Back in India, Muslim women wear a variety of colours and styles of the traditional salwar kameez, just like the rest of the women. But because they add a headscarf and dress in loose garments, with a long shawl draped over themselves, they appear distinct and are recognized as Muslim women. In Qatar, where I presently reside in however, I find most practicing Muslim women are increasingly giving up their country’s traditional dress code to adopt the Gulf-style black/plain abaya and the fitted niqab, for a variety of reasons including convenience, comfort, ‘fitting in’, being more cautious about one’s appearance and so on. While I do wear abayas, I am not comfortable in using them each time I step out of the house. I’d like to wear more colours (not just black or plain) and different but modestly-styled clothing which meet the conditions of the Islamic hijab but I am not sure if we can dress like this in a mixed community. Please confirm. (FYI, while majority of women wear abayas, there are many others who dress in other clothing such as long, loose skirts and blouses, gowns, shalwar-kameez and so on in public)