Many Muslim women aren't bothered by the fact that they have to wear the Abayas. The one aspect that bothers the women the most is the fact that they can't drive.Women are prohibited to drive by the Islamic religion. They must always be accompanied by a man. Also when they are being escorted somewhere by a man, they must always ride in the back seat or walk behind the man.
Many of the Muslim women feel that Westerners have a stereotyped image of Saudi women and women of the Islamic faith in general. Islamic women say that Westerners think of them as one of two totally opposite extremes. They think either Muslim women are princesses who only live in luxury, or they are oppressed slaves, ruled by their husbands. Neither of these assumptions are true. The restrictions of women are definitely accurate, but the way they feel about their lives isn't.
Many American women have converted to the Muslim faith and support not only the dress code, but the restrictions on the Muslim women. One British woman who converted to Muslim faith says, "When you're covered you're treating each other as human beings without being distracted." Women who dress according to the Muslim faith agree that by dressing this way people aren't being judged by the way they look, but how they are as human beings. There are many women out there, muslim and non-muslim, who don't have objections to the Muslim way of life.
