As a young girl, I used to watch my mother and aunts putting on their abayas before leaving the house, so I think I always associated the garment with being an adult. So, naturally, I was looking forward to finally being allowed to wear one.
I clearly remember the first time – I was 14, it was my first day of eighth grade, and I had asked my mum during the summer holidays if I could wear an abaya because “all my friends were doing it”.
In the two minutes that I had my abaya on, walking from the car park to the school, I remember feeling like I was on top of the world and that I was finally a young woman. We were not allowed to wear abayas within the school grounds, so we had to roll them up and stuff them in our bags before classes. This meant it was unnecessary to wear it in the first place but, heck, I was an adult now and could do what I wanted. I loved being part of that exclusive club, and I still do.
_____________
Read more:
The abaya: A guide to modest garments around the world
Saudi cleric says abaya no longer necessary for women
_____________
Many Emirati women don’t wear their abayas abroad, so as soon as the plane takes off, we immediately roll up our abayas and put them in our hand luggage, only to bring them out again a few minutes before the plane lands in the UAE. I say roll because I literally roll it up so that it doesn’t getwrinkled. It is always embarrassing when I run into someone I know on the plane, and I have been asked about this many times by Westerners who are shocked to see Emiratis go from wearing the abaya to not wearing it in a matter of minutes.
All in all, I have to admit that I love wearing the abaya – even if it is, sometimes, for all the wrong reasons (like not having to worry about what I wear underneath – I think the majority of us mothers do the school run every morning with our pyjamas on beneath our abayas). But fast-forward a few years and I overhear my mother in-law telling my 10-year-old daughter that she’s going to have to wear an abaya soon, and that she is going to take her to buy her first one. “No! I’m never going to wear the abaya, how will I run?” was my daughter’s immediate response. “Why should I wear it? None of my friends wear it,” she adds.
“None of your friends are Emirati. You are in a British school. You have to wear it because you are Emirati and it is ‘aeib’ [shameful] not to wear it. You have to wear it like your mama and me,” her grandmother responds. And for the first time in what feels like eternity, it hits me: why does my daughter “have” to wear an abaya?
While I love my abaya for various reasons, I don't think I can confidently tell my daughters that they have to wear the abaya just because they are Emirati. I'll have to settle with: "Because I said so and as long as you are living under my roof, you have to do what I tell you to do."
Shireena Al Nowais is The National’s Chief National Reporter
More on Afghanistan
Con Coughlin: US-Taliban peace deal - what's the deal and where's the peace?
National Editorial: The US-Taliban peace deal is only the first step to peace
Ken Hedricks: The Afghan scorpion farmer harvesting valuable venom
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Rashmee Roshan Lall: Sound of silence in South Asia
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
World Mental Health Day
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
More on animal trafficking
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
Our commentary on Brexit
- Con Coughlin: Choice of the British people will be vindicated
- Sam Williams: Departure is influenced by its sense of place
• Remittance charges will be tackled by blockchain
• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister
• Could the UAE drive India's economy?
• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it
• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture
• The National announces Future of News journalism competition
• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come
Our commentary on Brexit
- Alistair Burt: Despite Brexit, Britain can remain a world power
- Con Coughlin: Choice of the British people will be vindicated
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20PRO%20(12.9%22%2C%202022)
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
More on animal trafficking
Transgender report
Transgender report
Whiile you're here
Damien McElroy: Anti-science attitudes in America are proving lethal
Editorial: What makes the UAE such a good place to test vaccines?
Editorial: The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science
The national orchestra
SPECS
You might also like
How a groundbreaking soil-less farming inititiave is empowering rural communities across Jordan
Essay: Venice's floods should serve as a wake-up call for the world
UAE ready for innovation in area of water management – this is not a pipe dream
Saudi artist Manal AlDowayan unveils new piece of land art addressing water scarcity in Al Ula
Inside Palestine-Israel
Saeb Erakat: Palestine can overcome coronavirus
Michael Young: The issue with Israel's 'iron wall'
Michael Young: What Israel's divisions mean for Arabs
More on Afghanistan
Sulaiman Hakemy: 'Afghan' is now a globalised identity, whether the Taliban likes it or not
Editorial: The US-Taliban deal is only the first step to peace
Ken Hedricks: The Afghan scorpion farmer harvesting valuable venom for international buyers
Sulaiman Hakemy: Afghanistan's election results are finally released, but leadership remains overdue
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
more from Janine di Giovanni
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Cartlow: $13.4m
Rabbitmart: $14m
Smileneo: $5.8m
Soum: $4m
imVentures: $100m
Plug and Play: $25m
Our commentary on Brexit
- Alistair Burt: Despite Brexit, Britain can remain a world power
- Sam Williams: Departure is influenced by its sense of place
Recommended
Women are on the front line of the coronavirus fight, and we should all remember that by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Coronavirus: How the world can end the pandemic by Bill Gates
Famine on the rise in the Middle East and North Africa
Inside the UN's Dubai aid facility delivering support to people in need across the globe
While you're here
Gavin Esler: Coronavirus offers stinging rebuke to protectionists
Kareem Shaheen: Pandemics can save us from waging wars
Sholto Byrnes: Why the climate change clash will get nastier
Transgender report
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
More on Quran memorisation:
On Women's Day
Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action
Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?
Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality
Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'
Tomorrow 2021
Towering concerns
More coverage from the Future Forum
• Remittance charges will be tackled by blockchain
• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister
• Could the UAE drive India's economy?
• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it
• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture
• The National announces Future of News journalism competition
• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come
