Battoola

The batoolah is a cover for a woman’s face and is made from a thick shiny material, or sometimes leather. This one is made from a type of woven cotton (calico) covered in blue dye (indigo), which was then polished to a golden shine.

In Qatar the batoolah is typically rectangular in shape, approximately 16 cm by 8 cm and covers the forehead, nose and chin with two holes for the eyes. It is lined with a light cotton fabric so as not to irritate the skin and has strings on both sides to tie it around the head. Some versions were longer and hung below the chin, and some contained a 2 cm fold in the center where a thin vertical piece of wood was placed to lift it from the face to give room for breathing. It was not usually taken off except to sleep, pray, and at meals when no strange men were present. These days only older women wear the batoolah.