A burqa (also known as chadri or paranja in Central Asia) is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover themselves in public. Originating from Arabic it is also transliterated burkha, bourkha, burka, or burqu'. The face-veiling portion is usually a rectangular piece of semi-transparent cloth with its top edge attached to a portion of the head-scarf so that the veil hangs down covering the face and can be turned up if the woman wants.