The Lifted Veil

For the benefit of my western readers, here is an example of traditional dress for women here in the Gulf. The garment covering the body is an abaya. It is loose, opaque, and is worn over a woman’s regular clothing. The garment covering the head is a hijab, while the portion covering the face is a niqab (actually the niqab covers the head too, and is worn over the hijab). Many niqabs have two veils, one is usually thrown back over the hijab, revealing the eyes. This second veil can, alternatively, be brought down over the first veil, covering the eyes like a burqa.

The overwhelming majority of Qatari women wear this, and also a minority of Arab, Asian and western ex-pats. In more secluded (yet still public) settings, many women dispense with the niqab. At a lecture for instance, or in a professional setting, you are likely to see some Qatari faces. Also at the malls, young women will frequently forego the niqab.

The odd thing about traditional dress (for women) is that you can be utterly anonymous while wearing it. Occasionally women will recognize each other if there is something distinctive about their abayas, or they can recognize each other by their children. Cell phones have in excess of 100% market penetration here among Qataris, and this is part of the reason… you couldn’t find anyone otherwise! Incidentally, wearing hijab, an abaya, or niqab is not a declaration of faith. It is perfectly acceptable for a non-muslim woman to wear this for the sake of modesty, if she chooses, and many do when they want go unnoticed.

Traditional dress for males consists of a thobe, elsewhere called a jilbab or jalabiyya. It’s a long-sleeved white garment reaching to few centimeters above the ankle. This is worn over white pants and a white T-shirt. Headgear is a gutra, a white or red-checkered cloth, topped with an aqal or ring to keep it in place on the head. Nearly all Qatari men dress traditionally, I’ve rarely seen them wear anything else.

The garments for both sexes are tailor made, and almost always polyester. I can’t figure this part out…except maybe that it’s an oil country? Support the Qatari economy by wearing petrol-product clothing? Polyester is hot, …stifling hot! It doesn’t “breathe”. Virtually no tailors here who specialize in men’s thobes carry natural fabrics. They will make one for you if you bring them the material though. The polyester is easy to clean, I’ll give it that, and it has a sheen to it that makes it appear a bit nicer than linen or cotton. On the other hand, most folks wouldn’t last an hour in the desert in summer wearing polyester (Qataris don’t go to the desert in summer, at least not until evening).

Not long after I arrived here I had a couple of thobes made. They are functional, but I thought that I could do better. I sat down and designed a garment that would incorporate all of the improvements that I wanted to see in the thobe. It would be made of light cotton, more pockets, cuts up the legs so it won’t ride up when seated or when mounted on horseback. It would come down just below the knee so it won’t get caught in things, and won’t trip the wearer when climbing stairs. I was excited, I was convinced I was onto something! I examined my design further and realized that I had just designed salwar khamis… traditional Indo-Pakistani dress. A billion minds greater than mine had apparently walked that road before! Oh well, it’s still a great design, even if it has been done already.