Women Empowerment In Qatar

Abstract

This thesis examines the question of empowerment of Qatari women from multidimensional perspectives and go beyond merely employment and access to economic resources. Qatar is a welfare state that can and does provide its citizens with many privileges. The purpose of this study is to examine a unique case of women empowerment in the context of a welfare state moving from a traditional society to a modern one. What distinguishes this study is that it adopts two approaches; the first is the standpoint theory approach, which draws on Qatari employed women’s lived experience, while the second is critiques the Qatari state’s approach to empowerment in order to articulate a more comprehensive view of the issue. Since the case of Qatar is a unique one, it was found most appropriate to allow Qatari women to define the themes for a study on their empowerment. To fulfill the standpoint theory approach requirements, semi-structured in-depth interviews were used. Twenty Qatari employed women were interviewed about their work experiences and how it influenced their lives. The results were discussed in relations to the critique of structural empowerment through secondary sources. The discussion is presented through general themes in one chapter and personal-experience oriented themes in the second chapter. The results showed that employment did not resolve for women many the social and legal issues they face.