and it happens every day here. What bothers me is when some moron follows me on the road and I'm driving by myself. I've had 5 men follow me in the past 2 months(at different times, of course!) home from the Corniche. All of them locals...and yes I CAN tell the difference. Not wanting them to know where I live, I pull into different compounds that have guards and ask to wait inside until they leave. For those of you that say it happens in America...I've only had that happen to me once back home and I pulled into the police station and he freaked...
The latest was on C ring when I pull into a petrol station to get petrol. Have a local pull up next to me (my windows were down) and proceed to ask if I wanted to be friends, (huh?) and then ask if I wanted to get a hotel room. Ok folks, I am 52 years old, dress VERY conservatively and don't lead guys on...where the heck did he get the idea that I would ever in a million years want to go to a hotel with a stranger at a petrol station????
What I have found is the men here stare, some look at you like you are a piece of meat and they are starving..and some in not a very nice way. For the most part, the locals are more discreet about it, wearing sunshades and smiling. NOT smiling is something women have to learn when they come over here. Sad, but true. Seems it is an instant invitation that you are interested in sex with a complete stranger.
Now..those of you that are locals, please don't take offense to what was said...its just recent personal experiences. For the majority of time I've spent in Doha, the locals have such lovely people. Unfortunately, it takes only a few mental midgets to ruin an impression. Luckily for me, my first impressions(and continued impression) is that the people here, including the expats from every nation, are nice folks.
Those of you that say for women to dress more conservatively and the problem will disappear, I say bullhockey. Its not the dress that creates the problem, its the male refusing to take responsibility for their own actions and acting like an ass in the process.
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the main difference between a dog and man.
-Mark Twain-
and it happens every day here. What bothers me is when some moron follows me on the road and I'm driving by myself. I've had 5 men follow me in the past 2 months(at different times, of course!) home from the Corniche. All of them locals...and yes I CAN tell the difference. Not wanting them to know where I live, I pull into different compounds that have guards and ask to wait inside until they leave. For those of you that say it happens in America...I've only had that happen to me once back home and I pulled into the police station and he freaked...
The latest was on C ring when I pull into a petrol station to get petrol. Have a local pull up next to me (my windows were down) and proceed to ask if I wanted to be friends, (huh?) and then ask if I wanted to get a hotel room. Ok folks, I am 52 years old, dress VERY conservatively and don't lead guys on...where the heck did he get the idea that I would ever in a million years want to go to a hotel with a stranger at a petrol station????
What I have found is the men here stare, some look at you like you are a piece of meat and they are starving..and some in not a very nice way. For the most part, the locals are more discreet about it, wearing sunshades and smiling. NOT smiling is something women have to learn when they come over here. Sad, but true. Seems it is an instant invitation that you are interested in sex with a complete stranger.
Now..those of you that are locals, please don't take offense to what was said...its just recent personal experiences. For the majority of time I've spent in Doha, the locals have such lovely people. Unfortunately, it takes only a few mental midgets to ruin an impression. Luckily for me, my first impressions(and continued impression) is that the people here, including the expats from every nation, are nice folks.
Those of you that say for women to dress more conservatively and the problem will disappear, I say bullhockey. Its not the dress that creates the problem, its the male refusing to take responsibility for their own actions and acting like an ass in the process.
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the main difference between a dog and man.
-Mark Twain-