Can We Pause the Norms?

Can we ever say that it is “fine” to break the rules once a year in Doha? Probably yes. On the 18th of December, a maseera takes place annually in Doha, as a celebration to Qatar National Day. A maseera is a name given to the celebration of any big national event, and is usually held alongside the Corniche of Doha. Even though there are very strict rules and regulations regarding traffic violation, this day is considered open to the public. People would do what they normally wouldn’t do on the streets as it deviates away from the norms.



Let’s go back to last year’s maseera. A bunch of friends and I decided that we would actually join the people, and see for ourselves how the place looked like. So we all covered up very well, barely showing our faces, since you know, Qatar is a very small country, and people tend to talk a lot. The whole place around the corniche was decorated with the Qatari flag, representing nationalism.



There were those that showed some level of conformity when it came to road behavior, and others that completely deviated away from it. For instance, after picking up one of the girls, the driver forgot to lock the car doors. While we were stuck in the maseera celebrating inside the car, a random guy wearing a mask runs in the middle of the road heading towards our car, and just opens the door. This is an example of a deviated behavior, and obviously he got very negative sanctions from us. Some were screaming inside the car, and others represented an informal sanction; they just laughed. We did not expect such a behavior since it normally wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for the maseera.



Along with the car shows, some men decided that they would stop their car in the middle of the road, or have someone in the driver’s seat, put their music up loud, and start dancing in front of the car. To anyone, that wouldn’t seem as though it is following a culture’s norm. However, they got informal sanctions from the people around them, and they started laughing. They also got positive sanctions from the people, some even were video taping it. The only reason this is allowed is because this day is open to everyone, and they would usually not get violated for such acts, unless it is more than just a folkway.