Hi,

Apologies in advance if this is answered elsewhere or does not satisfy the requirements for this sub. I had a look through past questions but couldn't find one that fully addressed this.

I'm curious to understand how accurate this talk is.

It strikes me as anachronistic to say that the Quran aimed to grant women the freedom to dress as they please - but please enlighten me on this topic.

The point Samina Ali makes early in the talk about women having to relieve themselves outside in the wild in the middle of the night and that this somehow led to the idea for them to wear hijabs also seems a little simplistic to me; but I know nothing on this matter so I would be happy to learn more about that.

Thank you

EDIT: Here are the specific claims I am interested in hearing more about (that being said, if there are other other historical claims in this talk you would care to expand on, that'd be great!):

• Did the need for a rule about women’s clothing stem from women’s practice to relieve themselves outside the city?

• Samina Ali also argues that clothing helped differentiate free women from slaves and that the Quran sought to protect slaves from nightly attacks. Is this factual?

• Are there indeed only 3 chapters on women’s clothing in the 114 chapters of the Quran? And no mention of the hijab as a garment?

• Does the Quran effectively advise women to dress in function of their role and the customs of where they live?

• Is Samina Ali correct in assessing that the Quran would effectively recommend (not just tolerate) women to wear yoga pants in parts of the world where it is the norm or fashionable? And is she correct in assessing that this is defended by many scholars today?

• Is Samina Ali also correct in assessing that it was customs for women to choose their own husband and initiate divorce?

I would like to point out just in case that I am aware that this is a "hot topic" but I am interested in discussing strictly the historical facts and nothing else. I should also point out that like any religious text, the Quran is open to interpretation so I understand that some claims might not be as clear cut as truth / false. Either way, happy to hear thoughts on this.

Thank you!