Rob of Arabia
Some of us went out to a couple local Kuwaiti sites today and I picked up a dishdasha (robe) and shmagh (headdress) as a memento of my time here. This is how most of the Kuwaiti men dress, although their dishdasha are usually pressed and mine was straight out of the box. The Kuwaiti men usually just wear a white cotton undershirt and white drawers underneath. Sandals complete the outfit and it's surprisingly cool while wearing it. The shmagh is a pain in the butt to get it looking correct, but I got pretty close. I have no idea how it stays on your head when the desert winds kick up, though.
By the way, most of the Kuwaiti women wear a black abaya and hijab. (I don't have a picture because it's rude to take one without asking) About half of the women cover their entire head except the eyes and the other half expose just their face. There is no law that women cover up here, those that do choose to do so (or are influenced by something other than the law). From what I can tell, it's not about males oppressing them, it's about most of the women choosing to dress modestly. Just like most women in the US don't head out to the market in stiletto heels, a miniskirt, and a tube top. The women here are just at a different place on the modesty scale.
By the way, most of the Kuwaiti women wear a black abaya and hijab. (I don't have a picture because it's rude to take one without asking) About half of the women cover their entire head except the eyes and the other half expose just their face. There is no law that women cover up here, those that do choose to do so (or are influenced by something other than the law). From what I can tell, it's not about males oppressing them, it's about most of the women choosing to dress modestly. Just like most women in the US don't head out to the market in stiletto heels, a miniskirt, and a tube top. The women here are just at a different place on the modesty scale.
posted at 7/18/2006 10:06:00 AM
2 Comments:
I think that the title of this post should be "Rob's wearing a dress" hehe
well, most soldiers here call the dishdasha a "man-dress" but I decided not to include that in my post.
leave it up to Sarema to bring that up. :-)
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