It soon became a threat of death if women didn't wear the all-encompassing black abaya.

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Before the Gulf war, only religious Shia Muslim women wore the abaya, the traditional head-to-toe black cloak.

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"Strongly encouraging our female military personnel to wear the abaya sounds like a direct order to me, " said Rep. John Hostettler, R-Indiana.

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Right down to the security guard, they are all female and dressed in the traditional black abaya and sheila worn by most Gulf women.

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Ladies have to don the traditional abaya - the loose black robe that is worn by women in the Gulf - and cover their hair.

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Ms. Bormann was dressed in an abaya, a loosefitting garment worn by observant Muslim women, leaving only her face exposed, and suggested that women on the prosecution team follow her example.

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For younger girls the camel-hump styles offer escape from the constraints of the abaya and the veil, says Aysha al Busmait, a university professor and an executive with a Dubai government company.

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The officers had either stripped the woman of her abaya, a cloak worn by many conservative Muslim women, or had allowed it to slip off as they dragged her over the pavement.

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Cheryl Bormann, a lawyer for Mr. bin Attash, was dressed in an abaya, a loosefitting garment worn by observant Muslim women, leaving only her face exposed, and suggested that women on the prosecution team follow her example.

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