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ckhl
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 214
Location: SE Asia
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 Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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| A+. You're so good. So good. Political correctness elevated to an art form. |
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stoth1972
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington
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| Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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| They don't seem to get harrassed. A little perspective and a lot less hype is in order here. |
"Seem" being the operative word here. And a little perspective? Yes, perhaps more perspectives of women who have actually lived in Sharjah and attempted to wear bathing suits outside (or inside, for that matter) of the hotel club to which they belong, outside of the Wanderers, etc. The male experience and the female experience are not the same. Not in Sharjah. Not in Dubai. Not in Abu Dhabi. Not anywhere in the Middle East. Since the original poster's question was about what a women should wear going to AD, let's hear from women who live or have lived there.
Initially I wore shorts in Sharjah when I walked from my flat on the Corniche to Marabella Club across the street. I never made it without comment. Nothing like an 8 year old calling out "Russian" to you-the implication being that you were a Russian prostitute. Every car on the 4 lane Corniche slowed down to watch you at the roadside, when you just want to get across the friggin' street. This is the reality for women in Sharjah. It's not the reality for men, necessarily, but it does happen to every women in Sharjah that dresses that way. If you ignore it, that's one thing. Let's not deny that the attention exists, and that the government has now officially told women how they want them to dress on the street and on the beach.
If you have not been harassed from the police (and it does happen to some women under the current law), you can be guaranteed that your bare female legs will wow other audiences. This is not about being PC, it's about dressing for personal comfort in the UAE, and the fact that what a woman wears in one Emirate, will or won't swing in another. Forget about unwanted attention, and consider that foreigners in the UAE choose to be there. It's about a little respect for that culture in which you've chosen to submerge yourself. Too PC? It's just common sense. |
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sarina
Joined: 03 Jan 2004
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:12 pm Post subject: in support on stoth1972 and vs |
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| I would echo Stoth72's comments about common sense. Respect for the local culture should be the paramount consideration, not whether you think you can "get away" with it. Ditto for the different experience for women compared to men. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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Funny how nearly all the women on the ME section of the board say pretty much the same thing about dress... while it tends to be the men who try to tell us that we didn't actually experience that which we did... daily...
VS |
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stoth1972
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 674
Location: Seattle, Washington
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| Here, here, Vs. |
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RbDib
Joined: 01 May 2004
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 3:52 am Post subject: |
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| That's exactly why packing has become a bit of a dilemna for me. Do I pack the shorts in case others are wearing them and it's alright but I am worried about being culturally insensitive. Who knew that a pair of shorts, flip flops, knee-length skirt etc. could bring me this much "grief" when I haven't even entered the country yet where I hope to be comfortable wearing them! |
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twarin
Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:22 am Post subject: |
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I feel sorry for all of you. In a country so ostentatious with its two Porsche Cayennes per capita, its hi-tech buildings, indoor Switzerlands, monorails, land reclamation, third-world tea boys on 60 hour weeks/Dh300 per month/15 to a room accommodation - not to mention all the prostitute and maid-beatings, you have to admit that the term 'cultural sensitivity' looks terribly incongruous.
You ought to all take a good look at yourselves, or perhaps canvass the views of your friends back home on how bizarre some of your opinions and expectations have become.
This place is a land of fiction, a synthetic environment with token titles, such as Lecturer, Highly Qualified, Academic Excellence, Professionalism, World Class, Cultural Understanding etc. People like you get your wires crossed when you start to believe in the myths generated by these terms, and when your little fictional worlds collide, you all start to reach for the moral code book and attempt to justify your fictional lives.
Now think about those True Professionals who work for peanuts while helping others such as the sons and daughters of those poor exploited people who serve you tea and wash your car and make your bed and do your ironing. They are the ones with the true cultural sensitivity and understanding.
Get real. Living here is a joke. It is a vehicle to that life you have always wanted to live and that bank balance you always wanted to see.
Long live the Sheikh! For he is a great man. I am sure you all agree. |
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ckhl
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 214
Location: SE Asia
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:27 am Post subject: |
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| I concede...don't bring shorts. I guess it's just one thing Western women have to put up with if they choose to come to the Middle East. Harrassement will doubtless still occur even if they're dressing appropriately. If they can't take it of if they get sick of it or if it stresses them out, they should leave. Remember, no one if forcing you to be here. It's the same for Muslim men in Europe. If they can't leave women alone, there are many flights to Casablanca or Algiers. |
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sarina
Joined: 03 Jan 2004
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 6:51 am Post subject: land of fiction? |
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To suggest that expats living in the Gulf should "canvas the opinions of their friends back home to check how bizarre they have become" clearly shows that you are using your own cultural norms to judge another culture. Classic cultural imperialism where you "other" cultures according to your own benchmarks.
I can assure you that for the great majority of Nationals, the UAE is not a "land of fiction" - their culture, religion and beliefs are based on a value system that deserves respect.
In every culture, including our great Western ""civilizations"(!!!!! used with irony I can assure you) you will find people who do not live ethically - that does not mean you dismiss the entire culture and use the terminology of "mythology" and "fiction" to describe cultures and civilizations which I would certainly say are older than yours.
You can still have compassion for the situation of maids and teaboys (which is another issue all together), without compounding the insensitivity by attacking Islamic sensibilities, and flouting UAE norms of dress and behaviour. |
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Bindair Dundat
Joined: 04 Feb 2003
Posts: 1123
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| Posted: Sat | |
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