Celebrate Your Fashion Freedom with Fabulous Footwear
An excellent article on fashion in Baghdad has me feeling blessed to be able to express my inner diva. In their article, “What Not to Wear, Baghdad-Style: Fashion Rules Begin To Change,” Timothy Williams and Abeer Mohammed provide an excellent overview of just how much has changed in Baghdad in recent years. After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, clerics set strict rules about how Iraqi women could dress. Women who did not wear body-covering, full-length abayas were threatened, kidnapped, or even killed by armed militia members. As one woman interviewed in the article explained, “Militias did not want women’s bodies to be visible, because they thought it might charm men.” Even women who wore full-sleeve shirts and long slacks were targeted by militia, so women across the city erased themselves into cloak-like abayas. Thankfully, as the city has stabilized in recent months, a small group of young women have been brave enough to exchange their abayas for styles of their own choosing. Mini-skirts and Mary Janes are appearing across the city.
