The abaya and young emirati women: from homogenisation to appropriation

73.7 million dirhams: that’s the price of the world’s most expensive abaya. Diamonds, rubies and gold coat this exceptional piece…This fashion item, well situated under the banner of luxury and elegance, is quite far from the original function of the abaya.

We can define the abaya originally as being a fabric worn by woman from historically muslim-populated countries, notably the Middle East. This piece of clothing must be worn over others, together covering the entire body with the exception of the face, feet and hands.

The abaya which is no more than a piece of fabric which has over the decades undergone notable upheavals. Effectively, the function and value of this fabric has drastically changed. The abaya was initially worn practically: to protect the body from the stifling heat as well as sand and winds. To this practical function, a “traditional” function was indirectly added: wearing the abaya was demonstrating your belonging to a community, that of the Bedouins of the desert. In this time, wearing the abaya was not mandatory.

While in the 1960s and 1970s, Arab nationalist movements allowed a more liberal interpretation of Islam in the Middle East, the 1980s are marked by a return to a more conservative interpretation of Islam, directly inherited from Mohammed Bin Abdel Wahab. The abaya would undergo a change of role by becoming, in the Middle East, a symbol of religious affiliation. This new function would emerge in Saudi Arabia, in a very particular context; that of the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the entirety of the Arab world.Therefore, if one takes a passage of the Quran on the necessity of woman covering up, it could be interpreted more or less radically, depending on either of these periods.

Today in the United Arab Emirates, the abaya has once again changed meaning. While in the old days its meaning was purely religious or traditional, today new developments emerge, notably those tied to the question of the appropriation of the abaya to build an identity. The abaya makes up a part of the personality of the women who wear it.

What is the significance of the abaya for the young Emirati women who wear it today?

Has the abaya become an object of fashion like any other? Do abaya trends exist ?

Consequently, how does the Emirati woman create her identity with two outfits everyday(one within the “public” sphere and another in “private” (under the abaya)?

Wearing the abaya is above all fulfilling a duty: that of maintaining traditions which are in danger

Wearing the abaya is a sort of “active” act which allows them to conserve their culture. This culture is for them considered to be threatened by the outside, notable because in their own country, the Emiratis constitute a weak percentage of the population, about 10%.

Thereby, in wearing the abaya, we can consider that Emirati women adhere to and defend an assembly of their collective values, those of loyalty to their ancestors and their country. The abaya for women, alongside the kandora for men, are clothes which secures the sentiment of belonging to a shared history.

This dimension of the abaya, is directly in line with the definition of a “rite”, for the sociologist Emile Durkheim. An aspect of the definition highlights this dimension. The abaya could be considered as a rite which “constantly activates the sense of belonging”.

The abaya is a permanent reminder of their origins and moreover, it involves a certain type of behavior. While wearing the abaya: it is necessary to behave in line with the rules of the country for the interviewees “Not only do you wear with your abaya, your own reputation, but you wear the reputation of the entire country”: this sentence unconsciously constructed as a metaphor within the interview, represents well the weight present on the shoulders of women who make the choice to wear it. To conclude my first point, we can say that the most important signification of the abaya is above all the traditional and cultural dimension.

Nevertheless, this maintaining of tradition by Emirati women is accompanied by a process of appropriation of the abaya, which becomes an object of fashion through time and a means of expressing their identity.

Emirati women appropriate the abaya in several different ways. While the majority of abayas are black, as it is the color that camouflages the silhouette best, since 2010, we can observe the arrival on the fashion market of the trend of colored abayas, both for special occasions and for everyday wear.

In addition, new materials appear, less concealing and more fluid, which allows women to play with transparent materials that allow their silhouettes or the outfits they wear underneath. The particulars of the abaya have modernized as well with the presence of diverse details: pearls, feathers, embroidery, and even lace.

In this, Emiratis are within a logic of displaying their personality through the abaya, all while respecting their imposed costume. The abaya has become an outfit in itself, allowing them to show their “taste and personality”. Even though the form of this clothing stays almost unanimously the same and doesn’t leave a lot of room for differentiation, the styles, have diversified: we can, for example, definitely find abayas that resemble the costume of the men with a very structured cut.

Not only is the abaya a means to express their tastes and style, but it allows them to express their status. Through this the abaya as an object of fashion also becomes and object of ostentatious consumption. In effect, by purchasing certain brands, young Emirati women seek to show their social status. To understand this aspect, we can refer to the work of the sociologist T. Veblen.

The abaya that can historically be considered as a symbol of “austerity”, “devotion”, is today a symbol of prestige and luxury. Certainly, the abaya fills a traditional and cultural function but its details (the materials, the ornaments) have nothing if not a function of visibility. It functions for these girls, through its details, to demonstrate their entourage, the group within which they define themselves and which they like belonging to. It’s important to note that to understand this ostentatious dimension of these outfits, it serves well to have the aesthetic codes of its earlier forms.

European brands have also participated in modernizing this sartorial tradition. In 2016 Dolce and Gabbana, sensing the potential of this new market, created a commercial collection of abayas and kandoras. Therefore, the Emirati woman wears an abaya, all while appropriating it. It has become more and more personalized, decorated with details, and through this it testifies their belonging to an identity group.

However, while some women accept this, for others, the abaya is seen as a constraint in the affirmation of their personal identity. The abaya is not sufficient as a means of self-expression. For them, what is more important are the outfits they wear underneath the abaya.

However, there are still women for whom the abaya is an obstacle to the formation of their personal identity…

Certain women do not achieve self-affirmation as an individual through the abaya even through an attempt at re-appropriation and are therefore confronted with a crisis situation, that we can consider a “symbolic imprisonment”. Effectively, these women are torn between two sets of values: the traditional (collective) values, to which they are obliged to adhere to, and modern (individual) values, which advocate asserting oneself as a unique individual.

The traditional values are the base of the Emirati society: patriotism, respect of culture, solidarity. These values are otherwise incarnated in the figure of Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates as we know it today. These so-called modern values respond to a new ideal, which is closer to a more western model. Therefore, we can observe an incompatibility of these different value systems, which prevents these women from constituting a real personal identity. As long as this conflict persists, the outfit underneath the abaya is what holds the most importance for these women even if it is hidden, for the majority of the time by the abaya.

In conclusion, it is important to say that wearing the abaya, is above all, a cultural practice that conveys membership to a particular social group. This cultural practice has gone through a process of modernization. The women have appropriated the garment of their ancestors. Thereby, it has become on object of fashion which follows trends. Through customization the abaya, can conform to their image and express their identity. However even though the abaya is accepted amongst certain women it is not the case for them all.

Despite this modernization, certain women are stifled by the weight of this garment on their body and identity. The issue for these women is finding a way of defining their identity through other means: this is where the clothes they wear underneath the abaya intervenes.

It is this modernization of the abaya that allows its continued survivance, as opposed to the kandura which rests the same in terms of material and shape.

We can contemplate the evolutions of the abaya in the long term: will this traditional clothing go through other evolutions, for example by shortening itself, by changing shape, in the same way the skirt became the mini-skirt in Europe...