World Cup fashion trend: a headscarf as a sign of rapprochement?

The bustling Souq Waqif attracts fans and onlookers like no other place in Doha these days. A replica marketplace consisting of old mud buildings with narrow streets and tunnels. There is all sorts of things to buy – whether jewellery, carpets, slippers, painted portraits of the Emir of Qatar or budgerigars in golden cages. But one World Cup souvenir is particularly popular these days: the Ghutra headgear, which is traditional in Qatar.

“It feels great,” says Vincent, who studies in the US but is actually from China. He points to the white cloth on his head, which is held together by a cord and hangs down the back of his neck. “You can get it on every corner here.” Vincent and his friend paid 45 riyals each for it from a dealer in the Souq Waqif, the equivalent of around 12 euros. And they’re not the only ones who are also optically completely devoted to the World Cup and host Qatar.

Best seller in Moroccan colors

The Arab Ghutra is everywhere. It is emblazoned on the heads of red-faced Englishmen and thus offers at least some protection from the sun, haunts FIFA’s advertising campaigns as the World Cup mascot “La’eeb” and even some Mexicans have traded in their famous sombreros. The specimens in the colors of Argentina, optionally decorated with Messi faces, are also particularly popular.

“There’s a lot of interest from Latin American fans,” says Asfundyar from Pakistan. He works in one of the Ghutra Mundo shops that sell headscarves in the colors of all World Cup participating countries. There are six of them in Qatar’s capital, Doha, mostly in larger malls or near subway stations. The scarves in the colors of Morocco, Saudi Arabia and, surprisingly, Ecuador are absolute top sellers, reports Asfundyar. At the start of the tournament, they were even sold out at times and they had to be refilled quickly: “They went over the counter like hotcakes.”

National dress in the Gulf States

The idea of ​​making the Ghutra a World Cup souvenir came from four Qatari businessmen, who also started an online business. That’s why you have to pay a little more in the official Ghutra Mundo shops than elsewhere, around 25 euros. For the knockout round, however, there is a small discount for countries that have already been eliminated. “Clever, isn’t it?” Asfundyar praises the business idea. It is also about making the many fans familiar with their own culture. Kadir from Kuwait is still looking for a gift and buys an Iran-style ghutra. Two other visitors in the shop are still hesitant. If you want, you can get the headscarf professionally folded and put on.

In the Gulf States, the ghutra is usually worn with a black cord and the kandura, an ironed white shirt that reaches almost to the ground. Arabic dress codes for men exist in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, but each country has its own idiosyncrasies.

It’s all about the details, colors matter too. Saudis, for example, wear a red and white checkered scarf, while the Qataris wear it as a pristine white and fold it in a special shape that narrows over the forehead and resembles a cobra at the top of the head. For many World Cup tourists, the differences can hardly be made out, but residents from the Gulf States recognize each other at first glance.

The Ghutra as a social media trend

“It has tradition. The white color protects against the heat and sun,” explains Issa, who comes from Qatar. He strolls through the Souq Waqif with two friends in tow. As is customary, Issa wears simple leather sandals with her ghutra and kandara shirt.

The Ghutra became famous in the 1980s through the later President of the Palestinian Autonomous Regions, Yasser Arafat, who wore it as a trademark. It was also politically charged by the chairman of the Palestinian freedom movement and became an international symbol of the freedom struggle. In the Gulf States, on the other hand, the dress code is apolitical.

“I’ve been wearing them since I’ve been here. All the time, actually,” says Mark from Senegal, wearing the ghutra in green, yellow and red – the colors of Senegal. “Sometimes I’m greeted and a Katari comes and straightens her because she’s slipped. That’s what they do here,” he says. A number of videos are circulating on social media: locals holding hands with fans who are standing still and patiently enduring the ceremony.

Cultural appropriation or international understanding?

The wearing of jewelry, fashion or costumes based on stereotypes, for example, is viewed very critically in Europe or North America, especially if the wearer does not belong to the relevant ethnic group. Silly World Cup tourists who make fun of it and ridicule traditional clothing? Most fans can’t do anything with the accusation of cultural appropriation. “That’s what a World Cup is about,” says Mark. “People from all different countries come for football, but they also get to know each other better.”

Issa from Qatar also finds positive words. Like many Qataris, he is said to be proud: “It’s a good thing. It represents our culture. We love the many different colors of the fans.” However, the color combination black, red and gold is less well received at this World Cup. In the Ghutra Mundo shop she is a slow seller, says Asfundyar: “Germany sells worse than any other nation.”