Photographs by Boushra Al-Mutawakel

by Yazeed Kamaldien, Yemen Times, December 16, 2010

A packed crowd swarmed around the Sana’a Styles: Fashion and Identity photo exhibition and artworks event earlier this week, when it opened at the House of Culture on Al-Qasr Street in Sana’a.

Striking photographic essays plastered the venue walls. Large color portraits of Muslim women wearing the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, photos showing women in black veils surrounded by contemporary fashion and snapshots of ordinary Yemenis making a statement with their everyday clothes.

Photographer Sophie Elmenthaler showed a series of photos under the title ‘Hijab and High Heels’. These pictures showed fashion for women that would reveal skin if worn in public, but that Yemeni women would only wear in private. The images included clothes labeled the “cheapest goods from China and India” sold in Sana’a.

A short film showed Yemenis talking about the clothes they wear and what motivates their sense of style. Another series of photos showed women in various uniforms and cultural dress, commenting on how clothes ensured that individuals became part of the communities where they live.

“People with a strong sense of assertiveness accept identities of their social group,” reads the statement from this series of photos.

Yemenis depicted a range of viewpoints on fashion and identity via the photos and comments from ordinary citizens. The exhibition invitation stated that, “like us, they find themselves helplessly in front of their closet each morning.”

Yemenis commented in the film about their clothes: “I choose my clothes according to my personal concepts. In Yemen there are lots of restrictions.” Another said, “The form of clothes should suit the society and its culture.”

Among those who had gathered for the exhibition opening were university students Ghanem Ahmed Ghanem and Mohammed Al-Afeef.

“I don’t really like following fashion, but I like to wear something different,” said Ghanem.

“This exhibition tells me that I should wear anything that I like. Some people in Yemen say that fashion is forbidden for girls. They should also be able to wear what they like, but not something that’s against Islam.”

Al-Afeef, whose photos were part of the exhibition, said that he mostly wears traditional clothes to weddings, otherwise he prefers to wear more contemporary fashions.

“In Yemen we have traditional clothes for some occasions and then fashion that we wear when we go out. This exhibition gives people who don’t know Yemen the idea that we do not wear only traditional clothes. Some people are not wearing traditional clothes at all. Some only wear them at home,” said Al-Afeef.

Rasha Al-Jundi, from Hebron in Palestine, has lived in Yemen for 16 months working with an international aid agency. She pointed out that the exhibition was also about gender issues. “It’s about the roles that men and women play in society and how they are portrayed. Globalization has reached Yemen and it’s not just about being in a black veil anymore. People want to express themselves differently with their clothes,” said Al-Jundi.

“Human beings never fail to express themselves, whether they are wearing a burka or bikini. People should be able to wear whatever they want. I shouldn’t be respected more because of a certain dress code. In Yemen, women are forced to have a certain dress code and not men. And that is portrayed in these photos.”

Sana’a Styles: Fashion and Identity has been organized by the French Cultural Centre, the German House in Sana’a and Aden, as well as the Yemeni Ministry of Culture.

Guido Zebisch, director of the German House Sanaa & Aden, was the exhibition’s art director. the exhibition was part of the German-French Cultural Project, based on the so-called Elysée-Fund shared between the two nations.

The exhibition runs until January 4 from 9am-1pm and 4pm-6pm during the week. Admission is free.

‘We can mix traditional clothes with fashion.’

Abbas Ali was one of the participants for a photographic series depicting a young man wearing traditional Yemeni clothes mixed with contemporary fashions.

“I wore sunglasses and this T-shirt to show fashion. It’s a good idea to mix traditional Yemeni clothes with fashion. Some people will think this is funny, but people should be allowed to do what they want,” said Ali. “I am trying to give people the idea that one day many people will dress like this. Most people want to wear traditional clothes with fashion. This picture will make them think that they can do this.”

Challenging stereotypes with a different hijab

Yemeni photographer Boushra Al-Mutawakel, who has lived in America for half her life, decided to respond through her work to what she feels has been an increase in discrimination against Muslims, particularly women who wear the Islamic headscarf or hijab.

Her portraits show women wearing the hijab – but with a difference. The hijabs that the women wear in her photos are flags of Western countries where Islam has faced bad press and Muslims face stereotypes. The countries she chose to represent were America, France and Germany.

“I‘d watched all the news and there were just generalizations of Arabs. I did this work in response to that. I wanted to show the human side of Arabs,” said Al-Mutawakel. “I am asking whether there is a contradiction between being Muslim and American. It’s also very political.”

Al-Mutawakel also wanted to address the growing fear of Islam in some European countries. France banned the wearing of face veils, including the niqab and burqa, earlier this year and in 2004 banned the wearing of the hijab in schools.

“They have this war in France against the hijab. I find it ridiculous and against freedom of choice. It’s undemocratic and not in line with their moral beliefs and liberty,” said Al-Mutawakel. “There are symbols of the hijab in France too. You see it in paintings of the Virgin Mary wearing it. Nuns also wear hijab. There have been hate crimes against Muslim women who wear hijab.”

“My photos are saying, ‘look at yourself’. You talk about being more democratic and developed and I feel that they’re going backwards. They’re expecting Yemen to be democratic and developed. I feel the finger is always pointed at Yemen. But they have sometimes far worse things going on in their country than ours. They have so much hypocrisy.”

Al-Mutawakel also critiques in her photos the black veil that Yemeni women are expected to wear, rather than having a choice of wearing the more colorful traditional hijab.

“When I look at traditional Yemeni veils I admire how unique and special they are, as opposed to the black veil which is so prevalent now. The latter lacks personality and identity. The traditional Yemeni hijab is really telling a story,” said Al-Mutawakel. “Each village has its own colorful veil with different designs. Even if it’s black, there’s always a pinch of colour.”