Knowing that Middle Assyrian rules, obligated women to dress veils, sculptures of some Assyrian monuments, scarcely for women, indicate that the Assyrian knew veils even within limited scope.
Despite the little knowledge we have about the reasons for such a phenomeon in Assyrian society, it is assumed that the reasons were legal and social ones based on social status. Such an assumption is strengthened when reading the laws of Middle Assyrian era and their descriptions of limiting wearing veils to free people and excluding slaves and whores. The reason for such rules was promoting the privileges of free woman by adding this new law and to promote her status.
Moving away from the reasons of unveiling Assyrian women and coming to our recent time, we find that the obligations made by Islamic legislative system aim theoretically and practically at promoting the status of Muslim woman, preserving her pride, her honour similarly and distinguishing her from the rest of women in society like slaves or whores.
This view coincides with the view adopted by the ancient Iraqi legislator some 3000 years ago, regardless of the difference of aims, approaches and intentions.