Gender and the Night Scene in Qatar

Public partying in Qatar is a subculture of its own. Partying for locals of Doha is only available for males, and even at that it’s very hushed. What I mean by public partying is, for example, going to a concert and/or going to a club. What I mean by subculture is a group of people who form their own culture within the larger culture.

In Doha, males form their own culture for partying by excluding the females. For this post, I did a case study based on Sean Paul’s concert on the 29^th of March, a Friday. My plan originally was to go with two Qatari friends, a male and a female, a Sudanese girl, and an American/Egyptian girl, my sister. When we got there we were all able to get in except the Qatari female. We talked to the security, and they said that Qatari females aren't allowed there. When I asked why, they avoided my question by saying it’s the rules. Both the Qatari male and female left the concert. I decided to ask more about it and figured that Qatari females aren’t allowed to clubs or any place that might serve alcohol. 

When thinking about it, one would figure that this is the norm here because it’s an Arab, religious country. However, this poses the question of why are the males allowed to “party” publicly and the females are not? When I asked a Qatari female about this, she said –rather sarcastically- “People are afraid that girls would drink and do stupid stuff like get themselves pregnant. For guys there’s no evidence, except a bad hangover. It’s culturally accepted for guys although it’s frowned upon.”

I like thinking of myself as feminist, very pro women’s rights. As described in class, the feminism social movements aim at “establishing and defining equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.” Although, I’m not attempting to discuss the idea of Qatari women consuming alcohol, I’m discussing the fact that they aren't allowed to get into a public space because of alcohol’s presence, something that doesn't hinder a Qatari male’s life. Doesn't seem very equal, does it?

The Convoluted Concept of Reservation

What's the one thing that  pertains in every part of the world  for decades and centuries long and changes form with time? It would be hard to dispute that this dangerously prevalent "thing" is stratification. We are all too familiar with stratification based on factors such as economic capacity, class into which one is born etc., so much so that the statement " All men are created equal" never seemed more obsolete. Even if they were, the present state of the world would ensure that they aren't treated as equals. As a consequence, we constantly find ourselves in pursuit of a social mobility, moving up the ranks to the superior, more dominant class. What intrigues me is how this idea of an existing social inequality, eventually leads to a desire to move up the social ranks has impacted several important factors; in particular, education.


The Indian higher education system has always been known to be akin to a rigorous rat race, where only the best of the best survive the onslaught of the many examinations thrown at them. With a system like this, anyone would expect to churn out high-achieving candidates year after year. Yet, what it doesn't take into account is the disparity in access to basic education for students. A significant portion of India's student population even today; either reside in downtrodden areas that have been overlooked or are financially incapable of granting themselves a good education, either due to monetary limitations or caste-based discrimination. Thus,  they might not just be spending nights under lamps  preparing for their exams, they might also have to take up odd jobs to make their ends meet. How about the wealthy, affluent kids then? They get to go to the best schools, get tutored in addition to regular schooling; can afford to buy more books and also have resources such as the internet to enhance their chances of making it big. Totally unfair right?


Reservation is the solution that the government proposed  to quell this conflict between the privileged and the under-privileged students. In other words, it is that missing link in the system that would finally even the field.  The following table reflects the typical caste-based reservation profile for entry into institutions :

SC and SC Converts to Buddhism	13.0%
STs	7.0%
Vimukta Jati	3.0%
Nomadic Tribes (NTI)	2.5%
Nomadic Tribes (NT2)	3.5%
Nomadic Tribes (NT3)	2.0%
OBC(Other Backward Castes)	19.0%
Total	50.0%

What this table essentially represents is an opportunity for students from the repressed groups to resume their career aspirations by earning a college degree. So, while this move by the government alleviates the issues faced by these students, it reduces the chances of those that do not belong to those groups. A direct consequence of this stand taken by the government has been insane minimum requirements for students who aren't guarded by reservation. So a student not from one of the groups listed above would have to get a score of around 10-20% better than a student who was from those groups, to be admitted to the same university, for the same program! Is this not unfair to the students from the latter category?



The ideal question to ask is how one would deal with a double edged sword like the reservation policy being implemented at present, in Indian education. Amidst all of the debate regarding this issue it is quite obvious that the central aim of improving education has been ignored. If for once, as suggested in the controversial movie "Arakshan" which translates to reservation; authorities looked at ways to improve the standards of education for the less fortunate students, the issue of unequal resources could be dealt with and so would the issue of unfairness. Be it by establishing remedial coaching centers, or providing cheaper computers to these students, the Indian education system needs to be rethought and planned with the best interests' of both groups of students in mind.


Here is a video of a debate involving the cast of Arakshan that explains the reservation system in Indian education  in a nutshell :

Here are some articles describing different opinions' on the same :

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/08/16/economics-journal-dont-scrap-reservation-improve-education/

 http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/India-reservation.asp

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ncrschool2012-rte-topstories/What-s-so-bad-about-reservations/Article1-922892.aspx

Differences in cultural sexism

In Qatar, the locals can be categorized in practicing a recognized common ethnicity: for example, they share similar religious beliefs, the Arabic language, the style of clothing among many other things. In the Middle East some aspects of this ethnicity are shared, especially the language and religious beliefs. Many of the similarities between Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries are dissolving and forgotten as Qatar becomes more open to Western countries. Assimilation happens in Qatar because of this openness to the Western world, which involves exchanging cultures, beliefs and blending, thus forming the new Qatar into a new cultural system.

Rights of the genders are a debatable issue. In the earlier days, men and women were having different rights in the Gulf region, which resulted in the segregation of the sexes. In the 20th century, with modernization, Qatar witnessed a social mobility, which enabled both the genders to begin to have similar rights and were considered equal. Women in Qatar now have the same rights as men, in relation to work, vote, study, and drive. However, there are still some inequalities between male and female in the Arab world. In Qatari culture the men are responsible and are the ones who take control in hard situations. Also, men having more freedom: go out and stay up late without having to give excuses; while, women having less freedom, have to ask permission if they would do anything.

Clothing is another area that is more controversial for women than for men. Actually, the Qur’an (the Holy book of the Muslims) says the genders are equal and does not require women to cover their faces. Islam does not promote sexism (Parker, par.2). However, interpretations of Islam differ on the clothing of women, especially concerning the hijab. For example, when I went to Saudi Arabia four years ago, I went to some shopping mall, and I was shocked that everyone was looking at me. Finally, one woman came to me and said, “Cover your face!” I was wearing an Abaya and head covering (Shela) because in my Qatari culture it is optional if you wear face covering (Niqab) or not, but I was crossing their cultural boundaries by not wearing the Niqab, so I felt awkward and suspicious. As a result, I began to overgeneralize, and to assume that all of the Saudi society was like that. I became prejudiced. On the other hand, they considered me deviant because I was violating their cultural expectations.

Here’s one of my personal experiences of the deviation of the ethnicity among the various countries in the Gulf region itself. My relatives who live in Saudi Arabia were wearing the black cloves; head Abaya (a one-piece Abaya that covers the head), and Niqab. They are different, and their culture and gender expectations are different as well. There are huge differences between our freedom and theirs. Saudi girls are supposed to cover their hair and face in early age, where as in Qatar it is optional if you cover them or not. When my relatives came to visit me in Qatar, despite being knowledgeable that women here were allowed to drive, they were shocked because they didn’t realize that many women actually drive. Also, they were impressed by seeing my colored designed Abayas. In their point of view, it is against their culture to wear designed Abayas. One of them told me that it is not good to wear them, because they will be considered attractive to men, but mine was loose and it covered my body, and I didn’t see anything wrong with my Abaya. They also go to single-sex schools and gender-segregated work places. Their culture segregates the sexes, and women don’t have a chance or choice for driving because it is against their government law.

I think the change there will be really hard because people are entrenched in their culture, religious interpretations, and gender expectations. Women there bound themselves from the fear of the society and its pressures. Here are some of the instances where cultural sexism is witnessed. Although the influence of social mobility is embraced in some countries, with time, there are many windows that still need to be created and opened in the more conservative countries, especially in the Gulf.



Works Cited:
Parker, Kim. “Women, Islam, and hijab: Emory university. Fall 1996. Web 30 Nov. 2011.