A çarşaf (), also written ''charshaf'', is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, similar to the

abaya The abaya (colloquially and more commonly, ', especially in Literary Arabic: '; plural ', '), sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in the Muslim world including m ...

niqab A niqāb, niqab, or niqaab (; ), also known as a ruband () or rubandah (), is a long garment worn by some Muslim women in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes. It is an interpretation in Islam of the concept of ...

and

chador A chādor ( Persian, ), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerba ...

. The çarşaf is usually black. As with the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian chador, the çarşaf usually covers the lower part of the face, and the cloth is held together by a pin placed below the nose. Sometimes, the part of the cloth that covers the lower face is pinned laterally. In contrast to the chador, the çarşaf usually consists of two parts; a top that hangs to about the waist and a bottom that is cut like a wide, floor-length skirt. The çarşaf, rather than being a form of traditional Islamic clothing, first became common towards the end of the 19th century, during the reign of

Abdulhamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

(1876-1908), as a form of rejection of Western influences. From then, it continued to be used prevalently in remote parts of the former

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

such as

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, where it is still widespread today. According to research from 2012 (N/I, N/A 6%), less than 2% of women in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

wore it and in 5% in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. According to another survey, only 0.1% of Turkish women wore the çarşaf in 2012. However, it is used for prayer by women. Similar to the use of the

mukena This table of types of hijab describes terminologically distinguished styles of clothing commonly associated with the word ''hijab''. The Arabic word ''hijāb'' can be translated as "cover, wrap, curtain, veil, screen, partition", among other me ...

Muslim Southeast Asia Muslim Southeast Asia refers to the areas of Southeast Asia that have significant populations of Muslims. It includes: * Most parts of Indonesia including most of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku Islands and Sulawesi (Java and ...

. Çarşaf may be translated as "sheet", though the use of such translation on a religious basis may be debated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carsaf Islamic female clothing Clothing of the Ottoman Empire Robes and cloaks

See also

References