Why are Muslim women required to cover their hair when they are in public?

You can't really say traditional or religious as if they could be separated, but for the purpose of the answer it would be tradition, but remember that this is firmly rooted in the religion.

E.g. in some Muslim cultures it is not required at all (e.g. In Istanbul you'll see a lot of western looking people). In others only the eyes may show.

There are four stream of Islamic jurisprudence (Shaafi, Hanafi, etc.) each with different degrees of emphasis on the covering of the body.

A lot of Muslim women don't cover their hair because they have to, but because it gives them identity. During the womens lib movement a lot of western women ditched it, but now there has been a move back towards it.

it is actually both.

a) in the first time of Muslim religion has aroused, women has been living in Sahara, so they were already covering their hair and faces.

b) Muslim religion helped them to cover themselves with both this above fact, and also that religion (and in the end of this, Allah=God) wanted women to keep their NOT only hair, but their bodies from below the breast line and above the knees. it wants women to be safe without making men growing lust over them when it is unnecessary and dangerous, because at that time, women were both precious, and both they were not.

even though it was like this, and now it is like that on Kur'an (bible of Muslim religion) most of the Muslim women don't cover her hair. Muslim is that way, covering is NOT a thing they must do, it was a good thing to do, and it was advanced.

today, Muslim women whom you see and ask about are covering their hair, and even faces mostly because of their husbands, male, and/or government. they have seen that from their mothers, and they go like that.

in sum of all, not purely because of religion, and not purely out of tradition.

Because:

1. The religion dictates Muslim women how to dress.

2. Some of them are ugly and it is polite to hide their faces.

3. Keep the body oder inside their outfit.

4. They show their faces they would not be able to go to heaven.

I don't know but I do think its religious. When I was in 3rd grade I had a muslin girl in my class and one day her hair fell out of the cover and her dad was there and he beat the Sh** out of her for letting her hair come out. I still remember that like it was the other day. I think I remember something like it was b/c it was their religious.

coz muslim men do not respect other women and hence when they have their own wives and daughters on the streets they want to protect them against other men! this is called HYPOCRACY