Dating in Qatar (advice for expat men)

If you’re arriving in Doha from a typical western background, your interaction with veiled women will almost certainly be limited. So finding yourself attracted to a Qatari woman in an abaya can come as a shock.

One minute you’re being introduced around the new office, being mindful not to offer your hand to women unless they do so first, and then you meet her…

Now obviously this comes down to personal preference, but there’s a certain type of Qatari woman with a darker skin tone, more angular features and Cleopatra-style eyes that’s impossibly beautiful. And totally unavailable…

There are several reasons why it’s never going to happen and they breakdown like this:

1. Despite its modern façade, Qatari is still a deeply religious and traditional society. Arranged marriages are still the norm, and until recently marrying one’s cousin wasn’t considered weird or unhealthy. Basically, Qatari women are reserved for Qatari men.

2. Due to the above, Qatari women don’t date. They certainly don’t date westerners. And they super especially don’t date infidel westerners. Getting involved with a foreign man would cause a huge family scandal and seriously impact a women’s marriage potential. Is your ass worth the hassle? The answer is almost certainly ‘no’.

3. Whoever the girl ends up with will almost certainly have more money than you, simply on the basis of them being Qatari.

4. You’re not Muslim. And therefore you’re going to hell. Religion might not play a role in your life, but it’s kind of a super heavy deal in Qatar.

5. A million other reasons including the reaction of friends, society, the inability to go anywhere together and basically ‘reasons’.

Despite all of the above, it’s not unheard of for Qatari Women to secretly date westerners. And the key word here is ‘secretly’.

You can find more tips on living and working in Qatar in my book — God Willing: How to survive expat life in Qatar.