This is a post from one of our customers in the U.S. She shared her thoughts on Muslim women’s clothing. And of course, she absolutely loves our butterfly abaya! I’ll be sharing this in the first person.
Today’s topic may be quite controversial, but I’ll do my best to navigate this topic with respect.
My Spiritual Beliefs
I’m not religious. I don’t identify with any religion in particular, but I’m very spiritual.
For me, religions are just a belief system that we need as humans to start to comprehend the mystery of life. As humans, we need to organize our thoughts—and that’s why we label and divide concepts into categories. It’s just our cognitive process.
Every religion offers a unique insight into the nature of existence. But at the end of the day, we are all under the same sky. We all come from the same place, and we will all end up there again one day.
That’s what spirituality means to me. In other words, we may live on the opposite side of this world, we may have a totally different interpretation of life, but still, you and I are one.
Reflections on Veiling
That being said, last year I saw a video that caught my attention. It was this woman showing her hijab. Then I saw another one talking about her burka.
Muslim women have different veils and clothing—you can do your research on it—but just to explain the two I just mentioned:
The hijab covers only the head and the hair.
The burka covers the entire body from head to toe.
The abaya is a long, loose-fitting robe worn by some Muslim women as a part of modest dress, typically covering the whole body except the face, hands, and feet.
As a woman raised in the Western world, my first reaction was alarm, dismay, distress. This is not something I’m used to seeing.
So my first thought was: Is this woman free? Is this really her choice? Is she safe?
And it looks like, for many, it is a free choice—although we would also have to look at any potential social pressure and social conditioning.
Respect and Questions
The truth is, many Muslim women take pride in covering up. They see it as a sign of modesty and commitment to their faith.
And I like how they live their life around their faith. I like their calm and the effort they put into developing their connection with Allah, and whatever they believe in, day after day.
But I can’t help wondering—if, as women, this is just another distorted way to cope with our body in a world that is still very dangerous… in a world where our womanhood still represents a risk, and in many ways, a threat to our safety.
The Western Contrast
Generally speaking, women in the Western world show behaviors that are on the other end of the spectrum: wearing more revealing clothes and showing a lot of skin, with little to no room for any specific faith.
The way I see it, in both worlds we are still quite far from a true emancipation of women. In one way or another, I’m afraid our body still plays too big a role in our lives.
A Spiritual Perspective
Our body is precious, and we should be proud of it and take care of it—and be thankful for all the amazing things that we get to experience through it. But we are not our body.
We are a soul temporarily inhabiting a body. And being a soul—whether we are a man or a woman in this life—should be quite irrelevant.
Our gender shouldn’t affect the way we manifest our faith.
For me personally, whether you wear a miniskirt and are half-naked all the time, or you cover your entire body—it’s pretty much the same thing.
Both behaviors show an attachment to the physical body that isn’t necessarily healthy or helpful, if you are on a spiritual path.
I mean—why is there so much emphasis on the physical body? Who cares what you look like? Who cares about your body, when this is just the appearance and not the substance?
I don’t get it. I don’t know.
Final Thoughts
I just felt like sharing that. Holy Spirit, teach my heart to walk in Your power, not my own.