The young American girl and Saudi abaya

An abaya is a robe like cover. It is mainly worn by women and young girls in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Women in other Arab and Muslim countries do wear it, but not as widely as worn in the Gulf. Where did the Saudi abaya come from and why is it black?
When we look at old photos of women in public taken by the Saudi media, especially the ones taken by Saudi Aramco and its employees, you will not see Western (expatriate) women wearing abayas. What is more, if the photos are more than 80 years old, then even Saudi women are not seen wearing the kind of abayas we see today.
In the past, you would see women wearing different styles of fabric depending on what part of the Kingdom you were from. Most traditional cloth historians say the abaya came to Saudi Arabia from Syria and Iraq more than 80 years ago. Before that, women in Saudi Arabia wore modest colorful pieces of fabric that varied in design according to region.
Until 40 years ago, Western women — especially Americans — would be seen walking along the streets of Alkhobar and in the shops of Qatif and Hofuf wearing Western-style knee-high dresses. As I grew up, I started seeing more American women from Saudi Aramco and German women up at the local Thursday flea market in Al-Ahsa. The German ladies accompanied their husbands who worked for Phillip Holzman Company. However, we never saw any of them wearing abayas.
In later years, during the big economic boom of the 1970s, the number of foreign women had increased and we started to see more American, European and Asian women. We never saw any of them wearing the abaya. At that time it was not acceptable in Saudi society to see foreign women wearing the abaya. Only Saudi and Gulf states women wore abayas.
So, what is the story of the young American girl and the Saudi abaya?
In the city of Hofuf (Al-Ahsa), there is a souq called Al-Qaysaryah. It is one of the oldest souqs in the Middle East. It was built in 1822 and is now being pulled down to be rebuilt using the same design. It has always been very busy, especially during Ramadan, Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Next to this souq, there is a section for Saudi women who sell many local products such as henna and other bric-a-brac. Saudi woman in this souq were provided with a space called the “Bastah.”
When I was a young boy, there were no foreign shopkeepers, they were all locals. So, at the peak of the shopping season, many young boys would help shopkeepers serve costumers. I was a young boy who used to help my uncle, Nasser Al-Mulhim, at this souq. At that time I spoke a little English and became the translator for many shopkeepers when foreign families stopped by.
One day, there was an American family with their young daughter who were shopping around and they wanted to buy an abaya for the young girl. She wasn’t going to wear it, but they wanted to show Saudi traditional clothing to their neighbors back in the United States and to keep the abaya as a souvenir.
But, there was a little problem. The American woman was not sure about the size and how it would fit her daughter. The little American girl refused to wear it, even though they told her they just wanted to see if it fitted.
The little girl was shy and wasn’t sure what Saudi onlookers would say. So, out of the blue, the American woman started to scan my skinny body which was the same size as that of this young American girl. She wanted me to put it on and try it for them.
I looked at the American lady and gave her something like the traditional American refusal answer, which was “you must be kidding” or “over my dead body.”
The woman asked me again and again, and we came to a solution. The young girl would go to a little alley in the souq with no one watching and try on the abaya.
I went with the American family to help them judge the size. The abaya did fit, but the minute she put it on, I fell laughing and said, “Oops, now you can wear anything under the abaya and no one will know.”
After having said that, the young American said, “I will kick you in the nuts,” and gave me the nastiest look I had ever seen. I still remember the look on the face of this young American girl to this day.
The bottom line is, expatriate women were not seen or even allowed to wear a Saudi abaya. The abaya is Saudi clothing and it wouldn’t be appropriate for expatriate women to wear it. At that time, expatriate women always shied from wearing it.
Time has changed. Now, every woman — Saudi or non-Saudi — wears an abaya. Sometimes, I chat with Western women in the shopping malls of Alkhobar and ask them about the abaya. Some of them think it is cool and neat to wear, some don’t mind, some have become accustomed to it and some don’t like to wear it. But, many of them like to wear it for one reason. They can wear anything they want under it. They can wear jeans or no jeans.
To this day, I am unsure when non-Saudi women began wearing the abaya in Saudi Arabia. As time passed by, the abaya has changed and taken many forms, shapes and styles. Now, Saudi and foreign women wear abayas that are very stylish. Ironically, the styles are named after Western brands and the fabric is sourced from well-known international fashion companies.
Also, to this day, no one knows why the abaya is black?

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