Back to school in two weeks. Back to young boys and girls carrying heavy bags on their backs. And back to long hours of studying and memorizing subjects that evaporate as soon as the exam is over.
The most striking sight is the long files of young boys going to school wearing white thobes. Now, why on earth would someone want a young boy to wear a white thobe? He’ll definitely get it dirty within two seconds of playing with friends in the schoolyard. Why would a mother want to deal with the stubborn stains of all sorts of stuff, remnants of her son’s school day — from ketchup to mud, from ink to juice — of everything a normal young boy can get his hands on? Whoever came up with this idea did not think how unpractical it is for young kids to play wearing long garments, and that boys need to play as much as they need to breathe. They need to wear comfortable, durable outfits.
I assume that the reason behind this rule is the idea that our national identity should be preserved and that a national dress is one way to uphold it.
This is exactly where we go wrong, thinking that a way of dressing is indicative of our national identity. In the process we just ignore simple logic. Boys can always wear thobes and ghutras when it is practical and makes sense.
Girls on the other hand must wear veils outside their schools, so we could at least make them comfortable in their schools. But the dress code for them makes even less sense. At college, girls are expected to wear long skirts and long-sleeved blouses. Pants are out as are short sleeves and anything that university officials deem inappropriate. If this is senseless, other dress codes are worse. In education colleges, students are required to wear black skirts and white shirts, and those who offend against these rules are severely punished and have to pay a fine as well.
Again, trying to find logic behind such rules is a useless endeavor. Girls in all cases are considered immature and unworthy of trust, and they are always suspected of misbehaving and must always follow the rules devised for them.
If we complain about how our younger generation lacks initiative and independence, it is because we do not give them a chance to be confident or make any choices.
There are always those inexplicable rules that they have to follow, and our schools and universities simply stifle any independent spirit that students might show. If they are not allowed to dress in what is comfortable for them, and they are not allowed to express their opinions and are expected to memorize everything in the book, then we cannot expect self-reliant graduates who can think for themselves.
- Arab News Opinion 2 September 2003
