AFGHANS: Their History and Culture

In the United States, Afghans usually adopt Western clothing styles.

Dress

Afghan women typically wear a two-piece outfit consisting of loose trousers worn under a tunic with a high neck and long sleeves, fitted loosely at the waist and extending below the knees, with the straight skirt slit up both sides for ease of movement. Many women complete the outfit with a long scarf that covers the head when modesty is required, but is at other times gracefully draped across the shoulders, called the hijab. Some women wear a chador, a garment that completely covers the head, shoulders, and face except for the eyes.

The burkha or burqa that the Taliban required women to wear in public is a tent-like garment that covers the woman from head to foot. The part covering the head is tight, to keep in place a mesh panel, out of which the woman sees; the rest is voluminous, gathered in back in pleats that allow freedom of movement. The woman maneuvers the garment with her hands, so that the mesh panel stays in front of her eyes. When modesty is not needed, the whole front part of the burkha can be tossed over the head.

Afghan men also wear a long tunic over baggy trousers and often wear a vest over the tunic. Turbans, traditionally white but now of any color, are wound around the locally favored type of turban caps. Pashtuns and others who imitate them leave a couple of feet of turban cloth hanging down, while most of those in the rest of the country tuck the end in. Pashtun men customarily have their hair cut square at ear-lobe length. Other groups have their heads shaved about once a month.

In cold weather, men frequently wear a blanket over their shoulders. In winter, both men and women wear sweaters, jackets, and coats. Coats worn in rural areas are often brightly striped and quilted for warmth. Shirts, vests, and coats may be embroidered, particularly those for wear on special occasions.

In the United States, Afghans usually adopt Western clothing styles, although in the summer they might wear their native dress, as it is better adapted to hot weather than Western clothes are. Women are comfortable in slacks and tunic-like tops and sweaters.