#GRWM: Yemeni Style!

Examples of both featured styles from Yemen. 

Assalaamu alaikum!
Today we are looking at a couple of styles from Yemen.

Yemen has a beautiful culture of niqab, ma shaa Allah. Jewish or Muslim, women tend to wear niqab in Yemen! Both styles I featured in the video today can be seen in modern day Yemen, from my understanding, as shown by the photo above (which also shows what I understand to be a rare sight in Yemen - a woman without niqab). 

Sisters in black niqab, abayat, and khimur.

The first style I showed is more modern and is kind of a Yemeni take on imported Saudi styles, as far as I can tell and understand. It consists of a black abaya or dress, a long black khimar, and black niqab, usually multi-layered. In my masjid, we have some Yemeni sisters who come out for Ramadan and Eid from time to time, and they generally wear a variation of this dress, with or without niqab. Many sisters did not wear niqab due to concern from their husbands about wearing niqab in the West drawing more attention to themselves. However, these same sisters did wear niqab back in Yemen as it is the norm. In Yemen, while they have one-layer niqabs, many in this particular style of dress wear multi-layer niqabs. Yemeni niqabs are particular in that the subsequent veil layers are sheer. 

Yemeni sheer niqab.

The second outfit I featured has more color and some Bedouin/tribal type aspects. While still including niqab, sisters use a colorful shawl-type covering worn over the head and clutched or pinned beneath the chin. Sisters may still wear black abaya underneath, and niqab can be single layer and opaque or sheer. The niqab I am wearing in the video is from Yemen and can be purchased at The Desert Boutique. If niqabs don't have embellishments, some sisters will wear Bedouin jewelry and headpieces, especially for weddings. Yemeni wedding attire is a WHOLE other category in and of itself, so I won't get into it here. Suffice to say, it's just as beautiful as these simple styles while being WAY more ornate. 

Sheer and opaque niqabs

In the second style, more sisters feel comfortable wearing kohl, which is seen a less in the all-black outfits. For this reason, I included it in the second outfit but not in the first. 

Yemeni sister in kohl and an embellished niqab. 

I hope you have enjoyed this brief view into the rich and beautiful niqab culture of Yemen! Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for future videos!

Jazakum Allahu kheiran!

Sajida.