A Look Inside and Outside Abaya 2

 Continues from A Look Inside and Outside Abaya

Yet, it would be untrue if I tell that I never missed the times without Abayas. Whenever we had to go for some parties and dress up properly, I always checked if there is an opportunity to remove Abaya at the party hall. I also regretted on my baby’s first birthday party, when I put on the saree and had to wear Abaya above it. Thankfully, I had to do so till I reach the party hall. 

You may call it the vanity of a woman to show off, but on some days, I would feel like dressing up and not wearing Abaya! Mutaween thrice instructed Sreejith to cover my head. Though not harmful I got irritated with the feeling “Who are they to decide?” Apart from these, I was quite ok with Abaya. 

But teenagers have another point to note. In an age when they wish all eyes to be on them, it’s a punishment for them to cloak under dark attire. I’ve seen many teenagers open their Abayas in the front and wear them as a coat flaunting their fabulous attires beneath.

These are the experiences of a Hindu woman in Saudi Arabia. But, Muslim women are not free as me since they have some religious rules to abide. Some of them happily oblige to the rules believing that one should not judge them with their looks or attire but by their actions. But there is an argument against this. Many other women feel that, it is a way to identify women in derogatory term ‘woman’ and not as individuals.  

There is also a rumor that many women must be so ugly to reveal their face. That may be the reason behind niqab. This doubt was clarified to me as I had a chance to see their faces in Ladies’ quarters since many of them are stunning beauties. Many native women wear the trendiest attires under the Abaya and some not at all. However, one thing should not be neglected-someone should really teach many of them the basic lessons of hygiene. Be in Abaya or outside, they should know how to clean themselves!

Talking about hygiene there is a view that is quite repelling for me. Many women slip juice and food (especially noodles) under their hijab at the family restaurants. The food would be spilled on their dress and must be trickling in many situations. In those moments, I just wonder “Why can’t they be a little neat and have the food normally?”

Last week, a woman smuggled some of the items from a famous department store in Riyadh. She stored everything under the Abaya and stepped put. However her Abaya couldn’t fool the security alarm since it beeped out. Almost one hour lapsed for the proceedings of the store, since the women police had to come for the inspection of the lady. The shopkeepers assert that Abayas are thus a great headache for them in these situations. 

These are some pros and cons of Abayas that I assumed during my one year stay at Riyadh. As per my knowledge these are the simple truths about Abayas than the many horrifying rumors spread about them.

Well, my dear ones, I didn’t regret wearing the Abaya. Most of the things that you fear from outside can be comfortable when you get in. And for those who doubt on whether I would wear an Abaya in India, my answer is “No.” I can get into a culture and accept their routines as my own as long as they host me. But, in my country I am free to have my own choice and be my own!