Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from Michigan was sworn into Congress today wearing a traditional embroidered Palestinian dress known as a thobe, inspiring many to post images of themselves and relatives to social media wearing similar dresses.
Writing in Elle today, Tlaib explained why she opted against business attire to pay homage to her mother and her Palestinian heritage with the dress:
“Throughout my career in public service, the residents I have had the privilege of fighting for have embraced who I am, especially my Palestinian roots. This is what I want to bring to the United States Congress, an unapologetic display of the fabric of the people in this country. This is why I decided to wear a thobe when I am sworn into the 116th Congress.
My Yama (mother in Arabic) came to the United States at age of 20, and just like any immigrant parent, she wants all of her children to succeed, but without giving up on our roots and culture.
As a young girl, I watched my mother hand stitch thobes while sitting on the floor with a lamp at her side. She would make the small designs of flowers and different shapes. Just thinking about it brings up so many memories of my mother and how proud she was of being Palestinian.”
Susan Darraj started #TweetYourThobe after hearing about Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib wearing a traditional Palestinian thobe during her swear-in ceremony. Susan has galvanized Palestinian women from all over to participate to show off this historic Palestinian style. pic.twitter.com/2q9y4zTdfY
— The IMEU (@theIMEU) January 3, 2019
Thobes come in many colors and materials. Though diverse in appearance, the designs are uniformly thoughtful. The intricate patterns and tones represent different Palestinian cities and town. Some women posted pictures of themselves in dresses that were said to be more than 100 years old, passed down through generations.
Thank you for inspiring *several* generations @RashidaTlaib. #TweetYourThobe #مبروك pic.twitter.com/RL2FanChqg
— Noura Erakat (@4noura) January 3, 2019
After the swearing in, Tlaib met with supporters in her office in the Rayburn building in Washington DC, meeting of her supporters who came dressed in thobes.
As the son of a Palestinian mother, its a milestone for Palestinian-Americans to see their culture and heritage reflected in their elected officials. Young girls like my daughter and niece now have officials they can see & aspire to be like one day! @RashidaTlaib #tweetyourthobe pic.twitter.com/zJ9RPuAXPi
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) January 3, 2019
Good Morning and Congratulations @RashidaTlaib ❤️
This thobe, over 100 years old and from Beer ElSabe3, was a wedding gift from my mother-in-law. Yalla, #TweetYourThobe pic.twitter.com/bU6e4pKlZo— Lena Khalaf Tuffaha (@LKTuffaha) January 3, 2019
Like Representative @RashidaTlaib, I take pride in my Palestinian ancestry. This thobe, which is over 100 years old, belonged to my great sitty, my mother’s grandmother <3 #tweetyourthobe pic.twitter.com/2NkHJzlaf2
— Laila Mokhiber (@lailamo) January 3, 2019
Just a bunch of Palestinian Queens ??✨ #TweetYourThobe pic.twitter.com/wMR2DHeVmq
— hana (@hanaknafeh) January 3, 2019
My grandmother ‘ستي’ left home and became a refugee at the age of ten but the memories in each stitch in her dress is a promise of surviving #tweetyourthobe pic.twitter.com/WgSLwI7ykx
— Yasser Ashour (@yasserashour95) January 3, 2019
#TweetYourThobe in honor of congress women #RashidaTlaib ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/pFSpunboJb
— han (@hannahomar59) January 3, 2019
#TweetYourThobe Solidarity w/my Palestinian sisters! Mabrouk @RashidaTlaib!!! Shukran for inviting me @SusanDarraj – have had this shawl w/ #Ramallah embroidery since 1998 and wear it often. story attached too. (quick photo below shot running to airport, sorry it wasn’t ironed!) pic.twitter.com/95SrjBqJOJ
— Alia Malek عليا مالك (@AliaMalek) January 3, 2019
I’ve been rocking my Palestinian thobe since I was a baby ??♀️ #TweetYourThobe pic.twitter.com/ykC0VkcTO3
— hana (@hanaknafeh) January 3, 2019
Loving this #TweetYourThobe movement—so excited for @RashidaTlaib’s inauguration today ?❤️?? pic.twitter.com/eAZVASmBht
— سارة (@Saressaa) January 3, 2019
@RashidaTlaib Congratulations to #RashidaTlaib on being the first Palestinian-American sworn into Congress! She will be sworn in using Thomas Jefferson’s 1734 copy of the Quran and wearing our traditional Palestinian thobe!! #tweetyourthobe in support! ???? pic.twitter.com/8Oh626z4ls
— Nadia Mustafa (@jovigirl1001) January 3, 2019
This thobe is from my city, Ramallah passed from my auntie to me like many that are passed from generation to another.
The Palestinian Thobe isn’t only a beautiful&artistic piece of clothing, it also represents our history and the suffering of Palestinian people.#TweetYourThobe pic.twitter.com/8xTQtoJS0l— حنان (@nassarha_) January 3, 2019
With the first #Palestinian and Muslim Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib . We out here wearing our Palestinian thobes at the Swearing In, y’all. #tweetyourthobe pic.twitter.com/XcO1JUAYsM
— Rasha (@RashaMK) January 3, 2019
Y’know, intellectually speaking, I’m not a fan of identity politics. I also don’t like identifying through flags, sports teams, et al. Guess I’m kind of an unreconstructed Marxist – class trumps all.
But I’m telling you, seeing these pictures literally brought a tear to my eye and made my chest flutter.
Sometimes the head rules, sometimes the heart….
this is incredible, just tears. look how beautiful they are.
great job allison.
Listening to The World on NPR today, I was jolted to hear host Marco Werman actually talking about Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and the thobe. Usually Werman is a garden variety Israeli cover-up stooge. Let’s see if he will now go beyond the clothing and discuss the politics of these new members of Congress.
I love the work and the look. What a beautiful garment. Perhaps some designer (benefitting Palestinians of course) can start a business, and make this available for us too. :))
This is a huge achievement for the Palestinian people. Finally they have a voice in the US Congress. Good luck to Rasida Tlaib. Make your people proud!
I’ve been admiring the colors and patterns for years here. Glad to know more about the thobe.