After SciFi, my guilty reads are female-oriented historical fiction. I especially relate to stories in the 19th and early 20th century. It’s recent, but it is another era. I shudder to think about how women had to endure the restrictions of girdles, gloves, and nylons in the heat of the summer; my mother sweated and endured. We’ve grown beyond that in the West, but not everywhere.
My heart goes out to women in countries that demand clothing inappropriate for high temperatures. Light-flowing garments are great for warm weather, but all black is not ideal for the hot desert.
A friend who lived in Saudi Arabia once asked the men he worked with if they would wear black. To a man, they said “NO, it would be too hot.” Yet black is what their women had to wear outside the home. Saudi women’s heavy clothing had proven to contribute to hypertension, diabetes, obesity (40% of women), and physical inactivity (53% to 98% of women).
Yet, changes are happening for Saudi women. Restrictive dress has become optional. And four years ago they could not drive and now they are also allowed to drive cabs.
In the urban areas of Egypt, western-dressed women outnumber those covered.
My husband just returned from the UN Conference on Climate held in Dubai, UAE. He noticed many female Emirati students and professionals, although completely covered in black with only their faces showing, openly participated in events. In other places, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, women’s rights are being eroded.
Clothing hampers women and their overall progress and contributes to the idea that they cannot compete with men.
Our “Rosie the Riveter” epitomizes the opposite: the can-do of women when clothing does not hamper their movement.
For the best-ever image of the iconic representative of strong women in the U.S. who worked in factories during World War II, let me suggest enjoying a meal at Rosie’s, right here in Naperville!
