Note: I wanted to write this after a few visitors to the country said they didn't know what to wear or how it "would be" here in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)...
Here's a little "what not to wear" and the famous "hijab" info.
Women: cover knees to shoulders
Men: cover knees to shoulders
Below is a picture of locals in their cultural dress, but shops sell the usual Gap, H&M, Stratovarias, Mango, zara and all the awesome styles....
For further info read my expanded information about cultural clothing below...
Common cultural misunderstandings regarding the Muslim world, or cultural practices is Arab countries:
Hijab: Wearing a hijab in the US means many of my friends or colleagues ask about why Muslim women cover our hair.
#1- Many Muslim women do not wear it, and this does not make them better or worse Muslims. Although, there is certainly a movement among women to wear hijab in increased numbers, and a majority of Muslims (maybe 65%) believe hijab is a part of religion and required by God as a standard of modesty.
#2- Hijab is not required in all Arab countries- In fact, it is required only in Saudi Arabia, and Iran which is technically not in the Middle East at all. In many cultures it is expected, highly valued, and a personal statement of identity as Muslim, devout or pious.
#3- Wearing hijab as a form of oppression. Women choose to wear hijab in most places. It is certainly a standard among many, but it is presumptuous of the West to assume everyone is more "free" in a tanktop and short skirt. Clothing is not that important among standards of equality that women share with men. In fact, some would point out that our obsession with naked and barely clad bodies of women in the West, like the USA, is not "freedom" it is rather a flip side of the oppression of women. To tell young girls that they need to wear makeup and "look sexy" since very young ages is not a freeing idea. It makes us slaves to diets, opinions of others about our bodies, and many other negative ideas which are oppressive as well.
Yet in many places, like the UAE there are a plethora of reasons behind such cultural phenomenon as the style of hijab found here.
Men's clothing here can be found in many forms: average western dress with jeans and baseball caps, the Emirati and Arab style dish dasha or the famous white male one-piece, other male ethnic wear (like the Pakistani, Bangledeshi region pants & top) and the youth in whatever the kids are wearing these days.
The dishdasha is often white here is a yellow dishdash.. and some local in a mall.
Here's another few cultural keys to understanding UAE:
1- Sabr this is Arabic for patience. You need a lot of determination and yet the ability to be patient here. The concept of time in UAE is a bit different, so people may arrive late, or call late, and the process for government documents (Emirates ID, license, etc) take a few more steps here which to time-sensitive Westerners seem extraneous.
Good news: learning patience is a key in life and will help you be happier in the long run
Bad news: until you learn it here you will be perchance a bit put-out by the amount of time (or # of visits needed) to get things done. For example, I visited the DMV/ license bureau here 5 times before I had my license completed.
2- Hand gestures differ across the world. Please don't use them here in cars.
Good News: the thumbs up is often still interpreted as "way to go"
Bad News: Sometimes in the Middle East it means the middle finger
Other common hand gestures here include the hand chop to the inside of your elbow, this means "card" for some reason. As in, "where is your entrance card, ID card?" etc. while motioning to the underside of one's antecubital space (the place they draw blood on the inside of your elbow) with the pinky down in a chop-like motion.
3- Clothing laws vary. Don't be a rude American mmmmkkkk? You can go anywhere you want here without a scarf on if you are a lady. However, if you are wearing clothing above the knees outside of Dubai, people will stare like you are wearing a bikini in a snow storm. So for the sake of everyone, and to avoid traffic accidents of passersby please just wear knee length everything... In surrounding Emirates (not Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but the rest of them) it's best to choose to cover shoulders and cleavage. Again, it's fairly legal, but why not just chill and save the mini skirt for the Dubai mall, and back home?
Good News: Really, people covering knees to shoulders are covered enough.
Bad news: If for some reason you believe it is too hot for this (although I bet the temperature difference between Sookie-stackhouse shorts and knee-length shorts is pretty much nothing) you will receive inordinate amounts of stares. If you believe the US has no standards, then you've never tried to walk naked in town... we have standards they are just different. Even Santa Cruz, California and San Francisco require covering of lower, frontal genitals.... And let's face it we've all seen "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" here they sometimes just include knees and shoulders.
Here's a little "what not to wear" and the famous "hijab" info.
Women: cover knees to shoulders
Men: cover knees to shoulders
Below is a picture of locals in their cultural dress, but shops sell the usual Gap, H&M, Stratovarias, Mango, zara and all the awesome styles....
For further info read my expanded information about cultural clothing below...
Common cultural misunderstandings regarding the Muslim world, or cultural practices is Arab countries:
Hijab: Wearing a hijab in the US means many of my friends or colleagues ask about why Muslim women cover our hair.
#1- Many Muslim women do not wear it, and this does not make them better or worse Muslims. Although, there is certainly a movement among women to wear hijab in increased numbers, and a majority of Muslims (maybe 65%) believe hijab is a part of religion and required by God as a standard of modesty.
#2- Hijab is not required in all Arab countries- In fact, it is required only in Saudi Arabia, and Iran which is technically not in the Middle East at all. In many cultures it is expected, highly valued, and a personal statement of identity as Muslim, devout or pious.
#3- Wearing hijab as a form of oppression. Women choose to wear hijab in most places. It is certainly a standard among many, but it is presumptuous of the West to assume everyone is more "free" in a tanktop and short skirt. Clothing is not that important among standards of equality that women share with men. In fact, some would point out that our obsession with naked and barely clad bodies of women in the West, like the USA, is not "freedom" it is rather a flip side of the oppression of women. To tell young girls that they need to wear makeup and "look sexy" since very young ages is not a freeing idea. It makes us slaves to diets, opinions of others about our bodies, and many other negative ideas which are oppressive as well.
Yet in many places, like the UAE there are a plethora of reasons behind such cultural phenomenon as the style of hijab found here.
Men's clothing here can be found in many forms: average western dress with jeans and baseball caps, the Emirati and Arab style dish dasha or the famous white male one-piece, other male ethnic wear (like the Pakistani, Bangledeshi region pants & top) and the youth in whatever the kids are wearing these days.
The dishdasha is often white here is a yellow dishdash.. and some local in a mall.
Here's another few cultural keys to understanding UAE:
1- Sabr this is Arabic for patience. You need a lot of determination and yet the ability to be patient here. The concept of time in UAE is a bit different, so people may arrive late, or call late, and the process for government documents (Emirates ID, license, etc) take a few more steps here which to time-sensitive Westerners seem extraneous.
Good news: learning patience is a key in life and will help you be happier in the long run
Bad news: until you learn it here you will be perchance a bit put-out by the amount of time (or # of visits needed) to get things done. For example, I visited the DMV/ license bureau here 5 times before I had my license completed.
2- Hand gestures differ across the world. Please don't use them here in cars.
Good News: the thumbs up is often still interpreted as "way to go"
Bad News: Sometimes in the Middle East it means the middle finger
Other common hand gestures here include the hand chop to the inside of your elbow, this means "card" for some reason. As in, "where is your entrance card, ID card?" etc. while motioning to the underside of one's antecubital space (the place they draw blood on the inside of your elbow) with the pinky down in a chop-like motion.
3- Clothing laws vary. Don't be a rude American mmmmkkkk? You can go anywhere you want here without a scarf on if you are a lady. However, if you are wearing clothing above the knees outside of Dubai, people will stare like you are wearing a bikini in a snow storm. So for the sake of everyone, and to avoid traffic accidents of passersby please just wear knee length everything... In surrounding Emirates (not Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but the rest of them) it's best to choose to cover shoulders and cleavage. Again, it's fairly legal, but why not just chill and save the mini skirt for the Dubai mall, and back home?
Good News: Really, people covering knees to shoulders are covered enough.
Bad news: If for some reason you believe it is too hot for this (although I bet the temperature difference between Sookie-stackhouse shorts and knee-length shorts is pretty much nothing) you will receive inordinate amounts of stares. If you believe the US has no standards, then you've never tried to walk naked in town... we have standards they are just different. Even Santa Cruz, California and San Francisco require covering of lower, frontal genitals.... And let's face it we've all seen "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" here they sometimes just include knees and shoulders.
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