Why do people wear hijab?

Hijab is sometimes controversial: its proponents suggest that it provides higher levels of sexual security, especially for women. They offer as evidence the situation of Islamic countries regarding sex crimes, compared to other countries with same economic situation and GDP per capita. This, of course, is a specious comparison as there are numerous other variables at play which may account for the different rates. Some believe that hijab is unfair and oppressive. On the other hand, many Muslim women, including many in western cultures, state that they prefer to follow hijab as a sign of their faith and submission to Allah (not to men), so that all Muslim women are respected equally rather than for their appearance, and as a matter of social responsibility.

The Taliban practice of forcing Afghan women to wear full burqas (a garment which covers the entire body, except for netting or a grille over the eyes for the women to see out of) was described as cruel and misogynistic, however very few Afghan women chose to take off their burqas after the Taliban fell . Similarly the majority of Pakhtun women in the North Western Frontier Province of Pakistan continue to wear the burqa, even though there are no laws enforcing burqa-wearing in Pakistan.