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Assignment states that Wearing an Abaya is a choice;especially in today’s world and for UAE women in the university

Home, - Wearing Abaya in UAE Universities Campuses

Introduction

Wearing an Abaya is a choice. Especially in today’s world and for UAE women in the university campus. Being culture, religion, and the social norm we ask the question of why the Abaya has become an important part of UAE women in universities.  The paper will focus on current theories to understand and explain this trend, and its rise in popularity. The paper will study in depth what the factors are for this trend. It will also understand how the past has shaped its popularity among UAE women in colleges and universities. The Abaya which was more a religious symbol and cultural identity for UAE women in the past and women had to adhere to it regardless of choice. This identity is still true and in resurgence (Khamis, 2014). This is true due to several reasons. The main being that since women are now educated and form part of the working structure, this identity has gained more importance. Further to this according to research conducted at the Lebanese American University of Beirut. Which states a transformation has taken place in the perception of fashion in UAE women and at its core is the Abaya. From being part of culture and religion, the Abaya has taken a new impetus among women and especially women in university (Pennington, 2017). It should be mentioned that fashion has played a large part in its popularity. According to local fashion designer Fatma Al Mosa. Her designs are all based on two factors. 1) Culture, and 2) religion (Pennington, 2017). However, recently they have seen a spike in sales for non-Muslims as well.  Looking at both sides of the spectre. Where one wears it due to culture, religion and upbringing may not necessarily where it in college or university. On the other hand, if a woman wears an Abaya in university out of choice, her reasons will be different from the one that doesn’t wear it.

 

Literature Review

The fashion in UAE has been changed for a decade,and different factors have triggered evaluation in the country that has affected the lives of citizens especially the women (Klautzer, Becker, & Mattke, 2014). The impact of the change in the society that has been rated over forty years in Gulf country is considerable especially for young and mature indigenous women of the United Arab Emirates. According to the past studies, this plain black piece of cloth has gone under a lot of transformation,but it does not only reflect the fashion but also represents the attitudes and lifestyles of the women. Abaya has become an important part of Muslimwomen and has become an essential piece of cloth for some specific Muslim countries.

The women, especially in UAE, define themselves with their appearance. There are many women of Emirates that believe Abaya as their traditional dress has taken on an important symbolic value and it expresses their national identity (Sobh, Belk, & Gressel, Mimicry and modernity in the Middle East: fashion invisibility and young women of the Arab Gulf, 2014). It is now becoming an important element in women universities especially, as the young girl feel kind of safe wearing it. They believe that traditional and modest clothing make their appearance as true Emirati lady. There are different traditional values that are attached to this particular piece of clothing that emphasize their courage, generosity, reputation, hospitality, modest appearance and proper behaviour. It can be said that it is associated with the achievements and the rights ofEmirati women. 

There is not only one reason of wearing Abaya for women, because it is not just about their identity or feeling safe but it related to their culture, religion, social structure, fashion and some other reasons. Abaya was first known as “burqa” in early history, in which Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H told the women to hide their face and cover their body for their own safety (Zempi, 2016). As Islam has ordered Muslim women to wear it, that’s why it has become a daily routine for every Muslim girl. By giving a literature view, it can be explained whyAbaya has become an important aspect in the life of women, especially Emirati women.

There are many social, religious, cultural and fashion based theories that explorehow the Abaya wearing becomes an important part for the United Arab Emirates women in universities. This chapter is informative regarding the authentic researches made in the past to define the identity of UAE women on the basis of social and religious aspects. The trend of wearing Abaya is continuously increasing due to the introduction of different styles and designs in this making. All the case regarding wearing Abaya is based on facts and figures. 

Theories

Abaya is that piece of cloth which represents adulthood for women; it feels like a grown elegant Emirati women. Many people associate Abaya with the word oppression, which means that it oppresses women and make them unable to their freedom of speech. Moreover, it has also been said that Abaya limits the personality of women; it might be a sort of truth sometimes but not in every case. In the Arab Emirates, the Abaya is a sign of unity; it liberates and unifies the women (Qazi & Shah, 2018). Its importance for Emirati women can be explained by different theories. 

There are many theories that explore the importance of wearing Abaya by UAE women in their universities. There are majorly religious, cultural and fashion theories that promote the concept of wearing Abaya by the Islamic women. There are constructive learning theory, sociological theory and transformative curriculum theory that explores how education life of women’s are affected by these major factors. There are majorly religious theory, Social Structure theory, Cultural theory, Fashion theory, Social Identity Theory, Motivation crowding theory, Accommodating Protest Theory and Sociological theory of Education.

Religious theory

Muslims philosophers derived different theories where different ways of living are properly explained like there is a concept of wearing Abaya for Islamic women. Most of the Muslims are believed in wearing black Abaya is a good way for women to live in. It’s a part of their belief and norms to follows the Islamic concept and preaching (Coulson, 2017). That’s the reason most of the UAE women are preferred to wear Abaya whenever they go out of the house. There is a Quranic quote that, 

“Oh Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the other Islamic women to cover themselves with the loose garment. So that nobody will recognize them(Quran 33:56).”

Moreover, there are two surahs in the Quran which explain the importance of female veiling as:

“When you ask wives for something. Do as from behind a screen: this is purer for your hearts and for theirs” (Quran 33:53).

According to another Hadith, mentioned in the collection of Abu Da’ud’s, it has been cleared that women should wear black Abayas instead of any other colour because it is the most predominant colour in the Islamic religion.

Some of the people take this hadith as a less reliable resource because it was taken from the collection that was recorded after the death of Muhammad. Due to this certain reason, many people are cautious about their origins and of the person who shared this hadith,butthis hadith has been taken from the Quranic verses. This hadith has encouraged Abaya within UAE and using it to various extents.

There is an Islamic law prevailing in most of the countries where all the rules are regulations are based on the Islamic principles and laws. This theory explores the importance of Islamic teaching in the social, political, cultural and other standards of living. All the policies are discussed in this theory. Majorly this theory explores the idea of living in a society where a large number of people in living. Islam gives equal rights to the women that theyhave a proper right to get an education, to actively participate in society and take corrective action for a good living. Islam is giving them a guidance reading dressing and other social sectors that Abaya is the best dress for them. In the UAE, Islam is a prominent religion,and that is why this theory is of importance in order to understand the trends in the region. 

Social Structure theory

It is an arrangement to ensure the constitution of social structure in which human interacts to contribute their part and live. In an Islamic state, the social structure is based on following the Islamic rules and regulation in their daily activities (Akers, 2017). In an Islamic state, Muslims either men or women develop their behaviour, beliefs and cultural activities on the basis of Islamic values that help them to construct their social interaction and pattern. In UAE, this social structure is prevailing in the society where women are preferred to wear Abaya and to follow the Islamic traditions in their social activities. This is not shocking as Abaya is considered a good fashion choice in the Arab world and it has a specific connection with the religious values of the people of the region as well. 

Abaya has created a new challenge though, undermining the traditional social order and symbolizing by its traditional form. Wearing an Abaya has become is not only a tradition in the Arab Emirates but also has become a national identity. It has become easy for the women to interact socially and developing a new personality. It has become a social expression on a daily basis for the women in universities and outside the educational institutes. Moreover, it has been noticed in the UAE and wealth that helps them in portraying their status(Sobh, Belk, & Gressel, Mimicry and modernity in the Middle East: fashion invisibility and young women of the Arab Gulf, 2014). 

Cultural theory

Culture is the basic foundation of any nation because all the behaviour, traditions and activities of a country are based on its culture. Cultural theory is considered as a branch of comparative semiotics and anthropology that seeks to explore the problem seeking concept in the operational and scientific terms in the society. Culture is part of the society which includes the customs, traditions, values and language. In Islamic State, this culture measures the Islamic vitality, standard of life and social health in a proper way (Thompson, 2018). The wearing pattern of an individual is based on the culture which is prevailing in the society. Muslims philosophies like Hazrat Ali (RA), Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Abu al-Hassan al-Amiri and Al-Kindi explores the concept of Islamic cultural theory in their most of the preaching where they said that follows these Islamic rules in your wearing, dealing, talking and other daily activities. This theory is prevailing in UAE where most of the Islamic women are carrying the culture of wearing Abaya in daily life. 

There is an important part of the Arab Emirates in which it can be explained that culture in UAE is the conservative and complete opposite to the west. Different Emirati women wear an Abaya to establish a good taste in fashion or to get inspired from the other western traditions,several wear to embrace the culture. It is not just an expression of religion or culture,but it also represents the individuality of women in the Gulf. Abaya serves as an Islamic symbol for the people in the Arab Emirates. Its importance for women can be understood by its origins, which helps women to understand how Abaya is understood and how it is a timeless piece of culture and history that have been passed through ages.

Fashion theory

This theory explores the concept of modernism in this current era where the old traditions and way of lives are changed into a new and attractive way of living. This fashion theory began in 1997 in which different aspects like art history, anthropology, sociology and consumption studies are studies. This theory states that fashion is the cultural construction of embodied identity (Barnard, 2017). This theory also explores different issues are created when making cultural changing in the production, dissemination and consumption of dress. In the Islamic state of UAE, this theory makes various in the behavioural and living pattern of women like there are many new design and styles of wearing Abaya among Islamic women. In the current era, they adopt it as a fashion,and its adopting ratio is continuously increasing in the UAE market. 

The rise of Abaya in the female is not only because of the culture or religion, but it has become an important part of their dressing style too. It also tends the change the fashion trends on a global level.Abaya’s Trend are no longer been used as a Black Uniform rather more inspiration in lieu of colours have entered into this tradition along with soft fabrics and different cuttingsforming a large number of designs. Moreover, the structure of the fashion industry in the Arab Emirates has been changed over a number of years. It is influencing the attitude of women towards fashion clothing. It can be seen that women are becoming more conscious of the trends of style and fashion. Emirati women have become more advanced as they keep up with every change within the fashion industry (El-Adly & Eid, 2016). 

Now a large number of women are wearing different styles of Abaya in the Islamic states like UAE, Saudi Arabia etc. It shows the feminism approach of women that they have a right to wear what they want. Now the wearing styles, their purpose are changed from the traditional point of view to the advanced state. Now, most of the women wear Abaya and scarfs in new and attractive styles that totally changed the nature of its purpose. This fashion theory is based on the concept of capitalism which is prevailing in the world market where industrialist derives new ways to earn a profit. 

Social Identity Theory

In psychology, the identity of an individual is based on its beliefs, looks, qualities and other expressions that make him as a self-identity person or a group.  Henri Tajfel says that social identity is usually developed and examine how peopleare categorized into different in-groups or out-groups. This division is based on similarities in their perception, attitudes and behaviour that they show in the society (Hogg, 2016). Just like the same pattern of wearing standards are mostly adopted by most of the Islamic women in UAE which shows their self-identity concept that they are all Muslims. This social identity theory giving rights to the women to speak in front of this male dominance society and the modernism is a part of this self-identity. But when the Islamic laws are considered,then it comes to realize that Islam is also giving them a proper right either in education, home, inheritance and even in social matters. Most of the Islamic states are follows this theory in their administrative activities. 

Motivation crowding theory

This theory is based on the intrinsic as well as the extrinsic motivation of an individual to show a certain kind of behaviour. It based on the observation of an individual that how much he is attracted to adopt a certain behaviour. Both internal and external motivation plays an important part inbehaviour or culture adoption.  The external motivators include punishments or monetary incentives that undermine the internal feelings and motivation to perform a certain task. This theory later existed in most of the Gulf countries where women did not have a right to speak and openly moved on in society (Festré & Garrouste, 2015). They were influenced by the external forces that they were inferior then a man and they had to wear Abaya and Scarfs. But now the intensity of theory is lower than the previous stage. Now they are free to wear what they want. 

The sociological theory of Education

The discipline of sociology of education is concerned with schooling as a major function of society. There is a debate on education regarding assess, power, nature of knowledge construct and the forms. There is actually a functional approach to education in society. There are many societal institutes like social cohesion and schools that help the nation to move from tradition to modernity (Evetts, 2017). In Islamic State, these educational institutions play an important part to create awareness about the Islamic and social norms and values among students. This shows in most of the higher educational institution in UAE that there is a social culture of wearing Abaya in their University campuses. This theory explores the awareness of education on the living standards of women in UAE. 

Education and Abaya are very much connected to each other. The standards of education decide what is important in life, culture and religion, and what rules should be followed. This theory mainly represents how awareness can be created through education (Burkett, 2016). Well, Islamic education is an important part of the UAE educational sector, which explains the importance of wearing an Abaya, why it is necessary, and how it can protect women. So, the women, who try to resist it, can easily understand that an Abaya can make contributions for the women and can bring novelty to their life along with self-confidence.

Accommodating Protest Theory

The is a feminism based theory in which all the women are having equal rights and have the power to take action if any immoral, violent action is attempted on them. This critical exploresthatwomen have a resistance power to take action against cruelty (Nevitt, 2017). In the Islamic State, women are enjoying their rights,butstill, there are many restrictions that are made by the man dominance society. The women have the right to spend her life in a way which she wants, her behaviour, character and living standards are based on their self-desires and identity. In Islamic State, her wearing of Abaya is based on her own will rather an outside pressure. 

Accommodating protest can be explained by the neo-fundamentalist Islamic establishment, and its a connection with Abaya (Trainer, 2017). It can be the main reason forthe creation of problems in women personality that led to the pressure of society. But still women in the Arab Emirates try to create and wear Abaya as fashion and try to form a kind of passive protest against those who in favour of the judicialAbaya. They support personal style and expression by finding it in the Abaya itself so that it should not violate the element of modest in the form of Abaya maintenance. It can be said that they have adopted Abaya as a modest sort of dress and make them free from any kind of protest.

Case Studies

There are different case studies regarding the topic of wearing Abaya in different University campuses of the United Arab Emirates. There are different Islamic, social, cultural, political, economic, educational and environmental factors that influence the Abaya wearing style in the UAE.The first case study majorly focuses on “Hijab Effect” and how its impact on the Islamic religiosity and the perceived attractiveness of South Asian Muslim women who are living in the United Arab Emirates and the United States. There is a belief that Hijabis are more religious as compared to non-hijabis. Most of the Muslim women are also rated hijabis are more attractive and good act according to the Islamic value than non-hijabis. This shows the belief system of most of the Islamic women in the state (Pasha-Zaidi, 2015).

The concept of wearing Abaya is considered as one of the traditional cultural dress of wearing for Islamic women in the United Arab Emirates. There is another case study that isbased on the fashion choice and performance of wearing the Abaya in an educational institute. Particular attention is paid towards the wearing pattern of Islamic women in the United Arab Emirates. In the universities and other educational institutes, there is a culture of socialization, wearing Abaya, body adornment and performance interaction. The socio-cultural environment of society helps Islamic women to develop their living standards and wearing pattern. There is a direct relationship between the culture and living pattern of Islamic women in the United States. This cultural impact is also shown in their artistic work on Abaya, wearing national dress and voluntarily cultural program. This approach shows their approach towards feminism in their Islamic society (Schedneck, 2014). 

As far as the psychological factor is concerned, there are many environmental factors that affect the wearing of hijab and Abaya on the perception and facial attractiveness of Emirate Muslim Women who live in an Islamic country. There is a political and socio-cultural aspect of the Islamic wearing that impacts the social life of women wearing Hijab and Abaya. In this case, the fashion theory is applied where the different pattern of wearing hijab and Abaya is studied. This case shows the attitude of Emirati women who are wearing this Islamic tradition with different styles either semi-covered or fully covered. The survey was conducted in which the perception of women regarding this wearing style in UAE. In order to examine, there were two groups of participants each have 13 participants. The standard deviation is 0.49; mode is 4.67 and range is 3-5 (Sheen, Yekani, & Jordan, 2018). 

In the UAE society, there is still a typical concept of judgement where most of the women are judged on the basis of their wearing pattern. There is another case of wearing Abaya by the Professional Muslims Women in Saudi Arabia. Their attitude is developed on the basis of their wearing Abaya. This case is based on the ideology of Islamic Women in the Muslims States like their social identity is developed due to their wearing pattern. In this state, women adopt different styles of Abaya wearing in their professional life. This case majorly focuseson discussing the attitude system of the Islamic women that having majorly three categories like Affect, Judgement and Appreciation (DeCoursey, 2017). 

In the current era, the attitude of the Arabian women regarding wearing an Abaya is completely changed,and now different styles and design are followed by Islamic women. Now there is a cosmopolitan Islamic concept is prevailing in Dubai where the Abayais worn as a fashion. The traditional Abaya serves as a symbol of national dress and Islamic dress for women in UAE. But now the Abayais only worn as a fashion in which different styles are made. Regarding the fashion style, there is another case study of UAE which discusses the attitude of women towards fashion clothing. This study investigates the impact of awareness and involvement of Emirati women on fashion clothing. In this case, a survey was conducted in which Emirati students took part resulting in a response of 223 students (Khraim, 2018). According to this study, Emirati women have a great positive impact of fashion clothing, due to which their self-confidence has been increased due to their involvement while awareness has no such impact on the attitude of women. It means that women of the UAE are moving towards fashion and adopting Abaya within style and fashion.

 There is a vision of making some modernism and developed nation. There is an estimation in 2021; there will be a new agenda of prevailing Islamic principle and values in a modern style. This step is taken by the state in order to increase the western culture in the UAE. This is an external influence from the western countries to change the tradition and culture of Emirati (Avishai, 2016). 

Due to increasing the concept of feminism in the world market, the state of UAE also makes different policies regarding giving rights to women. Now women are free to make a decision either they want to wear Abaya in their universities or other daily activities or not. They are also to wear which style of Abaya and scarf; they want to wear. In this case, most women are not following the Islamic dressing and preferred to wear a normal dressing. Now there is diversity in the wearing style of women.

In the developing stage, there is great diversification in the living pattern of Gulf Countries people especially the UAE where a large number of different cultural people are lived in one place. There is another important case which considers the prevailing culture of Emirates that most of the Islamic women in UAE. In the 2014 survey, it showed that there are 57% of Emirati women are following the old culture and tradition in their living standards. The later 43% of women are not wearing scarfs and Abaya in their daily life their pattern of living is quite western. In the current era, the living standards of Islamic women in the UAE are completely changed due to the concept of modernism. In this state, 50% of the women population are spending at least $20(DH 438) a year on modest clothing. Most of the female students about the new style of wearing, it all based on their will (Moussly, 2010). There is an estimation Dh 350 billion is spent by the UAE female students on the new business opportunity in the growing market. Now Abaya as fashion is accommodated by Abaya-as-accommodated by the hegemonic order of Islamic patriarchy in the region of Arab Gulf states

Research Methodology

Research question

Why is the Abaya is an important part of UAE university students, how does it relate to education in the UAE, and what are the cultural, and social impact of wearing it in UAE universities? 

Hypothesis

H1 – The Abaya is popular again. Its resurgence is largely due to a cultural and fashion shift.

H2 – Even though its culture and religion many women don’t wear it out of choice 

H3 – The Abaya is important to the modern UAE women since it relates to their identity 

Introduction

It has been known since a few years that Abaya has become a national symbol for Muslims, especially in UAE (Sobh, Belk, & Gressel, Mimicry and modernity in the Middle East: fashion invisibility and young women of the Arab Gulf, 2014). We are going to conduct research in which we will analyze the importance of wearing an Abaya in various schools and universities of the Abaya. The research methodology is an essential process to collect information and to make perfect decisions. The research method will include interviews, surveys and observation. It is important to note that many grown-up women wear Abaya as a symbol of their identity. The main objective of this study is to conduct why Abaya has become such an important part of Emirati women. 

Hypothesis/Research Question

Research question

Why is the Abaya is an important part of UAE university students, how does it relate to education in the UAE, and what are the cultural, and social impact of wearing it in UAE universities?

Hypothesis

1. H1 – The Abaya is popular again. Its resurgence is largely due to a cultural and fashion shift.

2. H2 – Even though its culture and religion many women don’t wear it out of choice.

3. H3 – The Abaya is important to the modern UAE women since it relates to their identity.

This question mainly relates to women who adore wearing an Abaya in the UAE. Is it about fashion, or they just feel it necessary to wear it in schools, or they just follow it because of their religion. It is important to evaluate the importance of wearing an Abaya in the UAE because the number of women adopting Abaya has been increased (Cherrier & Belk, 2015). We have to evaluate the main reason behind this increasing adoption. There are certain reasons behind the concept of wearing Abaya by Emirati women in universities and schools, and our research question will circle around to evaluate this importance. 

Sample

Sampling is a very important part of the research methodology. The particular study was initiated to explore the importance of wearing an Abaya in women universities and schools of Arab Emirates.  In this particular research, our sample will be teachers and parents of both government and private schools in the UAE. At least, ten schools will be selected for the research. In this research, we will conduct interviews and questionnaires with at least sixty females, in which forty women will be female teachers and twenty will be the mothers of certain students. Both teachers and parents chosen for the study will be a resident of the UAE. 

Distribution and Data Collection

The data will be collected on the basis of qualitative values and the variables collected in data. The data will be collected with the help of a questionnaire, conducting interviews, observation and surveys in different schools. The questionnaire will be sent to the participants via email, and the interviews will be conducted personally. The interviews will be conducted from at least twenty people and face-face from the participants who will be comfortable to give it. The main topic of the research reflects the importance of wearing an Abaya, so a large part of the questions will be on its importance. The interviews taken will be recorded and then later transcribed.

After collecting the data, it will be analyzed through coding, which will present the result in categories to be expanded. The main principle of coding is GT analysis, which will be used in the following research. According to this approach, the data is fractured by isolating significant incidents, issues, relationships and processes (Beckmann & Chow, 2015). While analyzing the data, we will use sentence-to-sentence coding, in which all the data is divided into small pieces that will be marked by numbers which will end into descriptive codes. The data will be classified into different categories according to the resulted descriptive codes. 

Research Methodology

The qualitative method will be used to conduct the following research. Qualitative method is the best approach while conducting research because it provides insights into the major problems (Glaser & Strauss, 2017). It also helps to develop the ideas and hypothesis that are potential to qualitative research. It helps to collect the information and then analyze it deeply. It helps to uncover the opinions and thoughts and solve the problem by getting deeper into it. The qualitative data is usually used for semi-structured and unstructured techniques.

Our research is totally based on judging the importance of wearing an Abaya, so it does not include any numbers but the words. Qualitative data try to give the answer in words rather than in numbers, depth or breadth. According to the previous studies, done by Nausheen Pasha in 2015, she used qualitative research to analyze the hijab effect on Muslim women in the United Arab Emirates (Pasha-Zaidi, 2015). As the research mainly conducted the impact of hijab on the women of hijab and their relationships. The results were very clear through qualitative data which showed the complex relationship between Muslim women and the hijab.

There are several benefits of qualitative research according to MD Shidur Rahman, who conducted research in 2017 (Rahman, 2017). According to the study, qualitative research gives a complete description of participants’ opinions, experiences and feelings. Moreover, it also understands the human experience in specific settings and focuses on the issues related to the content of variables. It also focuses on the influence of test-takers and the strategies that are used for the assessment tasks (Tsushima, 2015). Another advantage of the particular method is that the researcher can easily collect the data through direct interaction with the participants. According to the study of Ramsey and his team, the face to face and telephone interview techniques were deployed especially for data collection and to observe the feelings of participants (Rumsey, Thiessen, Buchan, & Daly, 2016). 

Coding

The research questions are an important part of the research methodology. Basically, it is the set of questions that will be given to the participants, in order to collect relevant data. The question part will be divided into two categories. One category will be used to collect demographic data, and the other portion will be based on conceptual answers. The demographic part of the research questions will explain the characteristics of the participants such as gender, age, education, location, employment, marital status, ethnicity, household composition and so on. The main objective of the demographic questionnaire is to collect information about the background of the participants. These are usually brief and does not require an explanation from the individual. 

The other part of the question will be conceptual which will help in collecting the information related to the topic. The conceptual part of the question will contain open-ended questions. 

Demographic Questions

Open-Ended Questions

I chose open-ended questions because it gives a vast amount of information including attitudes and feelings. It basically helps in understanding the main point of the subject. It helps the individual to consider their own ideas and also encourage their collaborative work.

Questions related to Hypothesis

Hypothesis One

1. Do you think Abaya should be combined with fashion? If yes then why? If no then why?

2. Do you think new trends of fashion related to Abaya enhance the values of UAE or damage it? Give your opinion.

3. In your opinion, which type of fashion trends related to Abaya should be practised in UAE?

Hypothesis Two

1. How important do you think is religion a reason for wearing an Abaya in UAE?

2. Why do you believe that for Muslim women, wearing an Abaya is obligatory according to the Quran? 

3. Can you summarize your opinions about wearing an Abaya?

Hypothesis Three

1. How do you think wearing an Abaya defines your national identity?

2. What inspires you to wear Abaya?

Data analysis

Based on the information obtained from the interviews and literature an analysis will be formed that will show the importance of the Abaya for UAE female students. The analysis will define a correlation between my topic and based on the collected data from interviews from the 3 groups, and literature it will show their correlation to wearing an Abaya in university. The analysis will also show how they not only correlate but are also dependent on each other. The analysis will show what it means for students to relate the Abaya to culture, their social existence and how it relates to their wearing it in University. 

The analysis portion includes two types of analysis. The foremost quantitative analysis includes ANOVA analysis. The quantitative analysis includes 8 questions in which multiple options are given. The participants were allowed to choose from the given options to select based on their experience. Those questions involve demographical information about the related to participation. On the other hand, the qualitative questions were also given to the participants of the research to focus on various aspects of their life in revelation to the Abaya. The impact of Abaya and their detailed subjective demonstrated answers helped to analyze the impact more closely. The subjective questions were analyzed through personal observation of the questions. Through this, it was easier to explain the approaches of the participants. The questions include in demographic involve their education, their age-groups as well as their marital status. Further, their concept of taking Abaya as luxury was discussed and focused as well. 

Anova test has based the factor of Gender as the foremost part. The male respondents were though very few, but their opinion was taken because their perspective was related to seeing a female member of their family in concerns to the Abaya. The Anova test has defined as each question and their significance as a separate identical factor. It was noticed that factors which majorly influenced the opinions include the regional positioning and belonging to urban and rural areas as well. 

Open-ended questions were divided into three categories. Each category questions was domain to one of the hypothesis. It was because the more deep and clustered analysis could be able to do. Each category has two or three questions which were demonstrating the hypothetical situations. These were the questions which were subjective in nature.

Analysis

The questionnaire consists of demographic questions as well as other research-related questions. Demographic questions have been asked about the gender, education level, age, marital status and residential information of the respondent. A different number of respondents respond to each question of the research. The total hypothesis research question was eight. Total respondents of question one were 122, question two 122. Similarly, the total number of respondents were 115-125 for each question. Now, the descriptive statistics of ANOVA results show that the mean value of one or more questions is different from each other.  The total number of respondents for question one was 122. They were asked what they think about the Abaya and fashion trend. Is there is any combination of Abaya and fashion trend? The mean value of this question is 1.99. Now the mean value of the second question is high as compared to the first one which is 2.18. This shows that the difference between two mean values is very high. There is a significant difference between the first two question mean values. Moreover, the standard deviation result shows that the results are not according to expected values. The total value of the standard deviation shows that it is more than 0.05. Basically, the standard value of standard deviation is 0.05 or less than 0.05. More than this value considered as a standard error. Therefore, the descriptive results show that there is a huge standard error in results.

 

The descriptive defines the aspect of various question regarding various options related to demographics which were given. The first and foremost question regarding it for say was gender. As the questionnaire was mainly asked the women because of research paper concerning women. Therefore there is mean defining the response Standard range. The deviation from the range is minimal. The significance of the question regarding the research is quite essential. It mainly influences the response to the other questions. The interview questions involving detailed answers and response were affected much by the foremost questions.  

The secondary part involves certain other options which involve region people are living in. The residential class from which the respondents belong to. The major respondents were from Urban areas. UAE has gone through immense changes in the recent decades as compared to its past whether it is in relation to culture or norms as well as traditions or any other aspect which involve social interactions and contracts. 

 

Anova

The ANOVA test illustrates the results of all eight questions. Mainly, the research related to the importance of wearing Abaya for university students and what are the cultural, social and religious impact of wearing Abaya in university. 

 Respondents of question one were 122; according to ANOVA results the mean value of the respondents is very low. Moreover, the value of standard deviation is 1.019 while the standard error 0.093. This shows that respondents do not think that Abaya should be combined with the fashion trend. This shows that students in university wear Abaya for religious point of view; they do not combine it with fashion and modernity. Therefore, this shows that there is no significant relationship between wearing Abaya and fashion trend because the standard error value is more than the standard value. 

New trends of Abaya fashion enhanced or damage the values of UAE, this question was respond by 122 respondents. The value of standard deviation is more than the expected value. This shows that there is no strong significant relationship between Abaya trend and enhanced values of UAE country. Most of the female students wear Abaya due to religious point of view; it does not impact the damaging values of the country. The standard error and mean deviation value is more than 0.05 which shows that the error value is maximum. This shows that new trends of fashion do not relate to Abaya enhanced or damaging values in UAE. 

Moreover, wearing Abaya is relate to religious women and females because it relates to their identity. Question three has two variables, and the mean value of the variable is 2.03. The standard mean value is 1.460 while the standard error is also greater than 0.05. The results of the analysis show that there is no such strong relationship between wearing Abaya and fashion trend. The females in university wear Abaya under their religious point of view. Maximum people relate this concept under the religious segment. The last column of the difference between component variance shows that the value is in negative. It means the relationship between component variance is negative. 

Additionally, wearing Abaya from the religious point of view is very important. However, with the passage of time, it becomes a fashion trend now. According to ANOVA results, the mean, standard value is less than the standard value of deviation. So, this shows that modern people or females respondents do not think that there is an important relationship between wearing Abaya and religious values. There is a weak relationship according to the results of ANOVA.  The ANOVA results show a negative relationship between most of the variables. Under the confidence interval mean the expected value of the upper and lower bound is greater, but the results show a negative relationship between factors. 

In UAE, most of the religious women thought that wearing Abaya is compulsory according to the Quran and Islamic point of view. The number of respondents responds that according to Quran and Hadis it is very important to wear Abaya. The results of this question near about standard value of 0.05. This shows that religious people believe that Abaya is essential for women according to the Quran because it addresses in the holy book of Muslims. Therefore, most of the religious people believe that Abaya is compulsory. The standard deviation and standard error value show that there is positive relationship wearing Abaya according to Quran point of view. 

Further, wearing Abaya is just not a fashion. Religious people thought that it is compulsory for them. Therefore, most of the people force and restrict their women to wear Abaya. The standard and mean deviation value shows that the mean value is greater than the standard mean value. This shows that respondents do not think that there is a positive relationship to wear Abaya under fashion values. 

Finally, the ANOVA results show that total mean and standard error values are high according to expectation which shows that religious people does not believe that wearing Abaya reflect fashion.

Descriptive Interview Analysis

The open-ended or interview questions were mainly based on three factors. These factors were based on the thesis which was based on the hypothesis and the variables discussed in them. Therefore the major categories were made and questions were divided into these. The focus of the first hypothesis was to oversee the views of the women in Dubai in concerns for Abaya as fashion. As time has passed, the Abaya industry has gone through various changes and enhancement. Mainly, these advancements have impacted Abaya industry. Especially, in the countries, i.e. KSA and UAE, the Abaya as the essential features has made it an element of Fashion. 

Women took part in the research believe that Abaya is a new fashion trend which is widely spreading in the UAE and other countries of the world. Especially in UAE, the non-muslim females are also keen to adopt Abaya. Mainly, for them, the Abaya is not just the wearing which is meant to cover. Abaya for them is an element to fashion which made them attractive and enhance the distinctive feature in their personalities. Especially the teenage girls of the modern ages are also focused on viewingAbaya as a fashion element. Therefore, a huge industry of Abaya in malls is growing in the UAE. The fashion Abaya is widely acceptable in every corner and group of UAE society. 

Most of the women believed that there are certain fashions in Abaya which has somewhat contradict to the basic essence. The Abaya should be used in the society as a fashion element; however, the major focus of it covering which is the essence in the Arab societies must not be ignored. The women believe that Abaya gives them respect and this can be violated if the major essences would not be kept in mind. The girls in universities, however, focusedon viewing this as an aspect which enhances their appearance. 

The respondents believe in the major concept that Abaya is the thing which though given as direction by the religion. However, it is not the ultimate which can have no other domain. Abaya is the direction of religion. However, society has widely excepted it as a dress code which is enhancing the personalities. That is why the females of the other religions are also keen towards adopting it especially moving in the UAE society. They are adopting it as a trend rather than something being influenced and forced to them by other religion or society. 

The other major aspect related to the second part of the hypothesis was to determine the religion role in Abaya adoption. When asked women to summarize their views about wearing Abaya. The major believed that it is a dress code which gives them comfort while moving in society. Abaya gives strength and confidence to women of all religion who want to move in society. Some of them believe that it is the major aspect which gives a sense of equality. The women are wearing Abayaavoid discrimination in between group. The major influence of Abaya is positive in the group of all women. Especially the girls of universities and colleges can feel more equality with the existence of them. 

Abaya as national identity is another distinctive feature. The people from all over the world have certain dress codes which they follow. Mainly for men, there are certain codes which are followed to have a distinctive identity. Abaya as the identity of the nation has a definite positive image. The national identity has made it exceptionally progressive and acceptable from all circles of life. In the society, the Abaya is definitely a productive identity as it gives a class to the girls as well as women in the society as well as in campuses. Abaya, therefore, inspires the major women in campuses and acceptability is to largest scales possible. 

Though there is certain portions or segments which also deny the fact. However, the abaya is a major acceptance of not only women but for the male members of their families as well. The Abaya gives inspiration for to women of young ages which is portraying a progressive and positive image in the society. The overall image taken by women of other societies and non-Arabic women is also the positive and they view Abaya as the essential part of their dress code and feature of society as well. 

Recommendation

The first and foremost recommendation is to create an awareness related to such researches in the people’s approach. People seem to be much judgmental when such researches are conducted in society. Most of the people think that these researches are creating misconceptions about the following concept related to the wearing abaya. As many different people consider wearing abaya as a fashion, so other people get judgmental about it. These people think that wearing abaya or veil is an important part of the religion. It has a lot of respect which should not be violated due to other false conceptions. As the Muslims believe that abaya represents a woman’s submission to her creator and her connection with faith. When a woman wears an abaya, then she is submitting and obeying to God.

So, when these type of questions are asked regarding abaya, most of the people get sentimental to it and believe that it is wrong to combine abaya with fashion as it is like a false concept. In that case, most of the people avoid giving answers to such questions, which adversely affect the research. In that case, it is important to create awareness, that there is no such kind of false intention of the research, or research cannot change anyone beliefs. In this way, people will not get judgmental, and there will be no such problems regarding conducting research. 

The other major influence is the pressure of surroundings which were observed while conducting the research. People were more concerned about their surroundings while answering which must not happen. For such research, there should have participants’ involvement of both genders. In every kind of research, it is important to consider the views of both male and female. Sometimes, male have different and strict views about wearing abaya. They believe that women should always be covered and not relate it with fashion. Sometimes, they also don’t allow them to take part in such kind of researches, because they feel that these researches will misguide them and change their concepts about wearing abaya. When we try to involve both genders in the research, then it might be possible that men will allow women to take part in research and answer according to their will.

The male members were not part of a research which domain and reserved the research to limited views.As every male have different concepts about women wearing abaya. Some of them think of it as a necessary element, while some think that it should not be forced, and some men think that it’s fine to combine abaya with fashion. However, these different concepts of abaya from men can also give a new perspective

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