Why are burkas etc. always black (or dark)?

[Meaks]

Anyone who chooses to cover themselves head to toe in black in weather like this is an absolute moron.

[milquetoast1]

Anyone who chooses to cover themselves head to toe in black in weather like this is an absolute moron.

 

Doesn't Gordon wear a burqa these days?

[Jabberwocky]

It could be something to do with the price of the cloth. Until relatively recently black cloth was cheapest and in the Uk at least, only the very poor wore black garments.

I wonder if the black is tradition left over when black was only for the poor....

[YouFo666]

I see a marketing opportunity arising here Hows about Goretex Burkha's ? Lightweight and breathable and availlable in any colour the client requires :D with the added advantage that they are perfect for the British weather being waterproof...

 

 

I may be onto something here :hihi:

[mj.scuba]

More worrying about having somebody next to you in a Burqa is it could be the Grim Reaper there to claim his next soul.

[Huzoor]

Somebody asked this question before on a previous thread, but it was never answered. So I'm asking it again.

 

Why is it that traditional Muslim women's clothing is usually black? Surely in this sort of weather it would make more sense to wear a white one, which would keep the wearer cooler? Indeed since most Muslims live in hotter parts of the world, why are they not white as a matter of course?

 

Edit: genuine scientific enquiry so please don't let this descend into the usual drivel.

A very good question I would answer as a Muslim without the children sniggering. The burka is used purely as an overgarment and is not regarded as a traditional dress by all Muslim women. The important clothing, even fasionable designer wear is worn by many women under the burka but only display in private home environment. The dress code for Muslim women is modesty based and not burka based. Just like majority of overcoats are darker coloured for no particular reason so are the majority of burkas. The black colour goes back before Islam in the Middle East, and you might ask why the Nunns wear black clothing or priests dress in black, it's just tradition and no rule to say women must wear black burkas.

[Wildcat]

I am afraid you have to subscribe to see the full reasons given for why loose black clothes are cooler in hot weather than white clothes:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15220598.000-the-last-word.html

 

But I assume the answers given here will cover the same or similar reasons:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1886/does-black-clothing-keep-you-cooler

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080424082905AATmHq7

[tat lister]

I have heard they do the burka in real tree now:D

[metalman]

I am afraid you have to subscribe to see the full reasons given for why loose black clothes are cooler in hot weather than white clothes:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15220598.000-the-last-word.html

 

But I assume the answers given here will cover the same or similar reasons:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1886/does-black-clothing-keep-you-cooler

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080424082905AATmHq7

 

I found the straightdope article as well, but I'm not sure I believe it. For one thing it deals with plumage rather than clothes, and whether it's ruffled or not, which is then extrapolated to whether clothing is loose or tight. Secondly, as mentioned earlier by someone else, I don't see why the absorption of emitted heat would vary with colour, whereas it's obvious that the amount of light energy absorbed (or reflected) would do.

[metalman]

A very good question I would answer as a Muslim without the children sniggering. The burka is used purely as an overgarment and is not regarded as a traditional dress by all Muslim women. The important clothing, even fasionable designer wear is worn by many women under the burka but only display in private home environment. The dress code for Muslim women is modesty based and not burka based. Just like majority of overcoats are darker coloured for no particular reason so are the majority of burkas. The black colour goes back before Islam in the Middle East, and you might ask why the Nunns wear black clothing or priests dress in black, it's just tradition and no rule to say women must wear black burkas.

 

The difference with the overcoats is that you don't wear one while the sun's beating down. I can see the analogies with priests and nuns though. From your last sentence then there's nothing to stop them wearing a bright-coloured one like an Indian sari, for example? Seems odd that no-one does in that case, though I suppose if you're going to rebel against it the obvious thing to do is not wear it at all. Maybe YouFo666 is right and there's a whole market in designer burkas waiting to be exploited.