Dating in Qatar (advice for expat women)

Dating is one of the few areas of Qatar life where the odds heavily favour western expat women.

As previously discussed, women are a minority in Qatar, comprising just 25% of the total population. But when you subtract all the local women, maids, and those who have already been promised to someone in an arranged marriage, the real figure is more like one single woman for every nine guys.

In other words, available women are a rare commodity in Qatar. That means they’re automatically more attractive and more in-demand. So if you’re a solid 7 back home, you’ll instantly be an 8 or 9 out here. Congratulations, you’re now officially ‘hot’.

…And that means plenty of unwanted attention.

Getting hit-on and sexually harassed by guys is just a fact of life for western women. This comes from every direction and includes expats, foreign athletes, publicly masturbating construction workers and local Qataris.

That last segment is especially persistent. Qataris are known to follow women home in their cars, approach them at the shops, on the street and anywhere else you can think of.

Attend any nightclub in Qatar and you’ll find the place filled with local guys popping bottles at private tables and inviting women to join them. Technically, they’re not supposed to be there (because sex and alcohol, etc.), but as long as they don’t wear a thobe everyone turns a blind eye.

And here’s where it gets ugly.

There is a perception in parts of the Gulf that western women are either hookers or easy— because obviously a bikini and a Tinder profile makes you a prostitute.

That sort of thinking is a minefield that we’re not going to get into here. Suffice to say, western women tend to have more liberal views regarding love, romance, and dating than your typical local.

Qatari women are often envious of this freedom, while local men may misinterpret it as something else entirely. So yeah, you might get plenty of attention, but most of it will be unwanted.

Still, there is a certain allure to living in a foreign country and dating a local. A whirlwind romance with a rich and handsome Arab is a much better story than dating the British guy who works for a petroleum company. Unfortunately, 90% of the locals that approach you will do so because they think you’re an easy lay they can keep on the side while they await their arranged marriage.

So, that leaves random expat bros and imported athletes who will cheat on you before heading home in six months time. Which means you’re pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

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