The Veiled Women and Qatari Fashion

I promised a blog about what I am wearing in Doha and the veiled woman's explanation.  There is a lot of variation on fashion here - Westerners can get away with a lot, but I haven't seen many in shorts (women or men).  The women generally have 3/4 length sleeved tops, no spaghetti straps, and long skirts or pants.  On the job site, I dress business casual and always have a scarf handy for dust if I am on the job site, which is almost every day.  It hasn't gotten too hot here yet, in fact, the weather has been really lovely and evenings are completely wonderful.

The veiled women are very interesting in their fashion and VARY greatly.  I am including some photos from web sites as it is rude to take their pictures without permission.  I obtained most of my knowledge on the subject from a couple of Arab women in the office and online. 

When women are outside the home, or present with males who are not relatives, their hair will normally be covered, which is in obedience to Mohammed's command that women should cover their "shameful parts".   The shameful parts seem to mean hair, elbows to knees and everything in between, although if someone is wearing a veil or head covering (Hijab - pronounced hi-job) of any type, they are also covered to the wrists and ankles.   The term hijab in Arabic means a ‘screen’ or ‘partition’ but in everyday use, the word hijab has come to mean anything from the general idea of modesty as it pertains to Muslim women, to the actual headscarf that is worn by observing Muslim women as an emblem of their faith. A Muslim woman who dresses modestly and covers her hair is said to “observe hijab” or “practice hijab” and also referred to as a “mohajaba” or “hijabi”.



Some Qatari women wear the hijab further back on their heads (these women wear colored hijabs), others allow a fringe of hair to show; MOST cover their hair completely.  Other Qataris choose to cover their whole face. Even here there is variation; eyes may be showing (and heavily decorated with makeup), or covered with a thin, see-through cloth.   Ironically, I read online that there is debate in the Muslim world over whether covering your face is allowed under Islam, and certainly when women perform the Haj: a pilgrimage that forms one of the five pillars of Islam it is forbidden to cover the face.  It seems to me that the more covered they are, the less colorful - usually all black is the norm.




I have seen young girls wearing this type of thing a lot - but most look to be around 10-12
years old when they do begin to wear it. 

  
 

This photo shows a woman in the traditional Hijab (head covering) with a face veil
and a traditional outer robe called a Thobe.

I don't know for sure, but it seems to me the younger women don't put the face veil on until they are married.

This is the best photo I can find of the Niqab (face veil), but the women here wear the
 hijab with the face veil so you cannot see anything except her eyes.



Abbayah (long modest dress)







Usually the head of the household (father or husband) decides whether or not to cover the face.  I have seen some young women COMPLETELY veiled (head to toe) without eyes showing.  The material of the robes and veiling vary - the older women seem to wear fabric that seems stiff like cotton, but the younger women use much more flowing fabrics that have a small amount of sheerness to them.  There are only two women from the Qatar Foundation who visit our job site and they are completely veiled with only their eyes showing.  The men are instructed not to look them in the eyes at all, which is harder than you think apparently.  If it does happen, the woman apparently just looks away immediately.  I have heard that the women don't mind and fully support wearing it in public.  They don't wear it at home usually at all.  The two women I have talked with at the office wear regular clothing underneath the outer robes (jeans, pants or leggings with short sleeved tops) and are fully supportive of wearing it, but they do get hot and seem uncomfortable sometimes. 

Sorry this go long, but it is an interesting topic!  I will do another blog about the men's clothing some other time.