The Appearance of Women

Local staff members not only have conversations about the progress of the project, or the Iraqi situation, sometimes daily conversation extends to cover topics such as Arab culture and the teachings of Islam.

The other day the topic of women’s fashion came up. Though Jordan consists largely of Muslim believers, it has a relatively liberal atmosphere. However, while some women stride through the city wearing fitted, glamorous clothes and makeup, the reality of the situation is that the majority of women cover themselves entirely wearing a headscarf and light makeup.

The wife of one of our staff is one such woman that seems to favour a more conservative and reserved dress sense. Following Islamic values, she dresses in a way that does not draw attention to her when she goes out. However, we learnt that when she returns home, she applies makeup before her husband comes home:  ‘This is normal!’ he answers and smiles, ‘of course, it’s only for me to see!’ he adds.

If this story ended here, modern opinion may have you thinking that ‘Islamic women are still living in the shadows of men…’ However, his story continues…