The Hajj and Women's Dress

image by: flickr

 The Hajj and Women's Dress

I am not particularly religious but when you’re arriving in a country that has strict codes for women, stipulating what they should wear you have no choice but to abide by them. I have never worn an abaya, a long black coat like garment worn over your clothes, with a matching headscarf before and it’s been a really interesting experience.

A colleague recommended a shop in downtown Cairo, where I am based, and when I arrived all of the women in the store were wearing a hijab. Feeling out of place, I sheepishly told them about our upcoming coverage of the Hajj and was immediately pointed in the direction of some bejeweled abayas. I quickly learnt that just because you have to cover up doesn’t necessarily mean you have to look like you’re wearing a tent. So, needless to say, I bought three of them, all had different designs. Apparently, in some countries in the Arabian Gulf, there are designer ones on offer.

As soon as we landed at Jeddah airport and before disembarking the plane, I, for the first time, put on an abaya. I was not prepared for the heat and because the cloth is black, I was soon perspiring. I began, and still am, having issues with the headscarf. I have not found a way to secure it on my head, the sheer cloth keeps slipping off forcing me to keep fiddling with it. I have been told to invest in some safety pins to keep it in place.

The real test came on the day we were shooting outside the Al Haram mosque in the holy city of Mecca. With the sun beating down and running around talking to people, I was more than ready to scream. There’s a sense of helplessness and some frustration because there was nothing I could do about it, orders are orders and you have to respect the culture and beliefs of the country you are working in especially when you’re on the grounds of a holy site. As I looked around and saw that all the women, young and old, were wearing one and performing the grueling rituals of the Hajj pilgrimage, it put the issue in perspective and I continued with my work.

I have now grown accustomed to it and funnily enough, it alleviates the pain of wearing a matching outfit and certainly answers the question I am faced every morning -- what do I don today? In Jeddah, it doesn’t matter because no one can see what you’re wearing under your abaya.

article by: blogs.abcnews.com