The veiled Saudi woman faces many predicaments when she travels abroad and is often the target of glares from curious onlookers. In many cases, instead of diverting attention, women who wear the niqab attract attention in countries where covering one's face is an alien concept. As families all over the Kingdom get ready to travel abroad for the summer, Al-Riyadh daily spoke to a number of Saudi women to find out whether or not they wear the niqab when abroad. Umm Mohammad said that she wears the niqab whenever she is abroad so she won't be recognized by anyone she knows. “This saves time wasted putting on makeup to appear presentable in front of friends or anyone else I may run into. My husband also prefers that I wear a niqab because he doesn't want others seeing me,” she said. For Suad Saad, wearing the niqab abroad meant attracting unwanted attention. She now covers her hair but rules out wearing a face veil. “Wearing the niqab attracts more looks than is comfortable. People will always stare when they come across something strange or foreign to them but I do think hijab is sufficient. On my honeymoon, my husband wanted me to take off my hijab all together but I refused because I believe in preserving my beliefs,” she said. Echoing the same view was Badriah Alsadoun, a teacher who is opposed to wearing the niqab in Western countries. “Wearing the niqab attracts unwanted stares. Saudi women, whether or not they wear the niqab, will always attract stares due to their extravagant sense of fashion. In foreign countries, the niqab becomes an impediment as it is challenging for women to eat and drink in public cafes and restaurants. Also, people tend to stare out of curiosity to see how a veiled women will go about eating or drinking,” she said. Ghandourah Alyamani said she tried wearing the niqab when abroad but stopped after people asked to pose for pictures with her and her own children refused to be seen in public with her. Many women who spoke to Al-Riyadh daily said covering one's hair is sufficient and questioned why everyone, specifically men, feels entitled to voice their opinion on what a woman should or should not wear. “Leave it to the women to decide,” said Wafa Alhakami. “Foreigners adhere to our customs when they visit our country, so we should adhere to their customs and be understanding towards their reservations against attire that complete conceals one's face,” she added. Sociologist Dr. Abubakr Bagader said the niqab sparks peoples' curiosity, the opposite of what it is supposed to do. “The idea of hijab and niqab is to appear in a respectable manner as a woman and not cause too much attention. However, by wearing the niqab in European and North American countries, a woman becomes more noticeable and is the subject of mockery on social media websites. Many women wear their niqab to obey their husbands or brothers. People need to understand the main purpose of the niqab and not just apply it exteriorly. Similarly, a foreign woman will go through the same predicament if she comes to our country wearing skimpy Western attire,” he said.
