For a lot of western people the abaya is a symbol of oppression, especially in light of the recent media attention given to the face veil ban put in place in France. Whether or not it's a symbol of oppression, it seems that a lot of ladies decide to dislike it from the start. Personally I believe that it's all inside your head. If you choose to hate wearing an abaya, you will. If you choose not to mind it you'll soon stop noticing it altogether. The first time you wear it (which for me was about 15min before getting off the plane in Riyadh) you feel a bit weird. You think that the people around you are looking at you like you're a freak. But in fact no one is looking because all women are wearing one. Gradually, the more times you wear it the less weird it feels and indeed, after a while you'd probably feel more weird not wearing it than wearing it. Not to mention that you would get into trouble with the muttawa if you decided not to wear it.
Westerner do not need to cover their hair here in Saudi. That is, unless they are specifically asked to do so by the muttawa. During the time I've spent in Saudi I've been asked to cover my hair once so far. The guy spoke very good English and was very polite about it. At the same time, I hear stories about Asian women being shouted for not covering their hair. I believe there is a bit of racial profiling going on in this society. Hubster and I are as white as people get so it's clear to any muttawa that we are not locals. And therefore not Moslem either so we probably get off easy. It's harder for those who look like they could be local.
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