Saudi Arabia is a land of paradoxes and a land of contradictions!
Before I arrived I was honestly more than a little scared. Every time I researched the country it just confirmed my fears that the whole population were religious extremists who hated the west-the images of the women dressed in black depressed me (even though I was curious about wearing the niquaab/face covering).
And I am not exactly what you would call 'uneducated'!
I now think that Saudi's isolationist mentality and the western stereotypes of saudi do nothing to dispel these misconceptions.
Before I arrived I was honestly more than a little scared. Every time I researched the country it just confirmed my fears that the whole population were religious extremists who hated the west-the images of the women dressed in black depressed me (even though I was curious about wearing the niquaab/face covering).
And I am not exactly what you would call 'uneducated'!
I now think that Saudi's isolationist mentality and the western stereotypes of saudi do nothing to dispel these misconceptions.
Anyway I have been here a few months and have settled in. Although I still miss my country and at times saudi is just plain WEIRD to me, i am getting used to the difference in culture.
What i didnt expect was how saudi people have introduced concepts of status and class into aspects of the religion. Now what I mean with this is specific to the issue of wearing the hijab and islamic dress for women. I have noticed that the upper class and upper middle class do not wear hijab or they wear the scarf but not as strictly. They don't mind if their hair shows etc. They are also less likely to wear the niquaab. Also, the way a woman wears her scarf and her abaya also reflects the social status/class of that woman.
A great advantage about living in Jeddah is that it is more 'free' than Riyadh (the capital). More women are wearing abayas that show their 
personality while still adhering to the Islamic standards of dress. They are no longer wearing the plain black abayas. They have crystal designs and beautiful colourful fabric that is under a sheer black cloth. They often are reversible so you can wear the colourful abayas when your with family or with friends at social gatherings. Many young women wear these abayas and you can often see a pair of converse all stars (cons) peaking from under their abayas! Muslim women take A LOT of care in what abaya they wear and items such as shoes and bags are used inject personality and again, status. I was very surprised to find uni students clutching ther louis vuittons etc and it really frustrated me because they hardly ever had anything larger than a small notepad for taking notes for class because they didnt want to either hold their books or risk damaging their bags!
personality while still adhering to the Islamic standards of dress. They are no longer wearing the plain black abayas. They have crystal designs and beautiful colourful fabric that is under a sheer black cloth. They often are reversible so you can wear the colourful abayas when your with family or with friends at social gatherings. Many young women wear these abayas and you can often see a pair of converse all stars (cons) peaking from under their abayas! Muslim women take A LOT of care in what abaya they wear and items such as shoes and bags are used inject personality and again, status. I was very surprised to find uni students clutching ther louis vuittons etc and it really frustrated me because they hardly ever had anything larger than a small notepad for taking notes for class because they didnt want to either hold their books or risk damaging their bags!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm a muslim living in Canada and I'm looking for a reversible abaya. Do you know of any Saudi stores that sell them online? I bought one off of ebay but I'd like to get another. Preferably royal blue and black. The ebay seller is long gone but he used to sell from Jeddah. Any assistance you could provide would be much appreciated. Salaam!