Qatari clothing

A Qatari family wearing customary clothing

Qatari clothing is similar to other Persian Gulf countries, typically consisting of a ghutra, agal, and thawb for men, and an abaya and shayla for women. A face veil known as a burqa is also sometimes worn by women.

Men's clothing

Qatari men wear thawbs (a long white shirt) over loose pants. Aside from protecting the wearer against the dangers of the sun, the thawb also serves as a symbol of affiliation. In previous decades, different types of thawbs were used depending on the occasion, though this is seldom the case in present-day. For instance, the thawb al-nashal is considered the grandest and most ornamental type and was used for celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, and family gatherings. Long strips embroidered with beads run down the length of the thawb al-nashal. It is usually black but can come in colors such as blue and red.

The thawb is the piece of garment almost exclusively worn during the summer, but during the cooler months men may opt to wear other traditional dresses such as the al-shadd, al-daqlah, al-sidairi, al-bisht and al-dafa, though these are less common than in previous decades.

They also wear a loose headdress, a ghutra, which comes in white or red, which is secured by a black rope known as an agal.

Bisht

Members of Qatar's ruling family and government officials wearing the bisht over their thawbs during a football tournament

The bisht is a flowing cloak worn over a thawb for celebrations and special occasions. The word "bisht" is of Persian origin, derived from "bosht" meaning "behind," referencing the garment's function of covering the back. There are two main types based on thickness and seasonality: the thin, lightweight bisht for summer and the thick bisht for winter. Unlike other forms of traditional men's clothing aside from the thawb, the bisht has remained relatively steady in its popularity in Qatar. Qatari-crafted bishts are known especially for their softness. A bisht can last its wearer up to 30 years.

The craft of bisht-making, performed by the elhayek (bisht maker), is an artistic skill involving the use of various colors such as white, black, red, brown, and off-white. Bishts are traditionally made from various wools, including goat and camel, usually imported from surrounding countries. The embroidery utilizes silk threads, gold and silver plated threads, and other embellishments. The crafting process involves specialized tools like hammers, needles of various sizes, and a measuring instrument known as el'fetya.

The bisht has distinct components like sleeves (el'jem), inner lining (el'qtan), and el'khabena, which is knitting that adjusts the bisht's length. Types of bisht embroidery include:

• Elhei'la: Triangle- or square-shaped embroidery using zari yarn.
• El'brouj: Final embroidery along the top sides and back, forming an attractive pattern.
• Halazuni: Spiral knitting between el'terjeib and el'heila.
• El'terjeib: Parallel threads of zari yarn and cotton on the bisht's top.
• Lam'toun: Embroidery along the hand from the shoulder to the palm.
• Darboujaah: A combination of el'mekser, el'heeli, elbrouj, and el'k'taen.
• El'mekser: Uses zari yarn and el-breesem in bisht crafting.

Among the most well-known types of bisht are the combed bisht, a haute couture bisht with intricate embroidery resembling comb lines, adorned with gold, silver, and vibrant lines, the Najafi bisht, and the el'baraqa bisht, which is more historically common.

Women's clothing

Qatari women generally wear customary dresses that include the black colored body covering known as the abaya together with the black scarf used for covering their heads known as the shayla. A burqa is sometimes worn to conceal their face. It is thought that Qatari women began using face masks in the 19th century amid substantial immigration. As they had no practical ways of concealing their faces from foreigners, they began wearing the same face mask as their Persian counterparts.

Girl's clothing

Young girl in traditional attire

As Qatari girls transition into puberty, their clothing undergoes significant changes to align with cultural norms of modesty and adulthood. Around the age of twelve, girls begin to wear the al-bukhnaq, a traditional head and chest covering, which serves both as a physical protector and a societal signal that they have reached adulthood. In Bedouin areas, girls often start wearing a burqa around the age of eleven, which covers their faces except for the eyes, reinforcing strict cultural expectations of decency. These garments are not just practical but deeply symbolic. The al-bukhnaq is typically made of black cloth, sometimes adorned with gold embroidery, and extends to cover the back down to the knees. The sleeves are typically designed with local motifs and landscapes. The burqa varies in length and style depending on the tribe but generally serves to conceal the girl's face from public view.

Young girls now enjoy greater freedom in choosing their attire than in the pre-oil era, often incorporating modern dresses and accessories into their wardrobes. While the abaya— a long, flowing black robe— remains a staple of female attire, its designs have been influenced by global fashion trends, incorporating styles and fabrics from international fashion houses.

Alongside changes in clothing, the use of beauty accessories also marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. Traditionally, young girls had limited access to beauty products like perfumes, Kohl eyeliner, which was used at night for its healing properties and during the day for beauty, and henna. These were reserved for special occasions such as religious festivals and were closely monitored by their mothers to ensure compliance with cultural expectations. However, contemporary practices have relaxed these restrictions significantly. Modern Qatari girls now use a variety of beauty products regularly, including European perfumes and a wide range of cosmetics, reflecting modernization within Qatari society.

Jewelry

Jewelry, typically gold-adorned, is very commonly used by Qatari women during special occasions such as weddings. Other pieces of jewelry are designed to be used daily at home. Most jewelry worn by Qatari women is handmade, even after the rise in popularity of more cost-efficient manufactured jewelry.

Earrings are standard pieces of jewelry seen, varying in size from 10 cm to several millimeters. A widespread practice involves affixing a short chain, called dalayah, to the earring with a pearl or precious gem attached to the bottom of the chain. Necklaces vary in length, with some being waist-length and others extending only to the top of the neck. Some are highly ornamental, with a pearl attached to the chain called maarah, while others use only simple beads. Perhaps the most common piece of jewelry is the mdhaed, or fine bracelets. More than one is typically worn, sometimes numbering to over a dozen. Other types of bracelets exist, the miltafah being two plaited cables, while others consist only of colored beads, with the occasional golden one. Rings are often worn multiple at a time, with a popular trend being to connect four rings, each to be worn on their corresponding finger, together with a chain, which may also be attached to the woman's bracelets, if worn. During certain occasions such as Garangao, young girls and women would wear a cap with golden chains and trinkets adjoined to it, sometimes extending down to shoulder-length.

Clothing restrictions

Clothing laws punish and forbid wearing revealing or indecent clothes. A government body enforces the dressing-code law called "Al-Adheed". In 2012, a Qatari NGO organized a campaign of "public decency" after they deemed the government to be too lax in monitoring the wearing of revealing clothes, defining the latter as "not covering shoulders and knees, tight or transparent clothes". The campaign targets foreigners who constitute the majority of Qatar's population.