Uncovering religious veils

Tudong is a Sumatran word which is commonly translated/referred to as a veil or headscarf in English. In Malaysia the tudong is worn in accordance to Islam’s hijab. Usually, the tudong covers the hair while leaving the face exposed. It is part of the standard dress code for office work, school uniforms and formal occasions. In Indonesia a tudung is a form of jilbab that has a sewn-in curved visor.

The abaya "cloak" is long overgarment essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Islamic World. Traditional abayat are black and may be either a large square of fabric draped from the shoulders or head or a long caftan. The abaya covers the whole body except the face, feet, and hands.

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It can be worn with the niqab, a face veil covering all but the eyes. Some women choose to wear long black gloves, so their hands are covered as well. It is considered an Arabic cultural dress integrated into the hijab, or Islamic dress, for many countries of the Arabian peninsula such as Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates, where it is the national dress.

Saudi Arabia requires women to cover in public. Covering is enforced by the religious police, the muttawwa. In Iran the cover is often referred to as a chador. In South Asia, it is known as a burqa. Outside the few Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, in nations with large Muslim populations, such as India, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey it is uncommon and considered undesirable Wahabist culture.

A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions for the purpose of hiding a female's body when out in public. It is worn over the usual daily clothing (often a long dress or a shalwar kameez) and removed when the woman returns to the sanctuary of the household, out of the view of men that are not their husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, sons and grandsons.

The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering, plus the head-covering (hijab), plus the face-veil (niqab). The face-veil portion is usually a rectangular piece of semi-transparent cloth whose top side is sewn to corresponding portion of the head-scarf, so that the veil hangs down loose from the scarf, and it can be turned up if the woman wishes to reveal her face (otherwise the whole face would be covered). In other cases, the niqāb part can be a side-attached cloth which covers the face below the eyes' region. The face-veil portion is also called purdah.

A chador is worn by many Iranian women in public spaces; A chador is a full-length semicircle of fabric open down the front, which is thrown over the head and held closed in front. It has no hand openings or closures but is held shut by the hands or by wrapping the ends around the waist. Historically in urban settings the face would be covered with a long rectangular white veil starting below the eyes. (The modern chador does not require this veil.) Chador is more commonly worn by Shia Muslims.

Indian Dupatta is a diaphanous veil, it is used as a covering for the brest, back, shoulders and head. The orhni is simply a length of cloth-printed, embroidered or plain, measuring two and a half to three down the back or wrapped around the shoulder. There are various modes of wearing the unsown orhni which is now more popularly known as the dupatta. When not draped over the head in the traditional style, it is usually worn with the middle portion of the dupatta resting on the chest like a garland with both ends thrown over each respective shoulder.

Among Christian churches which have a liturgical tradition, several different types of veils are used. These veils are often symbolically tied to the veils in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and in Solomon’s Temple. The purpose of these veils was not so much to obscure as to shield the most sacred things from the eyes of sinful men.