Dress in Qatar

Dear All:

Pls take note and action accordingly as advised by ESH.

Dress in Qatar:

With Ramadan coming up there has been an increase in Police activity in relation to 'Public decency' in Qatar:

A young British couple were arrested recently in the car park of the Ramada (Apparently for kissing each other goodnight) by the Police, as they were NOT married they were taken to jail and detained for a couple of days and have been released pending a court case.

A lady (Lebanese) was arrested and fined QR1000 for wearing inappropriate dress in public (Inside a mall) her shoulders / bra strap were showing.

Advice has been issued recently by both the Philippine and American Embassies in Qatar advising all to ensure appropriate clothing is worn in public, government buildings, hospitals etc for both MALE and Female

The Police and LOCALS are more vigilant on the lead in to and during RAMADAN so please dress in a sensible and appropriate manner when you are out and about in public.

If you have family in Qatar please ensure they are aware!

Further advice on 'Acceptable behaviour' during Ramadan will be issued shortly (Aimed at those newcomers to the project/Qatar)

Dress Code for Expats

The Peninsula has reported that Qatar is planning a dress code for visitors and expats. A campaign is due to kick off after the end of the Eid festival, and fliers have been printed urging expats to respect the traditions and cultures of the country.

Qatar has been very liberal regarding clothes in the past. However, some expatriates have been pushing the boundaries further and further - with some women wearing tank tops and very short skirts.

It doesn't need a very deep understanding of the culture here to realize that showing your stomach and thighs here is deeply offensive to locals. Also the relaxing of local dress here amongst some female Qataris - with head coverings slipping further and further back - may also have raised fears that the liberalism of some foreigners is spreading!

‘All men and women should avoid wearing skimpy dress’

Web posted at: 7/24/2009 3:8:12

Source ::: THE PENINSULA

DOHA: As the controversy over women from some nationalities wearing revealing clothes rages, there are some citizens who believe that females from some Arab nationalities cannot be excluded from these categories.

Perhaps, they (some Arab women) wear more revealing clothes than their Western counterparts, is the view of these citizens who call for waging a campaign to create public awareness about following a dress code in the public.

Men, especially those who wear sleeveless undergarments and half pants exposing themselves while in the public, are also a target of those who believe that a strict dress code should be followed by all foreigners in the country to respect local social and religious values and traditions. Here is what some people, including men and women, feel about the issue: Rashid Hassan — Qatari

“The embassies of major manpower exporting countries here should take a cue from the diplomatic mission of the US, which recently released an advisory for US nationals urging them not to wear revealing clothes. The embassies should also make people from their countries here aware of local social and religious traditions and the need to respect them.” “We must also launch an awareness campaign. And in shopping centers, particularly which families frequent, security personnel should be trained and alerted to stop such people who are wearing revealing dresses from entering the premises. “These security personnel should be Arab nationals because only they will be able to help enforce the dress code.” Rakesh Patel — Indian

“We have to respect local social and religious values and traditions. We have come here to work, make some savings and go back to our respective home countries. So it is binding on us that as long as we are here, we must follow the local norms and traditions and not hurt in any way the sentiments of local people.”

“Like the US embassy, the Indian embassy here should also launch an awareness campaign for Indian expatriates on the issue. The embassy of the Philippines has also recently waged a similar campaign. It’s a welcome move. I am all for respecting local values and traditions at any cost.” Wesal Hilmi — Syrian

“I am surprised that some married women are among those who wear revealing clothes. We don’t agree with such people. They have to respect our cultural, social and religious values which are reflected in the way we dress.”

“We have been hearing that a committee (at the government) has been set up which is looking into the issue and it is gearing up to launch an awareness campaign. If it is true it is a welcome development.” Ahmed Sabir — Egyptian

“Arabs and Muslims like to cling to their heritage and culture. It is unfortunate that some foreigners here do not show any respect for our social values and traditions. However, we cannot force them to wear what we would like them to, but we can launch an awareness campaign and raise the issue with them. We can convince them through these campaigns to respect our culture, religious values and traditions.”

“In Ramadan, they do show respect for our values and practices. Likewise, they should be made aware and urged to respect our traditions as regards our dressing habits and the need not to wear revealing clothes in public.” Sherwin — Filipino

“We are here to work. We must respect local people, their social and religious values and traditions.” Vachy — Filipina

“We must follow and encourage what our country’s embassy here is doing urging us to respect local traditions. They should enforce a law in Qatar making a strict dress code in accordance with local traditions, mandatory.”