For observant Muslim women, the scarf is not a restriction but the protection they require to leave home and work alongside men.

Rarely do clerks observe how observant this woman is.

Across the spectrum of Orthodox Judaism, more observant women are stepping out of traditional jobs.

Many private employers also avoid hiring veiled women, making it hard for strictly observant Muslim women to find jobs.

Few observant women attended in 1996, when the pool opened, an attendant said.

There even the most observant women can shed their wigs or hats and wear sport bras.

She is an intelligent, observant, religious young woman, aged fifteen for much of the novel.

It is used by observant Jewish women to determine whether they have finished menstruation.

It is fiercely anti-urban and draws most of its five million listeners from among older and religiously observant women.

Another slice of the wig market is comprised of strictly observant Jewish women, who cover their heads upon marriage.