To buy an Abaya

One of my early overseas postings with Superbrand was to Saudi Arabia. Saudi is a country with very particular customs and culture. Despite the fact that Superbrand had never before had one of their women executives working in Saudi, noone questioned the wisdom of sending me to run a large, complicated engagement there. Much of my preparation for the adventure ahead was undertaken solo via the internet (a sign of Superbrand's lack of experience in said matter).




One of my early internet discoveries was the abaya. An abaya is a floor-length, long sleeved, loose-fitting garment which conceals the female person from others' view. Many Islamic ladies choose to wear abayas and indeed they can be seen frequently in Western countries. In Saudi however,  it is against the law for women to emerge from their own home without one (or from their hotel room in my case).
 



I took a trip to London's Edgeware Road to procure the requisite costume, packed it in my hand luggage and left for Saudi. To ensure compliance from the off, I donned my abaya in the aircraft toilet before landing.

Needless to say, it did not take long for me to gather a veritable collection of abayas. There are some very decorative ones on the market. Many of the wonderful Saudi ladies I met were keen to point out that attitudes have relaxed in recent years allowing more creativity with the abaya (and to introduce me to their dressmakers)!!