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© Reuters
0 / 31 Fotos
Carmelite nuns - Carmelite nuns, pictured in 1904, at work in fields in veils and hats. The Rome-based Carmelite order was founded in the 12th century.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
Wearing the haïk
- A woman in Algeria wearing a haïk, a type of veil.
© Reuters
2 / 31 Fotos
Day of the Spiritual Indoctrinator - A worshipper attends the Day of the Spiritual Indoctrinator annual celebrations at the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) community in the Planaltina neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil.
© Reuters
3 / 31 Fotos
Shi'ite pilgrims - Veiled Shi'ite pilgrims take part in a procession during the Arbain religious ceremony in Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) south of Baghdad.
© Reuters
4 / 31 Fotos
The battoulah
- A woman wearing the battoulah, a mask traditionally worn by Muslim Arab women in Arab states of the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar, as well as in southern Iran.
© Reuters
5 / 31 Fotos
A whiter shade of veil - Jordanian women gather in Amman during a demonstration.
© Reuters
6 / 31 Fotos
Looking through the niqab - A woman dressed in the niqab outside Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Cairo's Mohandessin neighborhood, Egypt.
© Reuters
7 / 31 Fotos
Fashion accessory - The veil has caught the imagination of many fashion designers. Here, a model poses on the runway at the Chocheng presentation during New York Fashion Week, New York City.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
A contemporary take on the veil - A model attends the Louis Vuitton gala opening of the Murakami exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum in New York City. Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami works in fine arts media.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
Modern Muslim clothing - A model presents a creation by Muslim clothing designer Feny Mustafa during a Fashion Week show in Jakarta, Indonesia.
© Reuters
10 / 31 Fotos
Celebrity veil - Katy Perry dons a designer veil at the Rei KawakuboComme des Garçons Art Of The In-Between Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
Widow's veil - French-Italian actress Catherine Spaak wearing a widow's veil during the filming of 'Tre notti d'amore' ('Three Nights of Love') in Italy, 1964.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
Hidden from view - A young Bedouin girl with her face hidden behind a veil explores historic Petra, in Jordan.
© Shutterstock
13 / 31 Fotos
Wedding veil - A veiled Kate Middleton arrives at Westminster Abbey, England, before her marriage to Prince William.
© Reuters
14 / 31 Fotos
Religious wedding ceremony - Monaco's Princess Charlene, wife of Prince Albert II, arrives at the religious wedding ceremony at the Palace in Monaco suitably veiled.
© Reuters
15 / 31 Fotos
veiling for ceremony - A Palestinian student waits to receive her diploma during a graduation ceremony at An Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus.
© Reuters
16 / 31 Fotos
Creative look - A model presents a creation from the Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2019 collection at New York Fashion Week, New York City.
© Reuters
17 / 31 Fotos
The veil as a political statement - A woman wears a veil as a demonstration of support for a feminist punk band jailed in Russia.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Bride and groom - Jordanian grooms and brides take part in a mass wedding ceremony in Amman. The practice of veiling is especially associated with women and sacred objects, though in some cultures men are also expected to wear a veil.
© Reuters
19 / 31 Fotos
Veils for him and her - A bride and groom wearing traditional garlands, made of beads and cotton threads, wait for their wedding to start during a mass marriage ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan.
© Reuters
20 / 31 Fotos
Fashion statement - A model presents a creation by Italian designer Giambattista Valli.
© Reuters
21 / 31 Fotos
Graduation day - University graduates attend their graduation ceremony in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
© Reuters
22 / 31 Fotos
Demonstrating the veil - A protester from the Christian rights group Release International wears makeup and a funeral veil during a demonstration for personal and religious freedom.
© Reuters
23 / 31 Fotos
The burqa - An Afghan refugee woman, clad in a burqa, waits with others to be repatriated to Afghanistan.
© Reuters
24 / 31 Fotos
Covering up in public - A burqa-clad Afghan woman walks in an old bazaar in Kabul, Afghanistan. The burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover themselves in public.
© Reuters
25 / 31 Fotos
Mourning veil - Princess Akiko at the funeral of her father, Prince Tomohito, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, at Toshimagaoka imperial cemetery in Tokyo, Japan.
© Reuters
26 / 31 Fotos
Traditional wedding costume - An Indonesian woman is decked out in a traditional wedding costume during a mass wedding for the poor in Jakarta, Indonesia.
© Reuters
27 / 31 Fotos
Festival veil - A Bedouin woman wears a traditional costume as she sits in her tent during the Sanaa Summer Festival in Sanaa, Yemen.
© Reuters
28 / 31 Fotos
Veil for dancing - Palestinian dancers of the Hanouneh troupe perform a dance entitled Guardians of Memory as part of activities to commemorate the division of the Palestinian state in Amman, Jordan.
© Reuters
29 / 31 Fotos
Veiled garment
- A model wearing a design by the House of Maheen, looks on before taking to the catwalk on the first day of Fashion Pakistan Week in Karachi.
© Reuters
30 / 31 Fotos
© Reuters
0 / 31 Fotos
Carmelite nuns - Carmelite nuns, pictured in 1904, at work in fields in veils and hats. The Rome-based Carmelite order was founded in the 12th century.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
Wearing the haïk
- A woman in Algeria wearing a haïk, a type of veil.
© Reuters
2 / 31 Fotos
Day of the Spiritual Indoctrinator - A worshipper attends the Day of the Spiritual Indoctrinator annual celebrations at the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) community in the Planaltina neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil.
© Reuters
3 / 31 Fotos
Shi'ite pilgrims - Veiled Shi'ite pilgrims take part in a procession during the Arbain religious ceremony in Kerbala, 110 km (70 miles) south of Baghdad.
© Reuters
4 / 31 Fotos
The battoulah
- A woman wearing the battoulah, a mask traditionally worn by Muslim Arab women in Arab states of the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar, as well as in southern Iran.
© Reuters
5 / 31 Fotos
A whiter shade of veil - Jordanian women gather in Amman during a demonstration.
© Reuters
6 / 31 Fotos
Looking through the niqab - A woman dressed in the niqab outside Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Cairo's Mohandessin neighborhood, Egypt.
© Reuters
7 / 31 Fotos
Fashion accessory - The veil has caught the imagination of many fashion designers. Here, a model poses on the runway at the Chocheng presentation during New York Fashion Week, New York City.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
A contemporary take on the veil - A model attends the Louis Vuitton gala opening of the Murakami exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum in New York City. Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami works in fine arts media.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
Modern Muslim clothing - A model presents a creation by Muslim clothing designer Feny Mustafa during a Fashion Week show in Jakarta, Indonesia.
© Reuters
10 / 31 Fotos
Celebrity veil - Katy Perry dons a designer veil at the Rei KawakuboComme des Garçons Art Of The In-Between Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
Widow's veil - French-Italian actress Catherine Spaak wearing a widow's veil during the filming of 'Tre notti d'amore' ('Three Nights of Love') in Italy, 1964.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
Hidden from view - A young Bedouin girl with her face hidden behind a veil explores historic Petra, in Jordan.
© Shutterstock
13 / 31 Fotos
Wedding veil - A veiled Kate Middleton arrives at Westminster Abbey, England, before her marriage to Prince William.
© Reuters
14 / 31 Fotos
Religious wedding ceremony - Monaco's Princess Charlene, wife of Prince Albert II, arrives at the religious wedding ceremony at the Palace in Monaco suitably veiled.
© Reuters
15 / 31 Fotos
veiling for ceremony - A Palestinian student waits to receive her diploma during a graduation ceremony at An Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus.
© Reuters
16 / 31 Fotos
Creative look - A model presents a creation from the Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2019 collection at New York Fashion Week, New York City.
© Reuters
17 / 31 Fotos
The veil as a political statement - A woman wears a veil as a demonstration of support for a feminist punk band jailed in Russia.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Bride and groom - Jordanian grooms and brides take part in a mass wedding ceremony in Amman. The practice of veiling is especially associated with women and sacred objects, though in some cultures men are also expected to wear a veil.
© Reuters
19 / 31 Fotos
Veils for him and her - A bride and groom wearing traditional garlands, made of beads and cotton threads, wait for their wedding to start during a mass marriage ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan.
© Reuters
20 / 31 Fotos
Fashion statement - A model presents a creation by Italian designer Giambattista Valli.
© Reuters
21 / 31 Fotos
Graduation day - University graduates attend their graduation ceremony in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
© Reuters
22 / 31 Fotos
Demonstrating the veil - A protester from the Christian rights group Release International wears makeup and a funeral veil during a demonstration for personal and religious freedom.
© Reuters
23 / 31 Fotos
The burqa - An Afghan refugee woman, clad in a burqa, waits with others to be repatriated to Afghanistan.
© Reuters
24 / 31 Fotos
Covering up in public - A burqa-clad Afghan woman walks in an old bazaar in Kabul, Afghanistan. The burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover themselves in public.
© Reuters
25 / 31 Fotos
Mourning veil - Princess Akiko at the funeral of her father, Prince Tomohito, a cousin of Emperor Akihito, at Toshimagaoka imperial cemetery in Tokyo, Japan.
© Reuters
26 / 31 Fotos
Traditional wedding costume - An Indonesian woman is decked out in a traditional wedding costume during a mass wedding for the poor in Jakarta, Indonesia.
© Reuters
27 / 31 Fotos
Festival veil - A Bedouin woman wears a traditional costume as she sits in her tent during the Sanaa Summer Festival in Sanaa, Yemen.
© Reuters
28 / 31 Fotos
Veil for dancing - Palestinian dancers of the Hanouneh troupe perform a dance entitled Guardians of Memory as part of activities to commemorate the division of the Palestinian state in Amman, Jordan.
© Reuters
29 / 31 Fotos
Veiled garment
- A model wearing a design by the House of Maheen, looks on before taking to the catwalk on the first day of Fashion Pakistan Week in Karachi.
© Reuters
30 / 31 Fotos
The veil and its relationship with women
This simple piece of cloth can be used both to empower and oppress
© Reuters
In its simplest form, a veil is an article of clothing that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. Especially associated with women, veiling has been prominent in different forms in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the practice has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies.
A veil can be worn in many different ways and for many different reasons. In some cultures it's used to cover parts of the body that are considered private. It can also be worn as part of a bridal ensemble, or designed as a fashion or ceremonial accessory.
While many women feel empowered by their choice to wear a veil and represent their culture or religion, it can also be used as a means of oppression. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, they have broken their promises to protect the rights of women and girls. While many practicing Muslim women in Afghanistan already choose to wear headscarves, the Taliban government has now decreed that they must cover their faces and bodies entirely with a hijab, and are threatened with criminal punishment if they fail to comply. The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan has reignited the debate about face coverings and women's rights in the face of cultural and religious tradition.
Click through the gallery to get a better understanding of how the use of the veil has evolved over the centuries in different cultures.
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