomes a symbol.
To hardliners, it says:
- We are a righteous society.
- We reject the West.
- We are in control.
And tragically, women become the canvas on which these slogans are drawn.
If they really cared about Islamic values, they would teach humility before God, not pride in policing women.
A closing reflection:
When God told women to be modest, did He mean to erase them?
Or did He trust them enough to walk in public, speak, work, lead—and still carry faith in their hearts?
Hardliners answer that with chains. But I believe the Qur’an answers it with choice.
And maybe that’s what they fear most.