SPEAKING FROM BEHIND THE VEIL: Khaleeji Women’s Political and Social Participation through Social Media
Abstract
With the infiltration of information technology in Arab households a unique
phenomenon has been observed in the recent years. Women have
learned that through the use of information technology for participating in
social networks they can become socially and politically active while
staying within the boundaries of their household. Facebook and Twitter
have come out as two of the most often used social networking
applications. Through the use of social media Khaleeji women have also
succeeded in increasing awareness about their rights, and the need to
bring about certain social and political changes. This study employs a
qualitative research approach to exploring the research questions. Two
data gathering methods are used: a) in-depth personal interviews, and b)
sample of social media content. The data is qualitatively analyzed. The
method of qualitative analysis is also utilized to answer the research
questions. The study has relevance to the fields of mass communication,
social change, use of information technology, and social demographics in
the GCC region. This study is unique in the sense that for the first time the
role of Twitter in bringing about social and political change by Khaleeji
women has been explored within the dimensions of academic research.
DOI/handle
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/3890Collections
- Gulf Studies [63 items ]