Yes people can be arrested for wearing sleeveless and/or short skirts in Qatar. Its a fact (its in all the tourists guides).
But its also true that (too) many expats do not respect that (unfortunately).
And its also true that the policeman are not really careful about this.
However, it happens that locals call the police to report certain cases.
I also got to hear that sometimes they kick out some girls from Malls for these reasons.
But if in France a women is spotted with a veil in a public place (when the law will be enforced) people may react exactly the same and report to the police or many people won't bother at all.
But in general you cannot say that Qatar is more Liberal than France and vice versa.
Both countries are rather different. Qatar being an Islamic state and France is a laicistic state (with a strong Christian background:-)
Qatarisun is just doing a comparison.
But what you say Dot.com is somehow true also.
Yes people can be arrested for wearing sleeveless and/or short skirts in Qatar. Its a fact (its in all the tourists guides).
But its also true that (too) many expats do not respect that (unfortunately).
And its also true that the policeman are not really careful about this.
However, it happens that locals call the police to report certain cases.
I also got to hear that sometimes they kick out some girls from Malls for these reasons.
But if in France a women is spotted with a veil in a public place (when the law will be enforced) people may react exactly the same and report to the police or many people won't bother at all.
But in general you cannot say that Qatar is more Liberal than France and vice versa.
Both countries are rather different. Qatar being an Islamic state and France is a laicistic state (with a strong Christian background:-)