That picture is a niqab but actually the niqab is only this part. It´s put over the regular hijab and usually has two layers to cover the eyes, though most niqabis pin the layers in the back. There´s a picture here which illustrates it quite well.

It must be a regional naming difference then.......

 Crikey how confusing!! 

 It is, isn´t it.... ?  I spoke with some nationals from the UAE who called the covering for women Burqa. Chador in Anglicized for çadýr, which means tent in Turkish.

Interestingly, the Roma call their traditional long skirts chador too. I have noticed the coverings of some groups of Muslim women becoming more covered and restricitive in the last 20 or so years. The women in the Gulf used to wear a much less massive niqab than they do now.

For what it´s worth, clothing has to be functional. If you can´t see, can´t walk without tripping on your cloths, it´s pretty useless. The Afghan burqa has a grill over the eyes. I tried one on and found it almost impossible to walk in. It gave me tunnel vision and that grill really hurt my eyes. In some other places they have a face covering with a head piece that has a drop down screen/veil that is somewhat sheer. It has two layers, so one can drop down both or only one, or none.

A photo .....here and here is an interesting photo of a woman in a burqa

 Are the pale blue ones for widows in Afganistan?

It would kind of cover my wobbly bits ...  ... no more bad hair day ... maybe I´ll need to reconsider my position on the topic.

 = niqab

Maybe the terms just got confused because it´s hard for non-Muslims to tell them apart (which is understandable).

Alameda I´m curious about the burqa, since you have tried it. I´ve never seen one up close, but it looks kind of like a helmet..? Or it´s just the way it´s tied together?

Now I know tons of converts, and those who have chosen to cover their face all use niqab (usually either black or white) which is why I think the burqa is more of a cultural or political choice. Who knows, maybe the Afghans just like to make women´s life harder...

I even know niqabis who drive, which must be impossible for women in burqas.

 I´ve tried and have a few different "styles" as I was doing research on them. The Afghani burqa with the grid was very difficult for me to see out of. However, I have a lady friend who is from Afghanistan, she told me she loves it and has no problem seeing out of it. It must be in how you learn how to move in it. I found if I sewed a little tie in so as to keep it from execess movement, it was easier to see out of when it was secured in place. Still, I found it hard to breath in it. You know, you are breathing your own breath.  

A interesting side bar to this is I did a lecture where I had samples for people to try on. It was interesting seeing how different aspects of the wearers personalities came out when they put the burqa on. I saw a whole different dimension to their personalities that previously was hidden.

I knew an American woman who was in Afghanistan and decided to get a real burqa to wear.  Without a burqa people thought she was a Afghani woman dressing in Western cloths, but when she put the burqa on people stopped from long distances and pointed and laughed at her trying to "pass". It was obvious to them she was not Afghanistani woman when she was wearing the burqa. The garment is made out of rayon. They say it´s silk, but it´s actually rayon. I know because I tested the fabric for fiber content.

Now as to the niqab, there are several pieces to them. The most simple is a simple band with a veil attached to it. The veil sometimes has a piece in the center between the eyes to hold it up. The sides of the veil are attached on the side of the band. The older ones were tied in the back, the new ones use velcro to attach in the back. A long scarf is worn over that. The older ones were nice cotton that stayed in place quite nicely. They are now making new ones out of polyester....ugh. They get hot and don´t stay in place.

Lanes Modern Egyptians written in the early 1800s has some nice illustrations. Look at pages starting on 47 to 51 for detailed drawings as to how things were assembled.

 Hmm, I realized I didn´t answer your question as to how the Afghan burqa is put together. There is a little hat to which a lower pleated curtain is sewn. In the front is a long piece with the grid in the appropriate place. The fabric below the grid has embroidery on it. In fact the grid is a sort of hem stitched rectangle.

Here are some nice photos that show the parts.....burqa front, burqa back  Blue is just a popular color now. Some years ago it was olive green.

How interesting ... especially the bit about the different personalities coming out. I would be interested to learn more about that if you care to post it.

I´ve never actually tried one on but had an opportunity to see one while in college when one of my peers went to Afghanistan and brought one back. She was trying to convinvce the rest of the class how comfortable and desirable it actually is to wear it over there because of the amount of sand in the air. From what you´re describing, I doubt that would be the case. And you´re right about the fabric, it didn´t seem to be very breathable.

 Yeah it´s strange but true The women who wear full body and face cover can even recognize eachother from a distance, and I often hear about how well they can communicate on open street, not being able to see face expressions etc., and even talk of who carries their clothes well, is charismatic in it and so forth.

I got a niqab headpiece from a friend who wears it on a regular basis, I guess it´s the old kind and with no string between the eyes, and it´s not uncomfortable at all (unless you have an itch ). I actually used it along with an abaya once I went to see my inlaws, but they thought I had gone out of my mind because it was extreme in their eyes. They are Shafi´i so I wanted to show them how women are supposed to dress according to that fiqh but they didn´t believe me anyway.

There´s so many "opinions" of correct islamic clothes...