When Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving ended on Sunday the 24th of June 2018, fashion designer Eman Joharjy and her friends drove to Jeddah’s seafront where they exchanged their car for bicycles.

The colourful, embroidered jumpsuit abayas they donned stood out among the sea of women wearing similar loose-fitting full-length robes but in the traditional black. Yet no one stopped them.

Women in this deeply conservative Muslim kingdom are rapidly gaining more freedoms under a reform agenda spearheaded by young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to transform the economy of the world’s top oil exporter and open up its cloistered society.

The government recently allowed women to join the security forces and no longer requires them to have a male relative’s consent to open a business. And while now they can drive, they still need permission to get married and travel abroad.

Prince Mohammed laid the ground two years for many social changes, including the return of cinemas and public concerts, two years ago by curbing the powers of the religious police, who used to stop women on the streets and tell them to cover up.

These days at sunset, as the Arabian heat eases, women do sports along the promenade.

“Women feel encouraged by the government support. They are telling them, ‘You can go run and play sports’,” said Joharjy. “But let’s change from a sedentary society to a more active one.”

In 2007, frustrated by a lack of abayas made for running or cycling, Joharjy designed one for herself. She began making them for friends and selling what she dubbed the “sporty abaya”.

Colourful racks display designs for different activities like the driving abaya, which features a hoodie, tight elbows to prevent the sleeves from catching on the steering wheel, and shorter lengths to make switching pedals easier.

Most importantly for Joharjy, there is no trace of black.

“They reflect freedom and the willingness to embrace life and make it easy for the modern woman,” she said. “Besides, women love colour.”

She is optimistic that Saudi Arabia’s strict social rules will ease further. But she still believes that many women will continue to wear the abaya in one form or another.

For her, the robe is like the Indian sari, a symbol of cultural heritage rather than religion.

“It is protection,” she said. “It protects us from the sun and naughty guys.”

Women in Saudi Arabia need not wear headcover or the black abaya – the loose-fitting, full-length robes symbolic of Islamic piety – as long as their attire is “decent and respectful”, the kingdom’s reform-minded crown prince said.

With the ascent to power of young Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the kingdom has seen an expansion in women’s rights including a decision to allow women to attend mixed public sporting events and the right to drive cars from this summer.

The changes have been hailed as proof of a new progressive trend towards modernisation in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom, although the gender-segregated nation continues to be criticized for its continued constraints on women.

“The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of sharia (Islamic law): that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men,” Prince Mohammed said in an interview with CBS television aired late on Sunday.

“This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover. The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear.”

A senior cleric said last month that women should dress modestly, but this did not necessitate wearing the abaya.

It remains unclear if these statements signal a change in the enforcement of women’s dress code in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has no written legal code to go with the texts making up sharia, and police and judiciary have long enforced a strict dress code requiring Saudi women to wear abayas and in many cases to cover their hair and faces.

But the kingdom has witnessed a cautious new climate of social freedoms with the rise of the 32-year-old crown prince to power after decades of elderly rulers.

Saudi women have started wearing more colourful abayas in recent years, the light blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. Open abayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in some parts of the country.

On March 8, a group of women in the Saudi city of Jeddah marked International Women’s Day by exercising one of their newly acquired freedoms: the right to go for a jog, paying no heed to bemused onlookers.

However, activists have blasted the country’s continued guardianship system requiring a male family member to grant permission for a woman to study abroad, travel and other activities.

Last week, a U.N. rights watchdog called on Saudi Arabia to end discriminatory practices against women including male guardianship, and give them full access to justice.

The following video – posted by a Muslim female named Umm Aqsa, once again shows a male questioning why a female chooses to wear the abaya and the Niqab (face veil). The video highlights how a simple trip for shopping turns into a tirade about the identity and clothing of the Muslim female.

We have said before that anti-Muslim bigotry crosses race and religions. In this instance, the perpetrator is a black male and can be seen in the video. We have also listed the comments of Umm Aqsa underneath the video to highlight her thoughts, but we must also add that she subsequently has received lots of positive messages from the public supporting her and this needs to be highlighted. When we highlight such issues, it is important to remember that there are lots of people who reject such bigotry and lots who believe that Muslims are fellow citizens. This is always important to remember.

Comments from the Facebook Page of Umm Aqsa

I can not believe what I had to endure today. Honestly couldn’t believe it. Thank you to the uncle and brother who came in and had a go at the man.

I was minding my own business so I had to pop into the shop down in Shepherds Bush to grab something. As I entered, this guy who I’ve seen around the area decided to call me ‘ batman’ he even sang the theme tune to his little girls and told them to guess if I’m a man or a women. He told his girls that people like me don’t speak English etc.
I tried to hold it all in but I couldn’t after everything he was saying. I told him he is ignorant and that his kids will be ignorant also if he doesn’t change his way and attitude . He kept going on so i decided to record him and he was aware of this. How ironic he called me ISIS
Please keep in mind his daughters are scared and crying! !

The post Video Shows the Bigotry That Women Who Wear The NIqab Have to Face appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The following video – posted by a Muslim female named Umm Aqsa, once again shows a male questioning why a female chooses to wear the abaya and the Niqab (face veil). The video highlights how a simple trip for shopping turns into a tirade about the identity and clothing of the Muslim female.

We have said before that anti-Muslim bigotry crosses race and religions. In this instance, the perpetrator is a black male and can be seen in the video. We have also listed the comments of Umm Aqsa underneath the video to highlight her thoughts, but we must also add that she subsequently has received lots of positive messages from the public supporting her and this needs to be highlighted. When we highlight such issues, it is important to remember that there are lots of people who reject such bigotry and lots who believe that Muslims are fellow citizens. This is always important to remember.

Comments from the Facebook Page of Umm Aqsa

I can not believe what I had to endure today. Honestly couldn’t believe it. Thank you to the uncle and brother who came in and had a go at the man.

I was minding my own business so I had to pop into the shop down in Shepherds Bush to grab something. As I entered, this guy who I’ve seen around the area decided to call me ‘ batman’ he even sang the theme tune to his little girls and told them to guess if I’m a man or a women. He told his girls that people like me don’t speak English etc.
I tried to hold it all in but I couldn’t after everything he was saying. I told him he is ignorant and that his kids will be ignorant also if he doesn’t change his way and attitude . He kept going on so i decided to record him and he was aware of this. How ironic he called me ISIS
Please keep in mind his daughters are scared and crying! !

The post Video Shows the Bigotry That Women Who Wear The NIqab Have to Face appeared first on TELL MAMA.

This is a case that came into Tell MAMA a few days go. Nazleen (the identity has been altered), wears a Niqab and an Abaya, (the black body over-garment) worn by more socially conservative Muslim women. Nazleen is 22 years old and she was travelling on a bus when a white female, aged around 40 plus years of age, started to look at Nazleen in an aggressive manner. She then started to say something to Nazleen, who took off her headphones, and the female perpetrator stated, “you wearing that Niqab is going back to the traditions of the Victorian era. We women fought hard for women’s rights, so why would you do this?” The perpetrator also went onto state, “you could be hiding a gun under your garment.” The abuse continued with the perpetrator stating that she felt scared by Nazleen and that she felt intimidated by her. She also stated that Nazleen looked like she was a ‘ghost’.

The intimidation and abuse of young Nazleen continued as the female perpetrator then said that Nazleen probably could not read or write and that she was being manipulated by men.

As Nazleen went to get off her stop, in a moment of empathy a passenger asked her if she was ok and Nazleen alighted from the bus.

In contacting Tell MAMA Nazleen stated, “I’m not hurt or upset by this incident. I’m used to it to be honest but with the rise in Islamophobic attacks I thought to report it so more awareness is created of incidents like this.”

The post “You Wearing That Niqab is Going Back to Traditions of the Victorian Era,” Says Perpetrator appeared first on TELL MAMA.

You would think that mocking the clothing of people based on their religious beliefs is offensive and stereotypical, particularly if it plays to tropes that develop a sense of fear of the other, or when it seeks to dehumanize the wearer.

However, who would have thought that E-Bay would decide to sell the following?

The pictures show women wearing the burqa and with niqabs, underneath the title, ‘Burqa costume Burqua (sic) Halloween Fancy Dress Idea Sharia Burka.’ The idea that the burqa or abaya and niqab (the face veil), are somehow linked to Halloween is dehumanizing and has impacts on those women who choose to wear the over-garments for religious reasons.

Commenting on the E-Bay sale, the Director of Tell MAMA, Fiyaz Mughal OBE stated: “The ‘costumes’ are an affront to women who choose to wear the burqa to meet what they believe, are religious requirements. May Muslim women do not wear the burqa though to associate the burqa with Halloween, further stigmatises women who wear it and dehumanises them. Time after time, Muslim women who wear the burqa and the niqab suffer anti-Muslim prejudice and people who would not dare to attack or harm a woman, think that they can do so with those who cover up, as if the victim is dehumanized. We ask that E-Bay remove these so-called ‘costumes’ and understand the impact that it has on women, perceptions within wider communities and to the safety of some Muslim women.”

The post E-Bay Hosts ‘Halloween Burqa’ Costumes For Sale appeared first on TELL MAMA.