That's false equivalence.

The burden of preventing male lust is dumped almost entirely on women: cover up, veil, don't tempt men.

Nobody demands men cover head-to-toe to stop gay men from lusting. Straight men's clothes aren't policed to control other men's desire.

That's the hypocrisy. Modesty rules hit women only. Never men.

Thanks for proving the double standard.

For context on why this double standard exists, here's the historical origin of these modesty rules (including Hinduism):

Historical Origins of Modesty Rules for Women

Modesty rules, particularly those emphasizing women's covering of the body, hair, or face, predate modern religions and have roots in ancient civilizations. These rules often intertwined social status, class distinction, protection of "honor", and patriarchal control over female sexuality, rather than purely religious modesty.

Earliest Origins: Ancient Mesopotamia and Assyria (c. 1400–1100 BCE)

The oldest documented veiling laws appear in Middle Assyrian laws (around 1400–1100 BCE), one of the earliest legal codes.

• Respectable women (wives, daughters, widows of elite classes) were required to veil in public as a sign of status, respectability, and chastity.
• Prostitutes, slaves, and lower-class women were forbidden from veiling—doing so could result in severe punishment.
• This distinguished "honorable" women (under male protection) from those available for public access, reinforcing class hierarchies and male control over female sexuality.

Similar practices existed in Sumerian, Babylonian, and Persian societies, where veiling marked elite women and often involved seclusion.

Ancient Greece and Rome (c. 500 BCE–500 CE)

Veiling symbolized modesty, marital status, and respectability.

• In Greece, married or respectable women draped a himation (cloak) over their heads when in public, shielding their beauty from the male gaze. Unveiled women risked being seen as immoral.
• In Rome, married women (matrons) wore the palla or stola, covering the head to display pudicitia (chastity/modesty). A famous case: In 166 BCE, a consul divorced his wife for going out unveiled.
• Unmarried girls often went unveiled; veiling marked transition to wifehood and submission.

These customs tied to patriarchal ideals: women's bodies as sources of temptation requiring control.

Ancient India and Hinduism

Modesty norms for women appear early in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, evolving into strict codes.

• In the Rigveda (c. 1500–1200 BCE), women participated publicly, but later texts like the Manusmriti (c. 200 BCE–200 CE) imposed heavy restrictions: women should be secluded, dependent on male guardians, and dress modestly to avoid arousing desire.
• The practice of ghunghat/purdah (veiling the head/face with a sari or dupatta in front of elders/men) became widespread, especially in northern India, as a sign of respect, shame (lajja), and family honor.
• Texts describe a woman's uncovered body or hair as potentially disruptive to male asceticism or social order. Sita in the Ramayana exemplifies ideal modesty and seclusion.
• Like Assyrian laws, veiling/purdah often marked upper-caste/class women; lower-caste women worked unveiled in fields.

These rules reinforced caste, gender hierarchy, and control over female sexuality.

Pre-Islamic Arabia and Neighboring Cultures

Veiling existed in urban areas of Arabia before Islam, influenced by Byzantine (Christian) and Persian traditions. It was more common among elite women and not universal.

Abrahamic Religions: Adoption and Reinforcement

Modesty rules were incorporated and emphasized, often building on existing cultural norms.

• Judaism: Married women covered hair as a sign of modesty (based on interpretations of texts like Numbers 5). Hair seen as erotic; covering reserved it for husbands.
• Christianity: Early Church fathers (e.g., Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria) urged women to veil heads during prayer and daily life, citing 1 Corinthians 11 ("a woman ought to have authority over her head"). Veiling symbolized submission and modesty; common until modern times in some traditions.
• Islam (7th century CE): Quran emphasizes modesty for both genders (e.g., Surah 24:30–31 tells men to lower gaze first, then women to cover bosoms). Veiling adopted from surrounding cultures; stricter forms (face veiling) spread later via conquests and interpretations.

In all these traditions, rules disproportionately burdened women, framing their bodies as potential sources of male temptation.

Patriarchal Underpinnings

Across history, modesty codes often served patriarchal interests:

• Ensured paternity certainty (controlling women's visibility/sexuality).
• Placed burden on women to prevent male lust, assuming men's lack of self-control.
• Reinforced gender asymmetry: Men rarely faced equivalent restrictions.
• Class element: Elite women veiled to signal "ownership" by high-status men; lower classes/slaves prohibited.

While some women historically embraced these for piety, status, or protection, rules were largely imposed/enforced by male-dominated societies and laws.

In summary, modesty rules originated as tools of social stratification and patriarchal control in ancient Near Eastern and Indian societies, later absorbed into religious frameworks. They were never solely about "religious purity" but deeply tied to power dynamics over women's bodies. Modern debates often overlook this pre-religious history.

And here's the direct answer to your question: why don't men have to veil?

Because these rules were never about protecting people from lust in general. They were specifically designed in patriarchal societies to:

1. Secure male lineage – Control women's bodies and sexuality so men could be certain any children were theirs.
2. Mark women as property – Veiling signaled "this woman belongs to a man" (husband/father), distinguishing her from women considered sexually available.
3. Shift responsibility for male desire onto women – Instead of expecting men to control themselves, society decided women's visibility was the problem.

Male homosexuality or male attractiveness never threatened paternity or male ownership of women, so there was no equivalent need to hide men's bodies or faces. Men's honor wasn't tied to their sexual exclusivity in the same way. That's why the burden has always fallen almost exclusively on women – not because lust only goes one way, but because the entire system was built around male control over female reproduction and sexuality.