Chador
traditional Iranian female garment
A chador is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and to a lesser extent Tajikistan, as well as in Shia communities in Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, India and Qatif in Saudi Arabia in public spaces or outdoors.
A chador is a full-body-length semicircle of fabric that is open down the front. The garment is pulled over the head, and is held closed at the front by the wearer; the chador has no hand openings, buttons, or clasps. It may also be held closed by being tucked under the wearer's arms. The word in Classical Persian could be used in reference to almost any cloth, headscarf, or even tents. This definition is mostly retained in the Eastern Persian varieties Tajiki and Dari, which commonly use reflexes of chādar in reference to almost any cloth or scarf, including loosely worn scarves that would be inappropriate to call a chador in Iranian Persian.
Before the 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution, black chadors were reserved for funerals and periods of mourning; colorful, patterned fabrics were the norm for everyday wear. Currently, the majority of Iranian women who wear the chador use the black version outside, and reserve light-colored chadors for indoor use.
Historical background
Ancient and early Islamic times
Fadwa El Guindi locates the origin of the veil in ancient Mesopotamia, where "wives and daughters of high-ranking men of the nobility had to veil". The veil marked class status, and this dress code was regulated by sumptuary laws.
The public source identifies “Chador” as traditional Iranian female garment. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chador, traditional and Iranian.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chador” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.