Artikkelin indeksi
Women from the Near East reveal their true selves at Parisian museum
Trousseau of Dreams
Gauze from Gaza
Excavated Tiny Tunic
Kaikki sivut

"Ce qui dissimule ces femmes les raconte bien mieux que n'importe quelle mode occidentalisée."
Christan Lacroix, Directeur Artistique
("What covers these women reveals more about them than any westernized fashion.")

During the 1990-91 Kuwait-Iraq crisis I was stationed in Jordan for many months.  Whenever a lull in the war permitted an escape from the newsroom frenzy, I did what any sane woman searching emotional comfort does: I went shopping.

It was in Amman that I first discovered the richness and beauty of local handicraft and, in particular, the exquisite embroideries on women's traditional dress.

Needless to say, I returned to Paris with several embroidered garments in my suitcase. And I still wear one or the other of my black velvet jackets, finely decorated in multi-colored silk, as a scintillating evening outfit over plain black slacks and tops.

Preserving Traditional Skills

A visit to the exhibition "L'Orient des Femmes" at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris (until May 15, 2011), brought back many touching memories of the women I befriended while they spent days and weeks working on my beautiful jackets. They had been contacted through a local charity foundation  helping Palestinian refugees not only to find paid work, but also to preserve old handicraft techniques and traditions and pass them on to younger generations.

Now, twenty years after my Jordan days, most Westerners would equal the notion of "Muslim women" to nondescript bodies huddling under shapeless black tents.  Indeed, all over the Middle East a deep change has occurred in favor of the "zayy islâmî" or Islamic dress.

Back in 1990, however, one met few veiled women in the streets of Amman, whereas females in tight jeans and revealing T-shirts were a common sight.   In fact, outside a few strictly religious clans, "Islamic dress" was not the norm in most Near Eastern countries.