"Modern Abaya"

The culture and traditions of the Middle East are wildly different than they are in the west. Due to the majority of the Middle East being Muslim, the differences of cultural behaviors and social norms are drastic. Women in the Middle East are held under certain expectations that they’re anticipated to follow. The cultural “norm” of how a Middle Eastern woman dresses and acts is considered to be very conservative. We’re expected to be “covering” ourselves from head to toe when we’re out in public or are around men; that however is partly due to religion. Nevertheless in the Gulf, that is considered part of their tradition, and not just for religious purposes. In the Gulf women are expected to wear the Abaya. The Abaya is a loose black robe that covers the women from their neck down to their toes. The original purpose of the Abaya is to cover up the woman, and be loose enough in order to hide the shape of her body, and not attract attention to her.

In the media, Muslim Arab women are often portrayed as very conservative, veiled, and regularly, if they’re from the Gulf, wearing Abaya’s. However, what are also portrayed in the media are ideas of urbanization and modernization. In the recent years, due to the globalization and modernization theories, traditions and cultures in the Middle East are being thrown out the window. For the purposes of being “modern” and transitioning into urbanization, cultures and traditions that we once followed for essential reasons are being forgotten or drastically changed. The Abaya that was once supposed to serve the purpose of covering a woman up and concealing the shape of her body is now turned into a fashion statement. That may be due to the fact that the women here feel alienated from themselves. Marx’s theory of alienation helps us understand that. It basically states that due to the social structure and social class stratification enforced on us by society, we eventually begin to feel detached from our work, from our life activities, from ourselves, and from the people around us. We can use this theory and apply it to the situation here. Because the women are forced to wear the Abaya and look like every other woman around them, they’re beginning to feel invisible. They can’t express their personalities through fashion; they can’t stand out. This makes them feel alienated from themselves and from society, and I believe that this may be one of the reasons for the invention of the “modern Abaya”.

A variety of designers have turned the Abaya into beautifully designed dresses. I cannot deny that the art and thought put into designing those items of clothing is spectacular, but they’re not Abaya’s. Many new designers have come up with “modern Abaya” collections, a few Arab’s and a few westerners. The students of VCU in Qatar have come up with a project called the “Abaya Project” where they all contribute their beautiful designs of modern Abaya’s.

Here are some examples to demonstrate my explanations of today's modern Abaya.

The following video highlights a Modern Abaya Exhibition held in Katara’s Art Center here in Doha, displaying their beautiful designs.



I do agree that these new designs are very inventive, and can allow a woman to highlight her beauty whilst still being conservative. It allows them to express themselves and present their personalities through fashion. But going back to our original values, cultures and traditions, this is defying the purpose of the Abaya and hence defying our cultures and traditions.

Where is the Saudi Woman's Public Identity?

      With the relatively recent uproar about Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving, many questions concerning the Saudi Arabian woman’s freedom have been brought up in Western media. Most of the Western outrage is specifically directed at the ban on driving, as driving is generally considered a basic right. The situation gradually seems more bizarre to Western audiences when one learns that countries neighboring Saudi Arabia, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, allow women to drive despite the fact that these countries are also Islamic countries that abide by Sharia law (albeit not as strictly as Saudi Arabia). To these Western audiences, denying this simple right is immediately perceived as an almost barbaric oppression of freedom. As a Saudi Arabian woman myself, though, I realize that the means of finally obtaining freedom for Saudi Arabian women stretches far beyond the right to drive. In truth, I believe that the entire driving dilemma is quite petty in comparison to more dire issues that are hidden behind the fanciful dream of women driving in Saudi Arabia.

      As a Saudi Arabian woman, I am not only banned from driving. I cannot issue a national ID without the permission of my male guardian. I am unable to travel without my male guardian’s permission, and as soon as I leave the country, my male guardian is notified of my departure via a text message from the government. If I were a divorced mother with children, it would be impossible for me to create a bank account for my own children without the permission of their father. In addition to that, I am not allowed to work without my male guardian’s permission, regardless of whether the workplace is public or private. The aforementioned issues are merely scratching the surface of this heavily male-dependent governmental system. The sociological dilemma for women in Saudi Arabia, though, does not lie in the evident case of gender inequality. Instead, the sociological dilemma lies in a problem of identity resultant from gender inequality.

      Many blame the strong presence of religion in the country’s governmental protocols as the reason for the Saudi Arabian woman’s lack of a public identity. The truth is that religion does not in any way cause this severe case of gender segregation (or, in this case, gender dependency). The culprit is the governmental protocol alone. Assuming that women are allowed to drive at some point, integrating what would be a new phenomenon for Saudi Arabians (particularly Saudi Arabian men) would still be difficult. It will be nearly impossible for most men to accept it when the country’s political structure forces female dependence on male guardians. If change is to occur in the country, then Saudi Arabian women should at least be given the right to issue their own national ID card, without the approval of a male guardian. Only then can the right to drive be more safely integrated to society.

      This issue of identity greatly affects the way we are perceived by others, particularly Westerners. Chelsea Handler of the comedy talk show Chelsea Lately criticized the travel limitations enforced on Saudi Arabian women, as shown in the video below.

      Fortunately, the identity problem in Saudi Arabia has been gradually improving. For instance, many Saudi Arabian women from the cosmopolitan city of Jeddah have been challenging limitations on creative expression through various means. Several Saudi Arabian fashion lines have been launched and artists began to collaborate on various gallery displays, and even created their own community. A group consisting of four Saudi Arabian girls even went as far as to completely challenge both social and religious customs by creating the very first all-female Saudi Arabian rock band: The Accolade. The band’s first single Pinocchio (linked below) lead to both outrageously negative responses from religious officials and unyielding support from Saudi Arabians, both young and old.

A bag from the Saudi Arabian brand Fyunka
Source

         
      The Saudi Arabian government has also begun to offer more opportunities for women to become a more active public force. Recently, women were appointed in the country's Shoura Council. The ban on women working in public places has also been lifted. Now, women can work as saleswomen and as supermarket cashiers, among other jobs. Although this has obvious positive implications on the socioeconomic statuses of many Saudi Arabian families, it also heavily impacts the public identity of the Saudi Arabian woman. As she becomes a more active public force, the preconceived (and horribly misguided) Saudi Arabian notion of women being frail and helpless without the support of a man gradually diminishes. With this commendable support from the government, there may be hope for the Saudi Arabian woman, after all.

Saudi Arabian women working in supermarket cashiers
Source

Church City in Qatar

This Sunday, almost like every other Sunday evening, I drove all the way to the Mesaimeer area, in which the Church City or Church Complex is located. As usual, there was a huge traffic jam and there were too many policemen around who were trying to redirect the traffic in different directions and resolve the issue. The roads nearby are still under construction and this was causing a lot of trouble to church goers and more importantly, for the residents of the Barwa Housing Complex which is located nearby. While I was waiting for the traffic to clear, I just thought about how things were in the past and how things had changed over the last 5 years.

Inside the Catholic church in Qatar

Flashback to year 2000, and I remember going to small villas and houses for Church and Catechism classes. At that time, there wasn't a definite location set for the church and there wasn't a proper setup for conducting religious classes as well. To be honest, even talking about the Church or the idea of having a large space dedicated for practicing Christianity was doubtful. It was almost impossible to see a Christmas tree around in the malls or Santa Claus costumes for sale. Last winter, I remember the huge Christmas tree that was erected in the City Center mall and I saw so many Santa Claus costumes for sale at various malls. So how did this happen? I mean there was a drastic change and it happened sequentially.

Interaction between communities:
In the readings in the sociology class, we read about Grazian's theory of interaction. He mentions that culture is to some extent conditioned by interaction and the context that surrounds it. Over the last decade, there has been a strong influx of expatriates from various nations. A vast majority of the expatriate population in Qatar today comes from the South Asia, particularly the Philippines. Moreover, there are large Christian members from Western countries, some African nations and also from Southern India. It is perhaps the interaction between these cultures and the predominant Muslim culture in Qatar that led to a better understanding and the permission from the government to go ahead and build the Church.


Globalization:
With the entry of several global corporations into Qatar, there have been so many high level/executive level professionals entering into the country. A growing country like Qatar does need to keep up to the standards of other international countries in order to cater to international customers, corporations and clients. In fact, the organization of the Asian Games in Doha, 2006 perhaps triggered the need for the establishment of a church complex. While bidding to host key tournaments such as the World Cup, Olympics etc., these are some aspects that the judging committee would evaluate the country on. So there is definitely a capitalistic idea of growth behind it as well. Now that the FIFA World Cup 2022 has been awarded to Qatar, it's only fitting that the nation provides services for all the diverse communities in Qatar.


Communication:
After attending the church session (mass), I wandered into a nearby building in the complex. I noticed that there was an Arabic service going on at that time. It was really interesting to see a fairly large Arabic speaking community in the church. There are many Christians in the Arab countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Egypt etc. On the church website, one can find the timings of the various masses and the different languages they are being offered in.
http://www.rosarychurchqatar.com/mass.php?pg=timings

There are masses in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Tamil, Tagalog, Sinhala, Malayalam etc. There are various subcultural groups that exist within this complex. The whole group of Christians in Qatar can be seen the complex and yet there are special areas in the complex assigned for each group. However, there are special occasions in which all communities get together to celebrate mass together. The picture below was taken on one such occasion where two Indian Catholics can be seen alongside Indonesian Catholic members.

        

During the church inauguration 

Dramaturgy:
The term is defined as a theory by which organizations or groups can be examined like plays or movies. In this case, the entire setting of the church before a service begins can be seen as the arena. The priest and the alter servers can be looked at as the stage. They play various roles during the service. Also, the religious members present in the church make up the audience of the 'drama'. Additionally, there is the church choir for the music aspect of it.


Below is a video taken during the occasion of "Holy Communion" which was a function common to all Catholics regardless of their language/ethnicity etc.

Within all these, I looked closely at the identities of the individuals present there. In my opinion, the members attending the regional language services were making a strong point about their identity; for instance, their identity as Arab Christians or Indian Christians. In the reading about the Identity Expression on Facebook earlier this week, we discussed that personal identity is different from group identity in the way that we define the features. A group/subcultural identity is formed and developed by the heads of groups or a group of accomplished members rather than by an individual.

The major change in Qatar took place during the last decade, in which the society and the government in general has become more tolerant and open towards different cultures and religions. This is a good sign, especially since a large proportion of the population is made up of expatriates. The government has thus far done a good job in catering to the needs of the expatriate community without harming the needs and preferences of the local population as well.

      

   

A Sepration: Hearts and Houses Divided

A Separation is a 2011 Iranian movie drama movie written and directed by Asghar Farhadi. The film received the Golden Bear for Best Film, won the Golden Globe Awards Best Foreign Language Film.

The Iranian movie, “A Separation,” captures the drama and real life suspense of the modern society as it evolves around the changing role of both controlling men and assertive women. The movie questions the great phenomenon and duality of class, religion, culture, modernity and tradition.

A separation evolves around a secular-modern and open-minded couple, Simin: the wife, and Nader: the husband. However, their conflicting differences lead to filing for a divorce. Simin wants to move abroad for a better future for her daughter, whereas, the Nader is unwilling to relocate because of his fathers ill condition.

The movie starts by when Simin is trying to convince the judge to let her divorce her a bank-clerk husband, Nader. However, the judge turns her down when she explains that she wants to leave the country in order to have a better life for their daughter. The judge questions her, “What are the conditions that you don't want to live here and you don't want to raise your children here?” Following this scene, the director hinges on the question and portrays the obstacles they’re faced within the Iranian society.


Simin tends to be an open-minded and independent woman, as she leaves the house, rather than agreeing to her husband’s decision. As a result, Nader is forced to hire a nurse to take care of his ill father. We are then introduced to another side of the Iranian community: the religious, poor and holy. Social inequality and cultural clash becomes evident when Nader hires a nurse for his father, Razieh. For instance, Razieh calls her religious leader and asks permission on whether she could help out the old man, without having her husband informed of her job in first place.

The movie emphasizes on culture, social inequality and religion between the increasing poor and rich citizens. Cultural differences are greatly evident by comparing Simin’s and Razieh’s life. Razieh tends to satisfy her husbands needs and is scared of her husband finding out about her job, whereas Simin is more independent with making her choices. Plus, their non-material culture is evident through their clothing, as it is another symbol to portray women in Iran. The more rich and open-minded women dress more freely, whereas, the poor and oppressed women wear black Chadors. In addition, social inequality is evident as Simin’s husband is a bank clerk, whereas, Razieh’s husband is unemployed.

Education, Culture and Society

Education is an important part of our lives and contributes to our socialization. When speaking of education, sociologists focus on the "formal and informal social interactions that train, discipline, or shape (or reshape) the mind and body in planned or unplanned ways" (Ferrante, 366). We all achieve some sort of education during our lifetime, whether it's spontaneous or intended. Much of our education begins at a very young age in schooling systems. Schools are designed to provide formal, systematic instructions that take place primarily in classrooms. Schools also include extracurricular activities and assignments to be completed outside of the classroom.




Although the aim of schools is to educate students, sometimes the type and method of education is different. Growing up, I went to multiple schools and in different countries. I was born in Saudi Arabia and attended school there until the age of five before I moved to Scotland and studied there. After almost two years of living in Scotland, I returned once again to my previous school in Saudi Arabia. During this period in my life, I realized how different the education systems were. The type of schools were completely different as well.



Saudi Arabia is an Islamic and Arab country, so the majority of the schools taught and encouraged Islamic behavior and Arab culture. Manarat Al-Riyadh, the school which I went to in Saudi Arabia, was an International School that taught both American and British curriculum. In addition, Arabic and Islamic studies were also enforced on students even if they were not Muslims. The cultural and religious studies started from as early as the first grade and continued until the 12th grade.



On the contrary, when I was in Hillhead Primary School in Scotland, the curriculum that was being taught was very different. Unlike my previous school, in Scotland, my school emphasized mostly on manners, behaviors and how to work and interact with people. There was less emphasis on studies and more emphasis on social interaction. Also, there were no classes offered about Scottish or Western culture and no theology classes. Contrasting to Saudi Arabia, the students in my class were of different religions and cultures. There were Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhist, Arab, African, Caucasian and Asian.



We can see how schools are designed to serve society by functioning as places for education, discipline and socialization. The curriculum for schools differ on which background they're from, nevertheless they're purpose is to socialize people to allow them to function according to their society.

Prejudice & Racism

Racism is a certain kind of prejudice, based on faulty reasoning and inflexible generalizations toward a specific group. The word prejudice comes from the Latin noun praejudicium, which means a judgment based on previous decisions formed before the facts were known. If a person allows their prejudiced beliefs to block the progress of another, it is discrimination. Those who exclude all members of a race from certain types of employment, housing, political rights, educational opportunities, or a social interactions are guilty of racial discrimination.



Racism is an unmerited fear or dislike of a people because of their ethnic heritage. When colour is not a reason, other reasons such as language, religion, nationality, education, sex, orage become the reason of prejudice.

Sociologists, believe that racial discrimination happens more often and most harshly when two groups with different skin colours and unique physical features come into contact with each other and the two compete for the same thing. A insult directed at a particular ethnic group is likely to get these results in a confrontation: pain, anger, shame, hostility, guilt and embarrassment. Students admitted that they had used racial slurs when angered.



Race hatred often leads to violence. People whom form groups to defend America from a minority takeover fall into the category of extremists. For Example, Mooz-lum is a 2010 American independent film written and directed by Qasim "Q" Basir and starring Danny Glover. Mooz-lum (i.e. "Muslim") tells the story of an African American Muslim family whose lives are changed by the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. The plot is about Amid a strict Muslim rearing and a social life he has never had, Tariq Mahdi (Evan Ross) enters college confused. New peers, family and mentors help him find his place, but the 9/11 attacks force him to face his past and make the biggest decisions of his life.

Deviating the Qatari Culture through Art

Deviance is a form of behavior that violates expected rules and social norms. There are various types of deviance. The major types of deviance include: formal and informal deviance. Formal deviance includes deviance that breaks the law such as robbery and rape. Informal deviance is deviance that violates informal social norms and rules such as swearing and burping.
 
A current example of a deviant behavior occurred within VCUQ premise on November 2011.  The source of this deviant act is an artist from Mexico.  The artist painted a deviant mural painting. Her purpose of the mural painting is to portray cultural transition and women’s empowerment.  She had a good idea but the way in which she portrayed her idea was wrong and deviant.  It was both formally and informally deviant. She painted an explicit painting in public that is socially unacceptable. Such painting has never been drawn in Qatar in public as it conflicts with the Qatari law, social norms and rules as well as our Islamic religion.
 
Qatari citizens or locals have responded to such a deviant act by various methods; they spread the word via messages, they reported to local newspapers’ Al Sharq’, reported to the Dean of VCU as well as higher authorities.
 
Finally, we don’t truly know her true intensions of her painting. By seeking other people’s opinions through informal conversations, many believe that she has done this mural painting in a Muslim country in order to get her name out there and to be included in the list of the controversial artists and gain popularity. Others believe that she was just ignorant. And others believe that it’s a mere misunderstanding; the artist comes from a country where such paintings are acceptable. Deviance could be intentional or unintentional. There are many simple ways to avoid deviance if one wishes; the basic rule is just to be familiar with the host/home’s country’s laws as well as the culture.


Examples of acceptable murals in Qatar:






Example of a mural in Columbus representing women empowerment:




This video shows an Egyptian girl posing naked on facebook and twitter to imply freedom of expression during elections. It caused chaos in Egypt because of the conservative people in the country against liberals. The girl describes it as being "screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy."

Fantasy Made Reality

I am a huge fan of “The Lord of the Rings” books and movies, so when I would see and hear of people who dress up as elves or hobbits and speak “Elvish,” I used to think that they were just hard-core fans. However Sociology taught me about sub-cultures and how some people really believe in these fantasy worlds and actually make it their reality.

Literature and Film are popular media cultures today. They both influence the creation of sub-cultures, such as “Witches and Wizards,” “Goths,” and “Vampires.” J.R.R Tolkien’s creation, however, of “The Lord of the Rings” transformed sub-culture and created a new fictional world, fully equipped with a dictionary, maps, languages, appendices, family trees, and histories of each people (elves, men, hobbits, etc.).




“The Lord of the Rings” sub-culture contains various aspects that people adapt into their lives. Whether it is on a daily basis or occasionally, these people enjoy dressing up in costume and partaking in Live Action Role Play, where they reenact scenes from the book or movie and actually take the time to learn “Elvish” to converse with each other.


People who form sub-cultures share common interests, values, symbols and material culture. Some examples of material culture within “The Lord of the Rings” include props from the movies, the books, as references to the dictionary, appendices and various scenes, and costumes. These material components symbolize what this sub-culture values. Being able to relate to other people in a fun, creative way is not only way of life, but also a means of escaping from reality.




Within “The Lord of the Rings” there are different cultures, languages and values. There is also an aspect of socialization within the books. The way in which different races of people interact with each other and the idea of diversity through intermarriage can potentially influence followers of the sub-culture to behave in a similar way.


Apart from fan-clubs, Live Action Role-playing and gatherings for the followers of "The Lord of the Rings" sub-culture, there are many websites that have been dedicated to J.R.R Tolkien and the books and movies. These websites have many activities, events, and forums for followers of J.R.R Tolkien's works. This shows how the Internet plays an active role as an agent of socialization in bringing sub-cultures together, where they can interact and express their views and beliefs quite openly.

“The Lord of the Rings” sub-culture is also viewed as a counter-culture, as it opposes and deviates from the norms of a larger culture. Many religions reject the idea of sub-cultures as it goes against their beliefs and values. The idea of magic, sorcery and a different world is firmly rejected by various religions, such as Christianity.

I like the idea and concept of a sub-culture, particularly because it’s what a group of people who share similar interests enjoy doing. Sub-cultures are very distinct. The ones that are based on fiction and fantasy are very interesting because many people wonder how a group of people can adapt to these imaginative worlds and actually make it a part of their reality.