What can women wear???

Still replying to a 3-year old post??

This is one of main issues. In the US, I tend to dress in a way that is different from the norm here. I try to find a happy-medium so that I do not feel too covered up or too provocative...

She can wear anything she wants. I've seen people wear cloths that I haven't even seen in USA and no one cares.

"I'd love to change the world, but I can't find a big enough diaper"

So, what if I have a sundress with a conservativly shaped neckline but comes above my knees and does not cover my shoulders without a cardigan...is this a 'no go' too?

its good that you asked.women here are asked to dress conservatively,meaning midlength to floor length is acceptable.so are pants.for tops,no sleeveless,strapless,hanging blouses specially during ramadan time.pants for women are accepted here.

try to bring more cotton/linen blends as summer can really be HOT.

so we can really wear capris and blouse that arent to ft and reviling necklines? hi... i am coming in qatar anytime this week just waiting for my ticket.. i am a private nurse there... i still dont know what to wear in a home setting.. with muslim employer..

Yeah I would have to agree that things are pretty lax. Everyone says no shorts, not camisoles, but I have seen tons of women wearing them. That said, getting stared at is inevitable if you aren't in an abaya and more so if you are wearing more revealing clothing.

In general all gulf countries there is no restrictions except in saudi arabia

So in Doha women can wear anything they want NO RESTRICTIONS at all

Wear the swimming suit that you like inside clubs like 5* Hotels.

If you opt to go to public beaches. you need to be a bit conservative (classical one-piece or two-piece). Anyhow in public beaches you will have eyes watching you all the times and if you just cough, you will find one million hands ready to take care of you:)

how about the swimming suits? i'm into the water sports so I plan to spend lots of time by the sea...

Thanks

Tell your wife to bring books if she's a reader...and the women here who don't work outside the home, find that you can be as busy as you want. Expats are a friendly bunch!

I agree with an.american.in.doha.

so sorry for being one of the hijackers..but i also share my piece up there...

just carried away...and will try not to hijacks your thread in future (only yours..:D )...and welcome to qatar..:)

Qatar is a very friendly place for newcomers...even if you or your wife make a mistake, Qataris are very forgiving of cultural faux pas and make an effort to kindly teach outsiders their ways.

As I'm sure you have seen from some of the other posts here, there is quite a diversity in nationalities and dress here, and while some say that "anything goes", as an American woman here in Doha who knows quite a bit about the Arab world and Islamic culture, I personally don't understand those women who insist on wearing Western skimpy clothes out in public -- is it just to prove that they can? To me, it is more a question of respecting local traditions. As I and some others have mentioned before, this does not mean your wife has to wear an abaya or shayla, although she may choose to.

And if you are lucky enough to make friends with some Qataris and be invited to their homes, your wife will find that the ladies do indeed dress in the latest Western fashions in their homes and all look far more glamorous in their homes than Americans could ever dream of doing! Don't be fooled by those who claim the abaya is a tool of opression, because the Qatari women I know are anything but oppressed!

Thanks everyone who took the time to pass on some advise. My wife is more at ease with the recent knowledge. She is still scared out of her mind to move to Doha but at least this will cheer her up a bit. Thnaks for all the good advise ....until the hijack then I quit reading...LOL

Thanks everyone who took the time to pass on some advise. My wife is more at ease with the recent knowledge. She is still scared out of her mond to move to Doha but at least this will cheer her up a bit. Thnaks for all the good advise ....until the hijack then I quit reading...LOL

Nice hijack for this thread:)

Guess now afterreading all the above, our American friend will have another thought about coming to Qatar NOT because of the wear thing for his wife BUT because he will think all the people here are like the thread hijackers.

Behave ladies and gentlemen and give good example for new comers:)

time for me to get crackin' on some housework and cookin'

Hub flying home overnight from Doha, so I really OUGHT to get both me and the house looking welcoming ;o)

cya soon, kiddos, have fun!

lol...why you always got that kind of imagination stallion? maybe you have to check with your psychiatrist..something is really bugging you for days now...(now you will be more confused..lol)

Happy because this morning he was sittin at his window and saw the next door girl winked at him he went down to her and she suddnely asked him brother can you change that gas cylinder for me PLz :D

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but i aint saying what here. Anyways, i am in so much of a happy mood that i am going to see a murder movie, called Mr. Brookes or something like that. So long, chicos!

You were online sleeping so i thought let me drag you in but still u lazy bone got late on that and many others posted on LOL

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DG, thank you for that info...see, i told ya, i really don't know what i have been talking about here..lol

hmmm...greeker, in a happy mood?..:)

Greeker? Abaya? Now where did that come from?

Lucky for you that i am going home in three days and am in a happy mood, hehe.

Qatarias wear black shaylas (head covering with no pin or clip just different ways of wrapping it). Often we wear our long hair up so the shayla can be wrapped more easily) and black abayas which skiff the floor and cover our shoes. The abayas are supposed to be long and flowing, hence the feeling of elgance if worn with high(ish) heels.

Hijab is the universal term for covering your hair.

so when are we meetin for afghani gahwa then you CEO me ACEO well thats a fact. hey hey i mean QL gathering :D

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thanks DG, someday, i will really try to wear one...

i know how elegant it looks as i was able to see my colleagues wearing it fashionably, i mean, just their heads covered..and they are colorful...:)..they match it with what they wear..(is it called, hijab?..please correct)

madamkow, in public we are conservative...this is not the case in private!!!

nah Owen, unless you make it into a minidress or a tight fit I can't see how you can't wear one properly. You should try it. trick is to find a beautiful one and wear high heels. You really feel quite elegant. Put your jewellery on and you're good to go!

coz i fear that they might mistook it as disrespect for wearing one, i mean if not worn properly...just a thought though...

well good for you diamondgirl!! I was just curious..because it was quite confusing to me that these things should not be worn out in public and yet a lot of stores carry them.. so now I know.. thanks!

Owen, of course, anyone woman can wear one (or man if you're a Michael Jackson wannabee like he did in Bahrain) get one with sparkly 'crystal'on it as they can be quite colourful.

I think someone just said it was OK - DG would know best - but I was interested to hear about wearing one if dressed for sports when going to and from ones house.

I just wear a track suit over my shorts, or whatever.

let's hope a crab doesn't get you by the toe one day :P

yeah jauntie...wearin abaya, saves them a lot of pains doing there hair-do, an advantage to them...hmmm, one question, are we allowed to wear those, even we aren't muslim?

well said! I can imagine under the abaya most of our Qatari 'cousins' are dressed far more desirably (in a fashionable sense of the word) than we are in our tank tops and cut off shorts!

Well, unless of course one woke up to a bad hair day, then the abaya is probably quite useful to pop on and nip out to the shops ;o)

God blessyer!

sorry to comment on this, but it still give me the creeps whenever DaRuDe talks bout his gal...excuse me on this comment...

ok..im ready to receive some poundin on the head from rude stallion..:D

So do i have my gal like that :D LOL

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madamkow...we buy them and wear them under our abayas or off the streets in our homes and grounds...we don't like men casting their leery eyes over us!!!

before in the Middle East and no-one is wearing the abaya, usually the latest top of the range fashions !

.. but in no way disrespectful to women - he's the perfect gentleman! BUT, when we saw a lady in that lovely head dress as you described, DaRuDe, and her eyes were so beautifully made up, my husband said cheekily that he was tempted to wink at her! Bad boy that he is, but to be honest I couldn't blame him - her eyes were absolutely fantastic!

at home or some female party or some female gathering believe me.

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I am also an American woman here in Qatar(from Miami).. I can tell you that your wife should not worry.. she can wear tank tops and capris or skirts to keep cool..not micro minis though and definitely no daisy dukes! I actually wear long sleeves a lot of the time when I go grocery shopping because as was said before, EVERYWHERE has a/c and it can get chilly. The funny thing is that a few shops do sell micro minis and skimpy tops and I have to question whoever buys them..where the heck do they wear them???!!!

Alhamdulillah ya okhti bekhair Allah Salmich.

You wear anything i will just keep on walkin ask the fisher group i never look left or right i just shooot straight.

About Greeker just teasin him.

Well Dresscode in Qatar i love the abaya alot more than any other dress. and the way they cover their face.

the most fascinating one forehead till half nose visible and rest of the face covered.

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Greeker does WOT? OK I will call him ....

But to more serious matters .... it looks to me like most ladies in Doha respect the culture and don't 'dress to tempt' as they may in their home countries.

I've never been one to wear skimpy clothing anyway, so it doesn't bother me at all to wear what I normally would wear on a sunny day in UK. Have to admit I saw some really nice little sun dresses in my local (UK) Marks & Spenser the other day - all strappy and lowish at the front *sigh*. My first thought was that if I bought one I "shouldn't" walk around Doha wearing it. M&S in Doha don't stock that stuff anyway, so that's a kind of guideline I guess.

It's just a case of being sensible.

Many, MANY years ago in Jeddah even wearing a kaftan I could stop traffic! hee hee (that was for you DaRuDe lol)

bekhair DuRuDe...asac tayeb?

and another thing...your post reads as if Muslim ladies are not western...there are many western Muslim women here in Qatar...and in the west!!!

Ask him may be

Salam Al Massssssssssssssssssssssssss ta ta3ban shlonich. :D

Qatari sorry :(

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greeker? our QL greeker? he makes abaya?..

Salam Aisha-Taweela, just to correct you habibti...all the Muslim women are not 'totally covered up' as you said. Did you mean shayla and niqab? There are thousands of Muslim women in Qatar wearing typical western clothing with head uncovered.

I prefer Abaya if u need any help on abaya Greeker is good at that he makes nice design :D

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Like western men can wear full dress even in summer so why not women, its islamic country and as per norm i would like to recommend

you to come out fully covered.Thanks!

Welcome to Qatar

Your wife can wear just about anything she wants as long as it is decent. The muslim ladies are totally covered up, cos according to Islam, the beauty of the woman is for her man only.

I recommend that she wear "normal" clothes, this is totally acceptable for "western ladies". And at a club or at home anything. But when you go around to a supermarket or shopping mall I recommend she wears a little more covered up. This is not because of the Islamic point of view, but more for her own protection. Don't forget, there are a lot of men here that do not have their wives with them, and sometimes their eyes are falling out by looking around.... if you get what I mean

Aisha-Taweela

I agree with Kelly here, for expats, its alright to wear sleeveless (well, considering the weather here now) and skirts……just don’t show more skin than usual

And of course, If you don’t want to draw unnecessary looks from guys/lookers here, it is very intelligent to cover up…you will see what we mean when you set foot here…

basically, everything is acceptable as long as you don't draw too much attention with what you wear..

surfcatgolferdude.

cover up is not normal here for expatriates. covered shoulders and covered knees is not a must.

Let your wife relax. Think of it here as a conservative western country.

The rule is to protect herself in a way that she does not dress anything that could be very very revealing and tempting some horny guys to bother her.

very trasparent trousers or shirts or blouse is not rcommended.

very very short skirt is not recommended.

Welcome to Doha

As a woman here in Qatar, I encountered the same problem when I moved here last year...I was told "long sleeves and long skirts". That is not entirely true, esp. in the summer when the heat is unbearable. Your wife can wear capris (knees do need to be covered) and short-sleeved tops as long as the neckline isn't too low. The benefit to long summer skirts is that they are actually cooler than pants. The general rule is that it shouldn't be too tight or two revealing. Also, keep in mind that they run the A/c on high everywhere, so your wife will probably want to keep a cardigan with her to wear around on top of short sleeves when she is in restaurants, malls, etc.

You are arriving in October, so the weather will be fine, like spring weather in the States, very pleasant actually. Last winter it actually got quite cold here, so bring jackets and even a light-weight winter coat (or heavier if you intend to travel during winter).

One other option: a number of western women do wear abayas around town. This is not seen as offensive by the locals, in fact, many of them appreciate it. It is also helpful to have an abaya around in case you need to make a stop on the way to the gym or some other location where you may be wearing more Western-style clothing. In any case, even if she wears an abaya, Western women are not expected to cover their heads, except in a mosque.