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Friday, December 10, 2010

Qatari Women

Posted by pearl1003 at 2:47 PM 1 comments

Have you ever wondered why Qatari women cover themselves in black all the time? I often ask myself this question everytime I see them in a rush to wear their abayas when the groom in every wedding will enter the hall to fetch her bride. So I kept reading about Qatari traditions, and well, based from some Qatar websites, I finally found out the anwer to my almost three-year-old question.

Many Qatari women are requested by their husbands to cover their faces either with the face veil, the nikab/niqab, or with the end of their sheilas, the ghishwa, when they get married. The reason for this is that the husband wants to keep his wife's beauty exclusively for him to see, which if you think about it, yes, in a way, it is quite romantic!

The Qatari women wear the nikab and ghishwa before they get married upon the request of their families or because she simply wants to wear it. But not all Qatari women cover their faces. Most Qatari women just wear a sheila (head scarf) and an abaya (thin black coat) but it doesn't mean they are not religious or traditional. In fact most of them are more religious and traditional than the women who are covered from head to toe. There are many Qatari women who wear the full extent of cover because their families are religious or traditional and requested them to do so, but not because the woman herself is particularly religious or traditional.

Many Qatari women would uncover their faces at school, university, and at work, and cover their faces only if they are going to a busy public place, like the mall. But covering the face in Qatar gives women a higher level of respect and protection from men than uncovered women. If they are covered, it means, they are not to be touched, disrespected or even harassed.

TRIVIA: Qatari women have only started wearing the abaya, sheila and nikab in the past two or so decades. It was after the breakout of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 that the Gulf region became more concerned with the practice of religion and Qatari women started to cover up.

In the seventies and early eighties, many Qatari women actually did not practice covering up! Many of them who are now in their forties and fifties recall that they did not cover their hair before and they could go out wearing trousers and knee-length skirts.

If Qatar will remain open to foreign investors especially the US and Europe, then sooner, even the practice of covering up will be affected. Maybe every Qatari women will be free to wear what they want without abayas and sheilas. It will be good for most women now who are liberated but to the those who stick to traditions, this will be a major problem in their families, and their faith in their religion.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Qatar 2022's First Five Stadiums!

Posted by pearl1003 at 12:25 PM 0 comments
This is the ultimate plan for the next World Cup in the year 2022. Qatar won the bidding and this is one of the reasons why. Maybe there was money involved in the winning, but no one knows what really made them win over other countries like US and Australia.

Here is the video of the five stadiums proposed for the World Cup.

Yahoo News: Qatar May Scrap "Work Sponsorship System"

Posted by pearl1003 at 3:04 AM 0 comments

I read from Yahoo News dated November 12, 2010:

DOHA - Qatar is considering ending the oft-criticized sponsorship system, under which employers sponsor foreign workers and have a great deal of control over them, the prime minister said on Thursday.

"Changes have been made to the sponsorship system in Qatar," and the council of ministers is "seriously studying" abolishing the system, Sheikh Hamad told reporters.

"We are studying the issue very carefully to preserve the rights of citizens and foreign workers," he added.

Sponsorship systems for foreign workers exist in most Gulf countries, which employ millions of foreigners, especially from Asia. The system has been strongly criticised by rights groups and likened to modern-day slavery.

In some cases, employers hold workers' passports and can deny them permission to change jobs.

Bahrain abolished the system in 2009, and Kuwait reportedly plans to do so by February.

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Wow! With this news, I'm glad that there are good souls finally concerned about the rights of OFWs here in Qatar. I am not sure about its status right now, but I was informed that this sponsorship system was finally abolished just recently. I can not confirmed it to everyone yet but hearing that the problems between employees and employers have been solved, it's a good news for us, right?

If this poor system is over, I am one of the happiest workers here abroad. Finally, the freedom to hold your own passport and the right to choose where you really want to work is here! Then, all of the injustices experienced in our company will be over too. We don't have to feel so sad anymore and upset with what is going on in the studio. How i wish it's easy to say now that "the game is finally over" and "we won!". Well, I hope that a few days from now, we can all rejoice for achieving the long-awaited freedom! Oh Lord, please let this suffering end and grant us the happy life we deserve.

To the Qatar OFWs, don't lose hope. Everything will be okay.

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