Modest Dress at Work as Lived Religion: Women’s Dress in Religious Work Contexts in Saudi Arabia and the UK

Kristin Aune; Reina Lewis; Lina Molokotos-Liederman

doi:10.1093/socrel/srac020

Modest Dress at Work as Lived Religion: Women’s Dress in Religious Work Contexts in Saudi Arabia and the UK

Kristin Aune, Reina Lewis, Lina Molokotos-Liederman

Research Centre for Peace and Security

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This article explores how women in religious workplaces respond to organizational norms of and requirements for modest dress and behavior, both implicit and explicit. It compares two case studies: women working for faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the UK, and women working for secular organizations who travel for work to Saudi Arabia, where the state requirement to dress modesty meant wearing an abaya (slightly relaxed in 2019). Data come from semi-structured interviews with 43 women: 21 who travelled from the UK to Saudi Arabia and 22 who work in UK FBOs. It examines three themes: how women adapt to forms of modest dress; how they navigate dress regulation; and how they negotiate habitus and authenticity. The article proposes that women’s modest dress in workplaces governed by religious codes be understood as a form of lived religious practice and one that raises dilemmas of habitus and authenticity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	42-71
Number of pages	30
Journal	Sociology of Religion
Volume	84
Issue number	1
Early online date	15 Jul 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srac020
Publication status	Published - 28 Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

This is an author version of an article accepted for publication in Sociology of Religion following peer review. The version of record Kristin Aune, Reina Lewis, Lina Molokotos-Liederman, Modest Dress at Work as Lived Religion: Women’s Dress in Religious Work Contexts in Saudi Arabia and the UK, Sociology of Religion, Volume 84, Issue 1, Spring 2023, Pages 42–71, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srac020.

Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

This document is the author’s post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.

Keywords

dress
religious organizations
women and employment
Saudi Arabia
United Kingdom

Themes

Equality and Inclusion
Faith and Peaceful Relations

Access to Document

10.1093/socrel/srac020

Aune2023AAMAccepted author manuscript, 467 KB

Cite this

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Modest Dress at Work as Lived Religion: Women’s Dress in Religious Work Contexts in Saudi Arabia and the UK

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Themes

Access to Document

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Aesthetic labor in religious contexts: Women encountering modest dress in the workplace in the UK and Saudi Arabia

Cite this