the hunt for a black abaya

I went shopping in hopes of getting an abaya, the black cloak some Middle Eastern women wear. This is a must, here in Saudi Arabia although the head covering, the shayla is optional in Jeddah. Even though I knew this before I left Canada, it is much different than I imagined. Even worse, since it is black, it draws in the heat. A sure sign of misogyny in my eyes, the men stay cool in their condoras, the white dresses and the women suffer :-)

 I did my shopping in Dubai because I had to wear one before I lay foot on Saudi soil. While shopping, I figured, mistakenly, that shopping for an abaya would be easy and fast. After all, it is a shapeless black cloak. Right? Wrong!

 The problem was not that the stores were out of stock, or lacking in different designs. Rather, they had an abundance of abayas in a variety of styles. 

Except my own. 

Hence my problem.

All I wanted was a completely black abaya, with a simple design. Nothing elaborate or ostentatious, which apparently is the complete opposite of the norm there. In fact, when I described my choice of abayas, the salesmen gape in disbelief and whispered among themselves. Finally, after ascertaining I was a foreigner, they took pity on me and decided to educate me on abaya haute couture. They told me that more is better. Extravagence was the new black. They showed me abaya after abaya, all in the latest fashion. Finally, they presented me with the best, the kind only the 'in' people wear. The colours of the rainbow, rhinestones, zebra stripes, gold matte, feathers, beads,... you name it, it was there. All on one abaya. I got a dizzying headache just by looking at it.

 Finally, after stressing over and over my preferences, I ended up with my choice. A simple completely black abaya which they unearthed from a forgotten corner in the back room. An abaya, my friends tell me, typically reserved and worn by old and religious women.

My hunt revealed something to me which initially surprised me at first but then when I thought about it, made a lot more sense. Since the principle behind covering up Islamically is from a male perspective, meaning a female is expected not draw attention, especially male attention, it doesn't take into account how a female can assert her identity through clothing. I think wearing wearing elaborate forms within the confines (abaya) is a response to that void. In a way, demanding people to be invisible forces them to be hyper-visible. 

I have also noticed that women in the United Arab Emirates also wear over-the-top makeup too. I just don't know however if they are asserting their individual identity or a collective identity as women as sexual beings.