Opinion

National dress and workers' safety

May 01, 2018
National dress and workers' safety

Fahd Al-Ahmary

Al-Watan newspaper

ONCE I visited a judicial department to get an authorization letter signed and I was wearing shirt and trousers instead of national dress as I was coming directly from work. The official at the department asked me why I did not wear thobe and ghotra? I explained to him that I was coming from work and I did not go home to change clothes to save time and I had to return back to work after finishing this job.

He then asked me the name of company where I work. I said: Saudi Aramco. He said: What’s Aramco? His question not only amazed me but all others present in his office then. I explained to him that King Abdul Aziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, gave oil excavation and drilling rights to Aramco, which resulted — thanks to God — in the Kingdom’s economic boom. It also enabled us to purchase luxury shimagh made in UK, Japanese thobe and mishlah as well as German car and American family vehicles parked in our garages.

I have worked for three decades at Aramco where wearing shirt and trousers was mandatory especially for employees working inside the plant and labs or those who are engaged in technical works. I had an intense desire to wear thobe and ghotra while going to work and was wondering like other Saudis why the company was not allowing us to do so while we are on the land of Saudi Arabia?

By the passage of time I learned the reason and found it was a very valid. Its relevance is that the baggy clothes such as thobe and shimagh go against safety regulations and those who wear them could endanger their lives while working in a plant. When you approach an equipment wearing a loose fitting cloth it is likely to drag you and cause physical disability or death. It may also lead to the stoppage of the plant’s operation, causing heavy economic losses.

Another important reason for enacting laws to wear trousers inside an industrial plant or workshop is that it would help workers run away quickly at times of an accident or disaster, contrary to loose clothing that may impede your movement and expose you to dangers such as fire and toxic gases. Add to it other practical benefits, especially when involved in technical works when trousers give you greater vitality and enthusiasm, easing your movement. I am telling this out of my long experience working for Saudi Aramco.

I would like to emphasize here that I am not opposed to wearing the national dress and I am not a big fan of Western dresses and fashions. I am talking about the safety aspects of trousers and how it improves our performance at work, especially in production plants.

Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah and Adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is a lover of Arab culture and traditions including the national uniform. He wanted to preserve them in its original form. This is the reason why he urged Saudis working in the private sector to wear thobe and ghotra in order to protect the national heritage.

I hope that this decision is applied only on Saudis working in shops and offices and not on those who engage in technical works considering the need to ensure their safety and enhance their performance. Throughout the 30 years of my work with Aramco I have never forgotten my national dress and I rejoiced wearing it at the weekends and during holidays and vacations, irrespective of its comparatively higher cost.

If we look at the national dress, we can see it has seven pieces, including three internal pieces and four external ones (thobe, ghotra, skull cap and head gear). It’s not only expensive but also time consuming to wear unlike the other dress, which has three to four pieces and can be put on quickly.

This comparison does not mean I want to get rid of the national dress, which is a source of pride for all Saudis. Personally, I wear thobe and ghotra outside the work place and during my Gulf journeys. I used to wear the national dress throughout my stay in the UAE, drawing special appreciation of Saudis and Emiratis.

Some foreign workers have asked me the difference of national dresses of GCC citizens and how they wear it. The funniest question came from a member of the Chinese delegation, who asked me about the difference between wearing a white and red ghotra. I told him it is a matter of personal taste. When they laughed hearing my reply I asked them the reason for the laughter. They said we expected the white for bachelors and red for the married or vice versa!


May 01, 2018
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