Abaya in Saudi Arabia: To wear, or not to wear, that is the question
Some women believe the abaya is not an indicator of one’s piety while others say it helps ward off unwanted attention
When earlier this month Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman said that the abaya — the loosefitting, full-length robes symbolic of Islamic piety — is not necessary as long as their attire is “decent and respectful”, his comments were hailed by many.
Under Mohammad, the country has seen an expansion in women’s rights including a decision to allow women to attend mixed public sporting events and the right to drive cars from this summer.
There is yet to be an official decree — like the one that reversed a ban on women’s driving — so there hasn’t been a visible change in women’s clothing on Saudi streets yet, but there is already excitement.
Gulf News decided to ask Saudi women directly what they thought about the abaya.
Indian national and IT professor Zeba Zaidi — who has been living in Jeddah for over two decades — hailed the crown prince’s statement.
“It will be a progressive decision that will give women more liberty to decide whether or not they want to wear it,” she said.
Sumaya Khan, a market analyst at Point, believes that it is an important step towards women’s empowerment.
Many women already believe that wearing the abaya is not a measurement of one’s decency and piety.
“As a Muslim I choose not to wear the abaya. I feel like a hypocrite to cover from head to toe here and then take off the abaya when I’m abroad. I also don’t think that my not wearing an abaya makes me any less of a Muslim,” said Saudi national Sahar, a third year medical student from Makkah. Other women say they will continue to wear the abaya.
Ayesha, a teacher working at an international school in Jeddah, said: “The abaya highlights my principles rather than my body and sends the message to men that I should not be messed with,” she said.
Ameera Sa’ad, a Saudi national living in the city of Yanbu, says she will not like it when she sees women out in public without abayas.
“I think this will lead to an increase in indecency,” she says.
Observers believe when the change happens it will likely be seen more in major cities like Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, before reaching smaller towns.
In these big cities some women have already been seen wearing colourful abayas instead of the traditional black.
Problems could arise as the concept of modest dress could be interpreted differently by different people.
“Women will still need to dress decently, so they need to be more careful while exercising their judgement,” Zaidi says.
“With freedom comes great responsibility.”
As a Muslim I choose not to wear an abaya, black or coloured. I feel like a hypocrite to cover from head to toe here and then take off the abaya when I’m abroad.”
Sahar | A third year medical student