The whole Islamic religion has been no stranger to criticism in recent history, on a variety of levels. The role, value, and treatment of women has been one of the biggest issues to be frequently thrown at the Muslim faith. One factor within this has been the way that women have been perceived to be ‘forced’ to dress in a certain way, owing to teachings written in the Koran.
However, modern Islamic clothing, such as kaftan dresses, colourful hijabs, and other garments, have done much to change the lived of Muslim women. By extension, these have also gone a long way to getting rid of much of the criticism that had existed in the past, although it is still persistent to those who harbour ‘hard line’ beliefs and have not evolved through time.
Just how has modern Islamic clothing changed the lives of Muslim women? We looked at five important things to have happened.
1. More Liberal
While Islam is still a conservative religion in every sense, the more liberal styles of dress have helped to liberate women and make them a much more central part of society. Oppression through wearing a niqab or burka was a common thread of criticism of the religion, and the modern styles of kaftan dresses, for example, have moved hugely to remove this sense of wrong towards women in general.
2. Contemporary Style
Muslim women of all ages who have harboured an interest in fashion are now able to enjoy a much broader style of dress. Importantly, many of the best styles of modern Islamic clothing mirror those that you would find in the Western world. Yes, Islamic fashion is still based around modest principles, but instead of always being a full body veil, for example, one can now wear a great looking dress, or a shawl with trousers, and follow contemporary styles that are popular throughout the world.
3. Getting Involved
It was widely viewed that the burka and niqab was a barrier to integration within society, particularly when it came to women, which further served to fuel the accusations of oppression and inequality that Islam had been subjected to.
Now, Muslim women feel able to, and are encouraged to, be involved with their local communities, to have a social life, and be much more than someone who plays an archaic version of a woman’s role of simply parent and homemaker.
4. A Professional Life
As well as being more involved with local life, Muslim women are now able to use modern fashion as a vehicle for acquiring lucrative and ambitious jobs, that even until recently would have been unheard of outside of Islamic countries.
5. Increased Self-Worth
Today, the level of self-confidence that is enjoyed by Islamic women around the world is higher, in general, than at any time in the past. As noted by our earlier points, modern Islamic clothing styles have enabled women to break free of the barriers that had previously limited what they were able to achieve as people, and as such their value to the global community is growing immensely.
Aab Collection is an e-commerce retailer selling Islamic clothing, such as kaftan dresses, predominantly aimed at Muslim women with multiple roles to play in today’s society. A kaftan dress is a tasteful and elegant option for a woman to wear to a job interview.
Salaam (Peace), as a Muslim lady in fashion, I loved this post. I held my breath the whole time waiting for some negativity or underlying sarcasm, but was pleasantly surprised not to encounter any. I think you made very good points (not that you asked
). It’s ironic how much attention Muslim ladies in fashion are getting these days, considering the fact that it is still taboo Ïslamically to “make a dazzling display.” I guess there is no real middle ground in a cyber society where in order to exist in it, and be recognized you have to put yourself on display. Anywho, I went off on a little tangent 
, basically wanted to say thanks for sharing your views on this topic!
Thanks for your feedback! You can thank Aab Collection, as they wrote the post and I just added it to my blog. They are the ones who are educated on the topic and I’m so glad you liked it. Hope to see you back. =)