Women's Social Presence and Body Covering in the Early Islamic Era

In Islam, women enjoy as much of human rights, including political, social and economic rights, as men do. In the early Islamic era, wearing hijab, women participated actively in the social life of their society. In this paper, the views on women's body covering in that era are discussed. It is, then, considered why active participation of women in the social, economic and scholarly life, during Prophet Mohammad's and Imam 'Ali's era, gave way to their withdrawal from social life, under following rulers. The author concludes with emphasizing that Islam does not prohibit, but encourages, women's active participation in various aspects of their societies, and the historical tradition of excluding women from social life is not warranted, under the true Islam.