The sartorial choices of women at the World Cup

On a ledge at Lusail Stadium, Elene stood arms spread behind her holding the Brazil flag. The overhang provides a peek onto the pitch making it a sought-after point for photographs so Elene was among many who moved in there at half-time when Brazil played Cameroon on Friday. And she was not the only one in a body-hugging top and shorts.

Next to where Elene posed, three women sat in abayha and hijab fiddling with phones. Photo taken Elene left arms interlocked with the man who took her picture. The women looked up once at her before returning to their phones.

Was it supposed to be like this? Noor Ahmed thinks it was. “Qatar has been changing over the past six-seven years,” said the journalism student who speaks three languages and has a minor in Turkish.

“We want to be like, say, Dubai and letting people be themselves is important for that,” said Ahmed, a student at Qatar University interning at the Qatar National Convention Centre for the World Cup.

Lily agreed. She trained in hotel management in Kolkata before moving to Dubai to work. She has been here since March working at a serviced apartment for visitors to the World Cup in the tony locality of Al Mansoura. “People wear what they like but it’s been different during the World Cup,” said Lily, who is from Nagaland.

Over the past 17 days, women in shorts and tees, usually of the team they are supporting, have been seen at stadiums, in the metro, at Souk Waqif, the restored market place where during the World Cup the planet’s languages and cultures coalesce, the fan park in Al Bidda and at the Corniche, the bay-hugging promenade. In nine days she had been in Doha, Elene, who is from Manaus, said she didn’t notice being stared at for what she was wearing.

Dorothy Jones, who is from Ottawa, said she read up on what would be appropriate to wear before travelling. “I knew about covering shoulders and wearing dress that dropped to the knee,” she said. “But I see people in hot pants here.” Jones, who looked to be in her 50s, was in a red tee shirt and frayed jeans shorts. Her younger friend Keith too was in shorts and tees, which, going by what has been seen in Doha since the tournament began on November 20, seems to be the default wear for 50% of male tourists.

Jones and Keith spoke of a “wonderful time” following Canada before coming to Ahmad bin Ali Stadium for what turned out to be the last game of Belgium’s golden generation. “You feel so safe and everyone here is so friendly,” she said.

Trevor knew that. “We have a friend working here with whom we are staying and we knew that this is a safe place for tourists,” said Trevor who is 50 and gave only his first name. Trevor’s family comprised wife and two teenaged daughters. Speaking after Saturday’s game in the round of 16 between Netherlands and USA, the man from Ontario said: “We have seen visitors wearing all kinds of things, from the thobe and ghutrah (headgear worn by men in Qatar), to bikinis on Al Wakra beach and shorts and tank tops in West Bay.” At Saturday’s game, everyone in Trevor’s family was in shorts and tee shirts.

Ahmed was in a black abayha and hijab of the same colour. The hijab is not mandatory in Qatar but women and men are expected to dress in a way so as not to offend local sensibilities. “I know how to be comfortable in a hijab,” she said after taking HT through a crash course in traditional women’s wear in “Qatar and the GCC countries”. GCC is the Gulf Cooperation Council comprising Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Bahrain. It is headquartered in Riyadh.

Flipping through her phone Ahmed showed the ‘nashl’, which has heavy embroidery in front and looks like a kaftan, the “naqab”, a face covering usually worn by older women, and “battoulah”, which is a “non-washable” smaller version of the naqab.

Ahmed said she wore “western clothes at home and at private gatherings.” She said FIFA had suggested she wear the unisex light blue full sleeves and dark blue trousers because it would help her work but, “I told them I have shot a documentary in a hijab so it would not be a problem.”

It is different when she is playing the racquet sport padel. Or when she is at the gym. “My current gym trainer in Russian and I had a Ukrainian before that. My padel coaches are from Spain. They wear whatever they are comfortable in when they are at work. I don’t have a problem.”

Like almost all her Qatari friends, Ahmed said she was not comfortable sharing her pictures on social media. “I have had opportunity to walk with my hair flying but it doesn’t make me feel very special,” she said. But pointing to her classmate from Palestine who was working next to her, Ahmed said, “she posts on social media and it’s okay.”