When we talk about Abaya, the first color that strikes our mind is black. Does black is the real color of the Abaya dress? Many questions must be striking in your mind, so let’s talk about them in brief. Abaya dress is a plain black robe worn by Islamic women to cover their bodies or attire. It is compulsory to wear it whenever a woman goes out of her house. The rules for Abaya are stricter in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. In countries like South Asia and Iran, Abaya is called Chador and Burqa.
This outfit covers the whole body of the wearer, except hands, face, and feet. Some women prefer it to wear in such a way that it covers the whole face except the eyes.
Abaya Dress Origin
There have been many debates based on the origin of the dress. Some people strongly believe that Abaya is 4000 years old and found in the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia. The Islamic community emerged in the 7th century where the Abaya dress was introduced. In the Stone Age, women used to wear open dresses that just covered their hip areas. When Islam emerged, the women might have asked to cover their bodies to get more respect and honor. This can be a reason for the emergence of Abaya. One other theory about the emergence of Abaya is that, even in ancient times, women used to cover their back portion with a veil and after the introduction of Islamic culture, the same veil was used to cover the front part of the women’s body. This can be the main origin of Abaya.
Abayas Popular among Women
A lot of people agreed to the above theory and they said that it might be possible that with the years, the veil must have got upgraded and being used as a front of the Abaya dress. If we talk about the current scenario, the Abayas are still used by a huge community of women. But we are living in the modern world so we can’t protect ourselves from changing styles of clothing. Like every single culture, Islamic Clothing is also available in many different and modern styles. Even Abayas has been upgraded itself in many contexts. Currently, Abayas are available in different fabrics, colors, designs, and patterns. It is sold online as well as offline. Women are combining this Traditional outfit with modernity. Even some professional stores are available for new and modern Abayas and women can visit there and buy anything they like. They can even order the attire at their home and there is no need to visit the market. Now, there is no compulsion to wear Black Abayas. Women can customize their looks. If we talk about the past, it is hard to find the real emergence of Abaya, but it is easy to enjoy the modernity of this Islamic dress.