How Women Dress in the Middle East

How Women Dress in the Middle East

By Etienne Bernhardt

Dress code for Women in the Middle East.

For those of you who are about to travel to the Middle East, here is a short article about the dress code in this region. This article will give you a quick idea on why women in the Middle East have a particular dress code.

In the Middle East, women must obey the dress code dictated by the Quran (Book of Islam). According to the Islamic faith, women are to be protected from the lustful gaze of men. It is her duty to guard her modesty through following the Islamic dress code. Allah gave laws to protect women and to save them from being exploited by the media and those who wants to use sexuality to lure men into purchasing services or products.

The believing women should according to the Quran "lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof." [Quran: 24.31]

For the men, "Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them, and God is well acquainted with all they do." [Quran: 24.30].

The conditions of the women's dress code are as follows:

1. Clothing must cover the whole body and only hands and face can be seen

2. Clothing material cannot be see through

3. Clothing cannot look like men's clothing

4. The design of the clothing cannot mimic those of non-believing women

5. The design on clothing cannot attract attention or contain flashy designs

6. Clothing should not be worn for improving status or reputation

In accordance to these guidelines, the following are some clothing commonly worn by women in UAE.

1. Abaya is a long flowing black gown that is very elegant and used to cover female clothing. The Abaya can be both plain and have some designs on it. Other western or local clothing can be worn underneath the Abaya.

2. Hijab is a piece of material covering the head in order to not expose the hair.

3. Gishwa is a thick black veil that covers the face with a material thin enough for the women to see through but thick enough so that others cannot identify the women.

4. Shela is a material to cover the face. In recent times, some Shela are made with designer materials in order to match with popular accessories of trendy brands like Dior or Givenchy.

The dress code mentioned above is for Muslim women in the Middle East. Since the economic growth in many middle eastern countries and being travel destinations, dress code for visitors and non-Muslims are rather relax. For women, keep in mind modesty and try not to dress in tight fitted or revealing clothing would be a good rule of thumb. Shirts, jeans, long skirts are probably safe clothing. Bikinis and shorts are probably acceptable in certain places. If you are dressed revealing more skin, you may get some unwanted attention. Another thing to keep handy would be a veil in case you are visiting or near religious areas, government buildings and museum.

My name is Etienne. Being from an expat back ground, I've always enjoyed traveling and visiting new places. I have had the opportunity to do exchanges in various countries such as Australia,China,Singapore,and France At the moment i am interning for a well known company for study abroad programs called CBL International and I enjoy writing my experiences to share with everyone here. The company offers several study abroad programs in Dubai, China, Brazil, Oxford and India.

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