By Amna Al Harmoodi
Photography by Fatma Ali Abed.
The media often depicts Emirati women clad in a black abaya (a loose robe-like dress) and shaila (headscarf). Fatma Ali Abed is changing that. The 25-year-old Emirati frequently captures women clad in jalabiyas, the traditional dress of women in the UAE (and other Gulf and Arab countries, in their own versions), and colourful household shailas, in her photographs.
Photography by Fatma Ali Abed.
In Arab and Muslim societies, women are traditionally expected to be dressed modestly in a fabric and cut that does not reveal or accentuate the shape of the body. Thus, Emirati women have turned to wearing the free flowing abaya in public, but jalabiyas are commonly worn in the private sphere. Abed views jalabiyas, as ‘represent[ative of] our identity as Arabs, especially [that of] local women.’ This idea of showing and inviting the viewer to see a more private side of Emirati women is what is alluring and special about Abed’s work.
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