Dressing In Qatar: A Few Facts

Qatar Traditional Dresses

Qatar is an Islamic country and people here dress up in a traditional way. Qatar’sway of clothing has emerged and witnessed a lot of change over the years, Qataris are very proud for their way of clothing, and conventional clothes are worn proudly on daily basis. Being an Islamic nation, Qatar requires modesty with regards to clothing.

There are a few ways to make sure that expats are respecting the Qatari culture while their stay in Qatar. Make sure that while outside home, wear attire that is respectful of culture. This implies you should not wear anything that is too low-cut and tight. Garments ought to cover you from shoulders to knees. There is no law in regard to the dress code in Qatar yet these rules will guarantee that nobody is offended by your clothing. 

There are many interesting facts about the way Qataris dresses up, 

1.) Thobe:

Qatari man wears thobe that is a long white shirt, paired with loose pants. They also wear ghutra that is a head dress, which comes in white or red color. Qatari men take pride in wearing their thobe and it is always exceptionally clean and perfectly ironed.

2.) Gahfeya:

Young Qatari boys wears an embroidered cap known as gahfeya. 

3.) Abaya:

Females in Qatar wears long black dress known as abaya, it is worn over their normal dress, they also cover their head with Shayla and many times cover their face with burqa.

4.) Djelabia:

Women who are more traditionally connected, wears a dress called djelebia under the abaya.

5.) Official Wear for men:

Suits are not worn in gulf very often, but only during very important business meetings and social events. The typical office wear is a long sleeve shirt, tie and trousers.

6.) Official Wear for women:

Working women can wear dresses, trousers/skirts that is below knees, tops with modest neck line and no less than half sleeves in office.   

What not to wear in Qatar

Qatar has very liberal guidelines as to the clothing rules for expats and while they are not required to dress in traditional clothing, it is prescribed that females should cover their shoulders and knees and should not wear especially tight or revealing garments as a show of respect for Qatari culture. These rules turn out to be considerably more imperative in the Holy  Month of Ramadan and are authorized by special clothes police that makes sure women are covered properly.