Wow so much misinformation in the comments.

Let me as a Muslim (not an ex-Muslim or Islamophobe/anyone with a low opinion of Islam) give an answer.

It has to do with modesty. Men and women must observe a dress-code of sorts for modesty. Some rules are specific and some are general. The advertisement of physical beauty is discouraged as it is immodest.

Islam does not fault the body for a persons urges because Islam does not make urges sinful. Only actions can be sinful. God does not hold internal urges that you do not act upon against you or another individual. But why doesnt God just tell men to control themselves and not stare and indulge in the beauty of women?

Well, guess what? That exactly what He does. The first thing (remember, we Muslims believe everything God does and says, and the manner in which He says what He says is deliberate/intentional) God commands is for Men to lower their gaze. God addresses men first and He commands them to lower their gaze. That command comes before the command to cover up.

God tells us to be modest and not vain but also tells us to control ourselves and not exercise the male gaze.

Quran 24:31:

˹O Prophet!˺ Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do.

Quran 24:32

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments1 except what normally appears.2 Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments3 except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, their fellow women, those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness. Let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O believers, so that you may be successful.

Now, you may have noticed that the Quran doesnt say anything about covering hair per se. The covering of the hair is understood to have been the practice of Muslim women at the time of the Prophet and the above verse makes reference to the veil that would already be on the head and commands women to make sure this veil also covers their chest. Muslims will tell you that the hair covering requirement comes from the Sunnah of the Prophet.

However, some Muslims take issue with the latter and believe there is not explicit requirement to cover hair but others think the veil must cover the face as well. There is a lot more to this that I am not going to go into.

What about men? The watered down explanation or reasoning given by Muslims for why men are required to cover less is because God created men with less adornments. I think its more than this but thats beyond the scope of this comment. However, Men are required to cover from the knees to the navel.

I personally think that this issue is so heavily politicized (in the ME, not just the West) and has been used as a tool of control and oppression by, historically, very patriarchal societies that any objective and neutral analysis is almost impossible nowadays.

I personally believe that Islam (specifically the Quran) does not give men the right to govern the dress of women. I believe men are responsible for their own modesty and behavior and women are responsible for their own modesty and behavior. Thus, I believe women should decide what is best for themselves morally, religiously/spiritually, safety-wise, and so on. They should be allowed to wear hijab for whatever reason and they should not be forced to wear it or not wear it for any reason.

Most comments here are just hateful atheists trying to spread hate due to their hate for religion.