DOHA: Some in the Qatari community want women school teachers to dress conservatively, arguing that a dress code is essential for them since they are the role model for young and growing up girls.
A woman teacher, especially, isn’t an educator alone — she is rather an ideal of her students, so she must dress up appropriately, say a number of parents.
They say the general argument that how a teacher dresses up is her personal choice and freedom is not justifiable.
It is because women teachers, especially, are a role model for girl students and if dressed un-appropriately they could negatively influence their students who are of impressionable age.
Some parents even see some fashionable-looking slim versions of ‘abayas’ (the full-length outer garment worn by some Muslim women) as objectionable attire for a teacher.
A parent, Mariam Al Sharim, said an ‘abaya’ may not necessarily be an appropriate dress for a woman teacher, hinting a fashionable one could be slim and exposing.
Al Sharq sought opinions of several women on the issue in a report published on Thursday. Nearly everyone interviewed said they would prefer a “proper” and mandatory dress code for a female teacher across schools, including private and government. “There are some educators who teach Islamic studies and ironically, they don’t wear ‘abaya’ and even use ‘hijab’,” said Dallal Al Dosri.
A dress code is necessary for a woman educator because she being a role model can be emulated by girl students in their real lives. Some teachers may not be following proper dress code as they are young and untrained and may have joined teaching right after leaving secondary school.
Nadia Al Aram, principal of an Independent School for Girls, said her school did have a dress code for teachers and the criterion is that it must be decent.
She, however, added that in her personal view a teacher should have the freedom to use an outfit of her choice out of school.
Another woman, Raudat Al Qahtani, argued that personal freedom should be allowed to the extent that it shouldn’t harm others. “There are some women teachers who wear thick layers of makeup and use such clothes in school that really don’t befit their status,” said Al Qahtani.
“Just imagine what kind of impression they may be leaving on their students!”
“I still remember rather vividly the teachers who have taught me in school. I remember how they wore clothes and used hijab,” she added.
“Young age is so impressionable and that’s why it is necessary for a woman teacher to dress properly.”The Peninsula
