The reason why married women cover their hair is because after marriage their hair is considered Erva. Erva is the areas of the body which Halacha says we must cover.
When a woman covers her hair with a shaitle that looks like her own hair, yes, she is technically covering this Erva, BUT, it is exactly the same if a woman covers other parts of her body which are considered Erva with skin colored, tight clothing and a photograph of exactly what is underneath. Yes, she is technically covered…but you can’t really tell.
Rabbanim are allowing it (the shaitle) because they feel they don’t have a choice…they feel that its better that its covered than not covered at all. (ask your local Rabbi…I have asked a few very choshuv poskim and this is what they told me)
What’s really sad is that this is not discussed. The shaitle has become the monopoly of hair covering and the more natural and more beautiful the better. Women and Men don’t realize how ludicrous the mitzvah of hair covering has become because no one is thinking of it in these terms – meaning that the hair of a married woman is Erva.
Many women want to cover their hair in a tznius fashion – but a tznius shaitle is looked down upon by many and very hard to find (you gotta look gorgeous so your husband is proud of you!) and a tichel or a hat is unaccepted (you look Israeli, chassidish, modern, etc)
So it continues…..The only way to change this is education and sensitizing everyone to the idea that hair in a married woman is Erva.
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