# Women traveling to Iran/Saudi Arabia/Afghanistan: veiling logistics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276 "2003-05-29T15:12:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/81 "2011-08-15T19:09:35Z")
> [@sunfish](#): > > When I was in India, I noticed that some Muslim Indian women wore something like a chador; IIRC married women wore black, unmarried women wore white. However, this was out in the rural areas of Madhya Pradesh, where people tend to be more conservative generally. I didn’t notice the same thing in Delhi. Here at home, **I’ve seen Pakistani women wearing the salwar kameez and dupatta (the scarf), but these tend to be in neutral or soft colors, whereas Hindu women often wear salwar kameez that are quite vivid in color and have designs in the fabric**. They do typically have short sleeves, but it wouldn’t be hard to get a tailor to whip one together with long sleeves, if you wanted it that way. And they are EXTREMELY comfortable… I think if I needed to travel in the Middle East I would consider bringing a few salwar suits along, at least as casual wear. (They are pretty easy to find here in the US, available online if you don’t have an Indian neighborhood nearby to shop in.) Wrong. The bright printed fabrics are worn all over (in the summer) and are known as [“lawn”.](http://www.aanchal.com.pk/blog/lawn-prints-by-gul-ahmed/) They are made of a light material and are cool to wear. The heavier cloth which is “soft” is worn mostly in winters, Its usually plain although with different colours. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/82 "2011-08-15T19:29:17Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > …I can’t exactly pop down to my local Bloomingdale’s and buy a burqa, so if I were going to travel to Iran (not bloody likely at the moment, as an American Jewish feminist with a big mouth), how would I be prepared upon arrival? Why, you [buy](http://www.islamicboutique.com/)your niquab or [abayah](http://www.islamicboutique.com/abaya.asp) [on-line,](http://www.salaficlothing.com/) of course. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/83 "2011-08-15T19:34:23Z")
[Moderating] Those responding, please note that this thread is over seven years old. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/84 "2011-08-15T19:50:15Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Just not true. Thousands of Americans visited the Soviet Union as tourists every year during the Cold War, including my parents. Yep. The Soviets just couldn’t get their hands on enough decadent Western hard currency. My great aunt when to the USSR more than once (as well as several other Eastern Bloc countries). You had to book tours with Intourist (the state tourism authority), and usually stayed in special hotels for foreigners (from non-socialist countries). Which according to her were of the same quality as Western Europe. In fact on one trip there was some kind of snafu with the foreigners’ hotel and her tour group ended up staying at a guesthouse for CPSU members. Cuba loves American tourists. They’ll even give to a stamped card to put in your passport instead of stamping it to avoid attracting scrutiny with the US border guards. It’s even possible to visit North Korea on vacation; provided you book a tour with the Ministry of Tourism and don’t mind government minders accompany you everywhere. Ditto for Burma/Myanmar. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/85 "2011-08-16T07:28:32Z")
A couple years ago I travelled through Armenia with two young Spanish women who were working in Iran and we had a conversation about the dress codes there. One of them had once been arrested because too much of her hair was visible from under her veil. However, she said this arrest occurred only because she “looked like” a native Iranian and as soon as she was able to produce documentation that she was actually a foreigner, she was released. Nonetheless they were both very clear that visiting women have to expect to cover up. Neither of them thought that being Jewish and/or American would be much of an issue. I mentioned that I’d like to visit Iran but I wanted to wait until I had a non-US passport to do so, and they thought this was silly of me. They also said that there are plenty of Jews there and as far as they knew they mostly got by ok. Of course, if you’re the sort of ideological American Jew who can’t stop talking about Israel’s divine right to the West Bank, you might have a problem… but I don’t think **Eva Luna** would have too much to worry about 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/86 "2011-08-16T08:29:03Z")
According to a news blurb I saw, Spanish female soldiers would sometimes be met with surprise, but it’s not like those uniforms can be accused of being unmodest; they kept their caps on constantly, the locals accepted that wearing a scarf would put them “out of uniform” and be therefore unacceptable. They talked to a corporal who said the locals had asked male privates how come they took orders from women and the privates had answered along the lines of “dude, she’s in my chain of command, of course I obey her. Don’t you obey your mother?” What was weird was seeing military women, but that a military woman will wear military clothing was seen as perfectly logical. Reporters usually wear covering clothes and a scarf which covers their hair completely, with the hair in a bun if necessary. Tourists seem to dress like shit in every country (seriously, what is it about being away from our closet that makes even the most reasonable human being grow a fondness for white socks and sandals?). Medical personnel have their own dress code, in general people who are going to a foreign mission for medical attention are too busy being in pain to worry about dress codes. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/87 "2011-08-16T19:16:04Z")
> [@istara](#): > > The visitor should conform. When in Rome, etc. > > And there is nothing in western law about the limit of how much one should wear, in terms of too much clothing. Save for issues of face veiling/ID cards, there’s nothing to stop anyone in Europe or the US wearing a full space suit in the middle of summer. > > So people in burqas and native dress aren’t breaking any rules by wearing them overseas. > > **sleeping** - you would spent most of your time here freezing to death anyway. The a/c is glacial in most buildings. I cover up more inside my office from choice, far more than I ever have in other countries where I’ve lived 😉 May I point out that [salwar kameez](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:In_my_salwar_suit.jpg) and a scarf are wonderful traveling clothes? Loose cotton fabric, no real metal unless you have metal buttons [my favorite 3 or 4 sets are elastic waist, and just tunics with no fasteners, perfect for TSA shit] and the shawl that comes with the set is great for an impromptu shawl, scarf, sunshade and light blanket type wrap for snoozing. Add some comfy ballet type slippers and it is fantastic on a plane for being comfy, and the best thing is that the outfit is modest for ANYWHERE. Not ethe picture used above is not me, I found it online. You can google shalwar kameez and find all sorts of links for buying them. Some come with scarves and some do not, there are a variety of styles, the prevalent shopping pages seem to be indian. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/88 "2011-08-16T21:02:00Z")
So what would happen if a woman unintentionally found herself in one of these countries and had no veil or full body covering or whatever was required? Like, if her plane was re-routed and had to do an emergency landing in SA and all she was wearing was short-shorts and a tank top? What would happen to her upon de-planing? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/89 "2011-08-16T22:21:13Z")
I lived in Saudi Arabia for 11 years, yes I had an abyah an only wore it when I went to Riyaidh. I covered my hair then too(but the scarf kept falling off) During my time there (1993-2004) most Western women did not wear the abyah, but very modest clothing that covered most of your body, Not tight jeans/leggings, tank tops etc. Flying into Saudi the Saudi/or other Arab women would be in western clothes and once they got into the Saudi airspace, the abyahs would come out. Samething in reverse, going out the abyahs came off. Women friends of mine went to Iran. They had headcoverings that they wore all the time,in public, when there, sort of like a black cloth ski hat that fit close around the face., No hair showing at all. They wore these along with long black abyahs. (they had their pictures taken in front of a sign that said “Death to America” in what was I believe was the former Intercontinetal Hotel in Tehran.) As far as Morocco, Bahrain, Oman, the UAE and Qatar, as far as I have experienced, the hajib is for the Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/90 "2011-08-16T22:57:57Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Flying into Saudi the Saudi/or other Arab women would be in western clothes and once they got into the Saudi airspace, the abyahs would come out. Samething in reverse, going out the abyahs came off. So they’re only wearing them b/c they’re forced to, not because _they_ believe that they should wear them in respect to their relgious beliefs? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/91 "2011-08-17T03:53:11Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > …Like, if her plane was re-routed and had to do an emergency landing in SA and all she was wearing was short-shorts and a tank top? What would happen to her upon de-planing? Most likely sombody would give her something to coverup with. Also what woman goes on an international flight wearing short-shorts & a tank top with no other clothes in her carryon (or checked baggage)? :dubious: She’d spend most of the flight freezing or covered with cheap blankets. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/92 "2011-08-17T15:54:04Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Most likely sombody would give her something to coverup with. Like who? And what if no one did? > [@](#): > > Also what woman goes on an international flight wearing short-shorts & a tank top with no other clothes in her carryon (or checked baggage)? :dubious: She’d spend most of the flight freezing or covered with cheap blankets. Could easily happen, especially with a young woman who has never flown before or took a spur of the moment trip. She could be flying Hong Kong to Greece, and the plane gets diverted to SA enroute. Also I never said she had no other clothes in her CHECKED bag. What happens in the airport while she is waiting to access her bags? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/93 "2011-08-17T19:26:55Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > So they’re only wearing them b/c they’re forced to, not because _they_ believe that they should wear them in respect to their relgious beliefs? 😕 IMO, I think it is more a cultural(read tribal) thing in Saudi. There is a lot of pressure to conform. In gerneral the Saudi women will were the hajib even out of the country , not the full abaya, for religious reason. This is my experience, knowing Saudi women personally. Can’t speak about EVERY woman in Saudi. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276/94 "2011-08-18T02:40:35Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > Like who? And what if no one did? > > Could easily happen, especially with a young woman who has never flown before or took a spur of the moment trip. She could be flying Hong Kong to Greece, and the plane gets diverted to SA enroute. Also I never said she had no other clothes in her CHECKED bag. What happens in the airport while she is waiting to access her bags? Not wearing an abaya would be the least of her concerns then. I take it you have never been stranded. I have, Let me tell you; what you are dressed as is not even on the local authorities minds; its more like; how the hell do I get these people away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-traveling-to-iran-saudi-arabia-afghanistan-veiling-logistics/178276.md?page=4)