The minute her picture — she was wearing her hijab — was published in one of the local newspapers, she became the subject of gossip and backbiting. When she approached the teachers’ room at the school she worked in, all the heads popped up to stare at her. They maliciously made fun of her. She dared to break society’s rules publicly. It would be all right for a woman to uncover her face in the dark or when no one is watching, but to have the guts to challenge traditions and uncover her face publicly, that’s a shameful crime.
We’re moving into closed circles of duality and hypocrisy, unable to survive. Society accepts many habits as long as they are practiced without being brought to the world’s attention. This is just an evident proof of the duality of standards that govern our society and control people’s brains and thoughts. It also exposes the social hypocrisy that dominates our everyday life, which becomes vicious once associated with women and their appearance.
What’s criticized and rejected in full view of people is accepted and approved without their knowledge and in the dark. The family might be aware that their daughter is out with her face uncovered without being upset about it. But they get agitated and furious when they know that her face becomes known to the public and on the pages of local newspapers.
Many welcome the presence of Saudi women in scientific, cultural and economic forums. In fact, they usually applaud the idea whenever the event takes place outside the borders of the Kingdom. But when forums happen inside the country and women participate, attend or contribute, then they are criticized. There are many social situations that follow a similar pattern: forbidden inside, permitted abroad.
Everyone knows that Saudi women not only remove their abayas once they leave the country, but they also compete in following the latest fashion trends when abroad. They spend a fortune on their outfits so that they don’t feel left out of the fashion parade that Saudi and Gulf women start during summer vacations in other Arab or European countries. The famous streets of London, Paris or Cairo are like carnivals displaying the latest in fashion trend worn by Saudi and Gulf women.
This proves that it’s impossible to impose a certain trend on people when it comes to dress codes or behavior. Threats and terrorizing make people have dual personalities. They become schizophrenic. They will rush at the first opportunity to ditch anything that’s been imposed on them when they’re sure that they are neither monitored nor supervised.
Prohibiting things that the scholars disagree upon and imposing traditions on people will lead to social hypocrisy. It will increase the number of people who secretly do things that they oppose publicly. We need to review many of our social habits that are practiced in the name of religion and are severely restricting Saudi society. We might at one point make peace with ourselves and manage to stand in the face of the changing world.
