Halachot and Customs
Why Is It Forbidden for a Woman to Wear Pants?
Question
Greetings,
(I have, thank Hashem, always worn skirts), but I would be glad to know whether this is an obligation or a custom, and what the sources are for it. I was also asked by someone: what is the problem with wearing wide pants from which the shape of the body is not visible?
I would be glad if I could receive an answer as well as a reference to relevant sources.
Thank you very much
Answer
Greetings and blessings,
The very structure of pants, in that they emphasize the separation of a woman’s legs, is an immodest garment and is forbidden. Aside from the prohibition of lo yilbash,
Even if the pants are very wide, and there is room to consider the concern of modesty, and even though this is made only for women, it would still be inappropriate to permit to go out in such pants. The definitions of wide pants cannot, by their very nature, be decisive definitions; fashion changes from one month to the next, and this is a slippery slope that can lead to wearing tight pants
It is permitted lechatchila to wear pants under a properly long skirt, when the skirt covers all of the pants, and thus modest women in Yemen and in other places used to wear pants under the skirt.
Wishing you success,
Binyamin Shmueli
