Emirati writer Maitha Al Khayat is making a career out of her pride in traditions

The interactive reading app, based on a children's story by the Emirati author, is now available.

The author Maitha Al Khayat shows her reading app to children. Courtesy twofour54

The Emirati author Maitha Al Khayat’s children imagine her as a superhero when she’s wearing a shayla. The 35-year-old, who wears the veil by choice, says her kids are proud of their mother’s modest ­attire.

“I’m like Batwoman,” says the mother of four with a laugh. She is well-known for her children’s book I Love My Dad’s Long Beard and her new story, I Love My Mum’s Pretty Veil, has been launched as a reading app, with the support of twofour54’s creative lab. The app – which portrays veiled women from around the world and their children’s pride in them– was launched last month at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

“The idea came during a reading session and workshop I was conducting a few years back at a school,” explains Al Khayat. “I was trying to get the children to help me write a new book and they suggested I talk about a mum and her veil. I encouraged them to draw their mummy and imagine them wearing the veil, asking them why they love it so much. Most of the opinions were that they were so proud of their culture. One child said they can count the beads on their mother’s veil. For another, it looked like a piece of art.”

The author worked with animators, graphic designers and the Abu Dhabi-based company Pixel and Paper to convert her pencil sketches into an app. Not produced as a conventional story, the bilingual reading app conveys the poetic ideas of children from different nationalities through illustrations and text, with embedded activities to improve their technology skills while reading.

“Children from various countries will find their mothers portrayed in it,” says Al Khayat, who lent her voice for the app. “But it isn’t only about the kids. The book encourages families from around the world to view the veil in a different light and see how proud we are of our culture.”

Mothers from the UAE, Palestine, Oman, Egypt, Sudan and Indonesia are depicted in the app, each wearing different types of veils, accompanied by their children’s insights.

“For instance,” says Al Khayat, “the Indonesian child sees her mother’s shayla as a cloud and imagines herself riding it and learning the alphabet. I have also represented a woman who wears a black abaya in the book. She represents an international woman and can be from anywhere – Tunisia, the US or the UAE. For some people, black signifies mourning but I wanted to show that it is also a formal and elegant colour.”

Al Khayat hopes that the app will help change misconceptions associated with women who opt to cover up: “It isn’t about promoting the veil as much as it is about promoting the love of identity. A majority of women are proud of wearing the veil. And I am so happy that it isn’t just the mothers but even the children who think that way.”

The reading app also offers interesting facts about each country featured in it, says Khayat.

“An Egyptian mum is depicted in a cotton plantation. Not many people are aware that Egypt is not just about the pyramids. In fact, it has been the supplier of cotton to the world for decades.”

I Love My Mum’s Pretty Veil is available for download on iTunes.