In Africa, Women Wear Headscarfs as Part of the Fashion Culture. Is There Anything Wrong If They Did Not Cut Their Hair but Wear the Headscarfs as a?
1) Direct Answer
No. If a woman keeps her hair uncut, there is nothing wrong with wearing a headscarf as part of cultural fashion—so long as it is modest and not used to replace the biblical sign God gave, which is her long hair.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible says a woman’s long hair is her covering: “For her hair is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15). That is the God-given sign on her head.
- Paul warns that being shorn or shaven is a shame (1 Corinthians 11:5–6), so the issue God marks is cutting the hair—not whether a cloth is on the head.
- Modesty guides adornment: “Women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety” (1 Timothy 2:9), and the emphasis is the hidden heart over outward show (1 Peter 3:3–4).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Now notice: the Scripture itself identifies the woman’s long, uncut hair as the covering. A scarf can be worn, but it is optional and cultural. It does not add to, or substitute for, what God already gave.
- If a woman cuts her hair, wearing a scarf cannot fix the spiritual sign she has set aside. But if she keeps her hair uncut, she is covered before God whether she wears a scarf or not.
- The only caution is modesty. If the scarf serves modesty and cultural respect, fine. If it becomes vanity or display, that misses the spirit of the Word.
4) Reinforcing Statement
You see, keep the God-given covering—your uncut hair—and walk in modesty. A headscarf is permissible as fashion or modesty, but your hair is the biblical covering.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Forsaking all
62-0123 §33
Sometimes the women in our churches is used to wearing immoral clothes, like shorts, and these dungarees. The Bible said it's an abomination to God for a woman to put on such. No matter what she thinks, she's got to forsake that. Sometimes we find women when they come into the way and get saved, they've been used to cutting off their hair, and they want to be popular like the rest of the world. But they find out it's a hard thing, 'cause they'll call you old-fashioned whenever you go to dressing like a Christian, a...
Questions and Answers, Part 1
64-0823M §98
And the braid---but braided... The question was: Does "braided" mean---"broided" mean "braided"? Yes, that's right. And now, on the street... Now, I looked that up to find out years ago what the "braided" hair meant, see. The women, actually, the women of old, they just pulled their hair back and tied it, more like in the ponytail today. And they went around... They had robes on like that, but the women of the street took their hair and braided it all across their heads, and wrapped it around like that, and put flo...
The Message to the Laodicean Church
58-0609 §26
I don't want to hurt your feelings. But what happened to the morals of this Pentecostal church? It used to be wrong for you women to cut your hair. I remember that. But now you say, "Preacher, there you go. You're hitting that." All right. You see where your private life is? The Bible is against it. If the Bible said in grandmother's days it was wrong, it's the same Bible tonight. The Bible says if a woman cuts her hair off he can divorce her; she dishonors her head. Now, that's right. That's what the Scripture say...
I will restore
57-0309B §10
And in our religious beliefs, we find the same thing. We find that some believe one thing and some another, but I've always tried to make it a policy to never try to cross up anybody, to do anything wrong. When I come out of the Baptist church, I never went across the country telling what a bad bunch of people the Baptists are. I'd go across the country telling what a fine bunch of people the Baptists are, because they are. I might not agree with them just on everything, but I certainly would take one of them befor...
Why are we not a denomination?
58-0927 §87
Now watch. There's some of the habits they have, some of the morals that they have. We could just go on. First thing you know, it leaked into the Protestant churches. Then the Catholic women begin to... "Why, it wasn't no harm to put on little shorts, as long as you went to church, and put a little handkerchief over their head." Some kind of tradition. "Don't eat any meat on Friday." And, oh, where did you ever find putting a handkerchief on your head to enter church? I want you to show me the Scripture! False prop...