somali women dress/hijab 1980s

[somaliaforever]

hey guys im really confused and need help on this topic. I want to know why wearing hijab today in somalia and among somalis is such a big deal whereas back in the day 1980s and prior hijab wasn’t really worn like that im really curious as most of the older vintage pictures are of somali women not wearing hijab and somali men with long hair. i haven't been on here in a while and thought id come here since there are a people on here more educated on this topic.

 

[arawelo]

After the war a lot of people became religious. And it depends on the city you reside from. My mom grew up wearing a long hijab in middle school in the 70s/80s. Some people say their moms never wore hijab until coming to the west but it all depends.

 

[somaliaforever]

After the war a lot of people became religious. And it depends on the city you reside from. My mom grew up wearing a long hijab in middle school in the 70s/80s. Some people say their moms never wore hijab until coming to the west but it all depends.

do you know why though? and why was it more normalised then if a somali women was to dress like this in somalia today they would tell her she needs to cover up. i want to get to the root of this i want to know what changed? i see some vintage images of somali women wearing hijab but its small or it partially covers the hair. Also a lot of the images of the somali men show them with big afros or long curly hair which i Personally think is attractive however today this would be looked down on?

 

[arawelo]

do you know why?

do you know why though? and why was it more normalised then if a somali women was to dress like this in somalia today they would tell her she needs to cover up. i want to get to the root of this i want to know what changed? i see some vintage images of somali women wearing hijab but its small or it partially covers the hair. Also a lot of the images of the somali men show them with big afros or long curly hair which i Personally think is attractive however today this would be looked down on?

Honest truth. Because of colonists. A lot of somalis don’t realize that some of our “traditional“ culture is because of Italians. Don’t forget the Barre administration. So it wasn’t uncommon for women to walk around in bikinis at liido beach or somali men paying for prositutes. True Jahiliya era. After the war a lot of people realized that this life is short. Ask a lot of people. You see music artists from the Mogadishu Golden Music era and now they gave it up and became sheikhs. Overall it became a rush of “deen over dunya”.

On the other hand, an opinion is that it’s because of Arab wahhabism. If you ask me it’s a bit of both. Somalis accept things easily. But jilbaab and indo shareer is more accepted than baatis with your nipples showing. This is a wonder of the world and I can’t explain it. But culture changes. Brits used to wear ballgowns and corsets and look at them now. No attire stays the same. For the afros it’s like America. It’s considered unprofessional

 

[somaliaforever]

Honest truth. Because of colonists. A lot of somalis don’t realize that some of our “traditional“ culture is because of Italians. Don’t forget the Barre administration. So it wasn’t uncommon for women to walk around in bikinis at liido beach or somali men paying for prositutes. True Jahiliya era. After the war a lot of people realized that this life is short. Ask a lot of people. You see music artists from the Mogadishu Golden Music era and now they gave it up and became sheikhs. Overall it became a rush of “deen over dunya”.

On the other hand, an opinion is that it’s because of Arab wahhabism. If you ask me it’s a bit of both. Somalis accept things easily. But jilbaab and indo shareer is more accepted than baatis with your nipples showing. This is a wonder of the world and I can’t explain it. But culture changes. Brits used to wear ballgowns and corsets and look at them now. No attire stays the same. For the afros it’s like America. It’s considered unprofessional

so do you think somali people have gone from this to the extreme ? i think its super hypocritical that some of these aunties use to dress like this at one point but criticise other women/girls for how they dress.

 

[stophatingtho]

Same goes to morocco, shit looked like california before

 

[salma saluuni]

Same goes to morocco, we looked like california before

Dedicated to this I’ve got to say. Round of applause, you’ll slip soon.

 

[stophatingtho]

Dedicated to this I’ve got to say. Round of applause, you’ll slip soon.

shit was shameful everyone was showing meat, hope allah have mercy on their souls

 

[stophatingtho]

modesty: bad

show: good

 

[Anisah The Serpent]

modesty: bad

show: good

You’re weird. For what purposes?

 

[stophatingtho]

You’re weird. For what purposes?

did you even understand my post my guy

 

[Anisah The Serpent]

did you even understand my post my guy

If you’re not specific, then your comment can be easily misunderstood.

 

[stophatingtho]

If you’re not specific, then your comment can be easily misunderstood.

Do you know what sarcasm is

 

[Shimbiris]

Honest truth. Because of colonists. A lot of somalis don’t realize that some of our “traditional“ culture is because of Italians. Don’t forget the Barre administration. So it wasn’t uncommon for women to walk around in bikinis at liido beach or somali men paying for prositutes. True Jahiliya era. After the war a lot of people realized that this life is short. Ask a lot of people. You see music artists from the Mogadishu Golden Music era and now they gave it up and became sheikhs. Overall it became a rush of “deen over dunya”.

The stuff like the dresses with the arms and shoulders showing and some women having their hair totally uncovered are definitely a part of our native culture. We have descriptions, depictions and images of those from before Italian and British Somaliland were even a thing and also examples of women in neighboring regions like Sudan and Ethiopia where we have been known to share traditional clothes:

The Tobe, or Abyssinian “Quarry,” is the general garment of Africa from Zayla to Bornou. In the Somali country it is a cotton sheet eight cubits long, and two breadths sewn together. An article of various uses, like the Highland plaid, it is worn in many ways; sometimes the right arm is bared; in cold weather the whole person is muffled up, and in summer it is allowed to full below the waist. Generally it is passed behind the back, rests upon the left shoulder, is carried forward over the breast, surrounds the body, and ends hanging on the left shoulder, where it displays a gaudy silk fringe of red and yellow. This is the man’s Tobe. The woman’s dress is of similar material, but differently worn: the edges are knotted generally over the right, sometimes over the left shoulder; it is girdled round the waist, below which hangs a lappet, which in cold weather can be brought like a hood over the head. Though highly becoming, and picturesque as the Roman toga, the Somali Tobe is by no means the most decorous of dresses: women in the towns often prefer the Arab costume,—a short-sleeved robe extending to the knee, and a Futah or loin-cloth underneath. -First footsteps in East Africa

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[Marshall D Abdi]

Dedicated to this I’ve got to say. Round of applause, you’ll slip soon.

He already slipped he knew what was sheegato he replied wallahi im not sheegato Im pure moroccan, most western kids dont even know sheegato so How did he know

 

[stophatingtho]

He already slipped he knew what was sheegato he replied wallahi im not sheegato Im pure moroccan, most western kids dont even know sheegato so How did he know

just shut up

 

[Amirah]

hey guys im really confused and need help on this topic. I want to know why wearing hijab today in somalia and among somalis is such a big deal whereas back in the day 1980s and prior hijab wasn’t really worn like that im really curious as most of the older vintage pictures are of somali women not wearing hijab and somali men with long hair. i haven't been on here in a while and thought id come here since there are a people on here more educated on this topic.

Supposedly Somalis become religious they say but I don’t buy it because it seems we only became religious when it comes to women’s attire and nothing else has really changed. We place alotta of importance on women’s modesty(like the jilbab, hijab, abaaya etc) probably more so than any other Muslims beside the Saudi’s probably. I mean wearing pants as a woman is attributed to being a loose woman in our community, how absurd is that? Honestly I think someone needs to do some in-depth research about this.

 

[arawelo]

so do you think somali people have gone from this to the extreme ? i think its super hypocritical that some of these aunties use to dress like this at one point but criticise other women/girls for how they dress.

No not really. Of course you’ll get judgment if you look like an outlier. And i’ve noticed that the somali women who didn’t wear hijab back in the days don’t really care how their daughter dresses. I promise you that have the girls on instagram don’t have a hijabi mother.

 

[arawelo]

The stuff like the dresses with the arms and shoulders showing and some women having their hair totally uncovered are definitely a part of our native culture. We have descriptions, depictions and images of those from before Italian and British Somaliland were even a thing and also examples of women in neighboring regions like Sudan and Ethiopia where we have been known to share traditional clothes:

The Tobe, or Abyssinian “Quarry,” is the general garment of Africa from Zayla to Bornou. In the Somali country it is a cotton sheet eight cubits long, and two breadths sewn together. An article of various uses, like the Highland plaid, it is worn in many ways; sometimes the right arm is bared; in cold weather the whole person is muffled up, and in summer it is allowed to full below the waist. Generally it is passed behind the back, rests upon the left shoulder, is carried forward over the breast, surrounds the body, and ends hanging on the left shoulder, where it displays a gaudy silk fringe of red and yellow. This is the man’s Tobe. The woman’s dress is of similar material, but differently worn: the edges are knotted generally over the right, sometimes over the left shoulder; it is girdled round the waist, below which hangs a lappet, which in cold weather can be brought like a hood over the head. Though highly becoming, and picturesque as the Roman toga, the Somali Tobe is by no means the most decorous of dresses: women in the towns often prefer the Arab costume,—a short-sleeved robe extending to the knee, and a Futah or loin-cloth underneath. -First footsteps in East Africa

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Of course. It’s typical for Africans to wear loose clothing because of the heat. I’m not saying we wore jilbaabs back in the days but colonism really took a toll on us, our schools, our way of living.

 

[arawelo]

Supposedly Somalis become religious they say but I don’t buy it because it seems we only became religious when it comes to women’s attire and nothing else has really changed. We place alotta of importance on women’s modesty(like the jilbab, hijab, abaaya etc) probably more so than any other Muslims beside the Saudi’s probably. I mean wearing pants as a woman is attributed to being a loose woman in our community, how absurd is that? Honestly I think someone needs to do some in-depth research about this.

Because it’s like the saying “birds of a flock fly together“ or some shit like that. You are expected to look the same as the rest of your group. And pants are associated with white people. Imitating kaafirs are looked down upon.