Abaya
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The abaya (colloquially and more commonly, Template:Lang-ar ʿabāyah, especially in Literary Arabic: عباءة ʿabā'ah; plural عبايات ʿabāyāt, عباءات ʿabā'āt), sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Muslim world including North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and most of the Middle East.[1] Traditional abayas are usually black and may either be a large square of fabric draped from the shoulders or head or a long kaftan. The abaya covers the whole body except the head (sometimes), feet, and hands. It can be worn with the niqāb, a face veil covering all but the eyes. Some women also wear long black gloves, so their hands are covered as well. It is common that the abaya is worn on special occasions, such as Mosque visits, Islamic Holiday celebrations for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha and also during the Islamic Holy month of Ramadan. The Indonesian traditional dress kebaya gets its name from the abaya.
In Saudi Arabia, women were required to cover in public.[2] However, in March 2018, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman claimed that women could choose what to wear in public, provided it met certain standards, when he stated, "The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear".[3][4]
Aba was also a cloth. A coarse woolen fabric was woven from wool or camel's hair. It was dyed in vibrant shades and incorporated into Abaya.[5][6]
France banned girls in state schools from wearing abayas. In August 2023, French education minister, Gabriel Attal, said that the long, flowing dresses worn by some Muslim women, would be banned as they breached the "principle of secularism", particularly by those pupils "wearing religious attire like abayas and long shirts.”[7] On 4 September, the first day of the new academic year, French schools sent 67 girls to home for refusing to remove their abayas.[8]
- ^ Yarwood, Doreen (1978). The Encyclopedia of World Costume. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-517-61943-1.
- ^ Sanders, Eli. Interpreting veils: Meanings have changed with politics, history. Archived December 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine The Seattle Times. 27 May 2003. Web. 30 Oct. 2009.
- ^ Kalin, S. Saudi women should be able to choose whether to wear head cover or black abaya in public, says Crown Prince. Retrieved 19.03.2018
- ^ "Saudi women should have choice whether to wear abaya robe: crown..." U.S. Reuters Editorial. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- ^ İhsanoğlu, Ekmeleddin (2001). History of the Ottoman State, Society & Civilisation. Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture. p. 662. ISBN 978-92-9063-051-7.
- ^ Letter from the Secretary of State, Transmitting a Statement of the Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Nations, for the Year Ending ... J.B. Steedman, printer. 1863. p. 563.
- ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (2023-08-28). "France to ban girls from wearing abayas in state schools". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ AFP (2023-09-05). "French schools send home dozens of girls wearing Muslim abayas". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-06.