What do Land cruisers represent in Qatar ?

Like in every other country in the world, here in Qatar the social stratification is very evident. The difference between Qatar and other countries however, is that Qatar has one of the highest rates of cultural diversity. So the social stratification here is mostly based on ethnicity. Although the following not 100% accurate, this is basically what each social class contains: First we have the upper classmen, the elite Qatari’s, then we have the westerners that take place at about upper/middle class, then a variety of Arabs/middle easterners that are mostly middle classmen, and finally we have the Asians and southeast Asians that are working/lower class.

From all the Hollywood movies we watch, we notice that the elite in every country have a few traits, things that make them all relate to one another. For example, in the west the elite are known to visit the opera regularly, and play golf. This concept is known as conspicuous leisure. Conspicuous leisure is basically activities done to show one’s social status. Things like the opera and golf are relatively expensive, so the wealthy/elite take place in such things for the sake of showing their social status to the world, and establishing their high standards. Similarly, something like that exists here in Doha, Qatar. The term conspicuous consumption applies more in this situation however. Conspicuous consumption is basically buying really expensive things and showing them off to establish your high standing in society. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about an example of conspicuous consumption in Qatar is a Land Cruiser.

The Land Cruiser is the number one item that can tell you that this person is an elite Qatari. The Land cruiser to the Qatari’s is a thing that highlights their social class. Social class is usually based on occupation and education. But here it's mostly wealth inherited from family members, which leads to social class inherited from family members. Once a Qatari is born into a wealthy family, their social class has already been established. Owning a Land Cruiser is a symbol of wealth and high social standards. While driving around the streets of Doha, I can literally see the power one has driving a Land Cruiser. People know that these Land Cruisers represent wealth and power, and they know not to mess with them. It’s like owning one puts you in an “elite club”, and the members of this “club” distinguish you from the rest of the population once they know you’re a Cruiser owner.

The interesting thing I’ve recently noticed is that others are buying Land Cruisers, and that it’s not just the Qatari’s anymore. Since the Qatari’s aren’t the only wealthy people in this country, the “Land Cruiser club” grew. I think that makes the original Land Cruiser owners unhappy, because there’s no longer a “Qatari Only” policy for entering this club. Originally when you see a Land Cruiser you immediately know its owners are Qatari; they liked it that way, it defined them. But now, it’s become more common among the mixed ethnicities of upperclassmen. So what the Qatari's started doing to make sure they still stand out, is spend more money on their Cruisers in an obvious way that highlights the difference between them and the new “foreign” Cruiser owners. They tint their windows, or buy a really expensive and short license plate, or “pimp” their cars with paint and colors in a way that really stands out. Their cruisers mean a lot more than just a car; to them, it represents where they stand in this Qatari society, and what kind of treatment they get because of this high social standing.

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

Criticism Through Humor

Once again, Sociology gives me a chance to look at our society and culture from a different perspective. However, this time I will base my sociological analysis on Maz Jobrani’s comedy show that took place at the W hotel this Saturday.
In class, we discussed cultural criminology as a way to explore the ways in which “otherness” is socially constructed in films. We also learnt that the presence of outgroups create solidarity amongst ingroups such as Middle Easterners. This is where the main stereotype of Arabs and Muslims are introduced. They have been stereotyped as the “other” throughput history and still are by today. By doing so, the stereotypes of Middle Easterners have played a huge role on forming the public sense of whom and what is the “other” to the West.



Cinematic stereotype images of Arabs are a response to political and social events. However, it is also present within the notion of humor and comics. Throughout history, comics have been a reflection of social, political and cultural attitudes we have within our communities. Through humor, the viewing audience gets to accept racial stereotypes. This is because humor rarely offends the audience, as it is addressed in an informal, inoffensive, funny and harmless way.

Maz Jobrani is an Iranian-American stand-up comedian, whom bases most of his racial and satirical comics on the Arabs, Asians and Persians in the Middle East. For instance, at one point, on the behalf of all Iranians, he thanked one of the Pakistani audiences for how Pakistan’s problems have taken over the news industry and changed the focus of the news from Iran to Pakistan. At another point of the show, Jobrani criticized England’s colonial power in the Middle East. This was when he said, “you can’t let them in, and they’ll take over. They did it to India. Hello, we own it now.” Again, we get to see how Jobrani tackles political and social stereotypes by using humor. By doing so, he allows the audience to acknowledge the situations and stereotypes of the certain group of race, and laugh at the way they are understood by the majority. This could possibly be where the concept of counter culture comes in. By counter culture, I mean the group of people whose values and norms are at odds with the social mainstream.




Most stereotypes are a direct reflection to political events, such as 9/11 and the political state the Middle East is in at the moment. We could possibly say that stereotypes in the entertainment sector are all part of cultural fear. By cultural fear, I mean the exaggerated threats made through the media and the public’s mind that are designed to achieve political goals. I feel like nearly everything in sociology goes back to Karl Marx’s famous quote, “the ruling ideas of any epoch are the ideas of the ruling class because they control the mental means of production.” In other words, the elite use mass media and social events to maintain this social stratification. In this case, white people have been the elite amongst other races.

Face - a reflection of beauty or deviance

  What is your face to you?  Is it a source of beauty or just reflection of who you are? A face not only distinguishes you from others but it also portrays your social identity. Seeing a person’s face you can tell which age group or gender it belongs, whether he/she resembles her mother or father. A person’s face can tell you whether the person is Asian, Black or White. A certain kind of social stratification is done in societies based on person’s appearance. A person’s personality and how he/she has been brought up in society can be easily told by by viewing their looks. Like for example one can easily associate a girl with well-applied makeup, wearing a black veil to be an Arab girl belonging to a respectable, rich Arab family and at the same time recognize a brown colored person to be Asian.

  But what if one day your face changes?  It is no longer the face of the same old you.  It no longer reflects your identity. In that case, not only you fail to recognize yourself but also the society disowns you. The society throws you apart and starts labeling you as a deviant. They also keep a distance from you.

  Similar is the experience for many women who fall victim to domestic violence. Shouting, calling bad names can be disturbing but not as threatening as being physically abused. Sometimes woman are harmed to such an extent that the dominant male figure decides to steal away the woman’s identity by destroying her face. The acid or kerosene is usually thrown on their face to kill their beauty. As the acids are corrosive it results into complete disfiguration and often immobility. In some cases, person also experiences loss of sight, hearing and speech. Some extreme cases can also result in death.

  Fakhra Yonus, a Pakistani woman committed suicide as she was so much disheartened by the acid attack on her by her husband Bilal Khar. The acid thrown on her face shattered her beauty and left her mentally shaken.

Another true story of Naseera Bibi, a 23-year-old woman talks about her brutal experience. She says that while she was sleeping, a bottle of acid was poured on her. She could feel the acid melt her skin, ate through her nose and both her eyes. She believes her husband was the culprit as she remembers his voice when he was throwing acid on her. However, with her face being physically damaged she now feels that she is a burden to the society.

  In sociology we know that in the male dominating society, people usually blame the woman even though it is not her fault. The society refuses to accept them and makes it difficult for them to fit in and live a normal human life. However, there are few groups of people in the society who go against the required norms, break the conformity and help these domestically victimized women. They share a different viewpoint than the majority of others. 

One such example is of Mussarat Misbah who is a makeup artist, owner of Depilex beauty salon and single mother but also she is a Philanthropist who has set up Smile Again Foundation in Pakistan. In this institute she not only gives shelter to female survivors of acid and kerosene oil burns but also sends them abroad for reconstructive plastic surgery. Also providing them with psychological/psychiatric support with vocational training she makes them stand on their feet and good enough to earn for their own living. We want every woman to look beautiful and for her to smile again, says Musarrat Misbah. Many of these burnt female survivors are working in Depilex beauty salon, having attained a beautician’s degree they are now helping beautify customers who come to their salon.

  Social Awareness regarding the acid attackers is gradually spreading in societies. There are various awareness campaigns set by NGO’s. Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) is also now organized in Pakistan and is helping the burnt survivors with their reconstructive surgeries, catching the culprits and educating people in those societies about the traumas of these issues. They have made various documentaries regarding this subject and are making a point to personally spread the message in most of the educational institutions so that this topic is heard, considered and solved upon.

Gender Based Power In A Company

Thinking about our society and gender, gender polarization is evident in nearly every aspect of our lives! Power is also polarized by gender. From a very young age, we are socially constructed based on our sex and gender, which is also known as gender socialization.

Keeping this in mind, I decided to take a different twist to this matter and visit CENTCOM Projects to analyze the power within the employees based on their gender. CENTCOM Projects is a construction company based on steel, aluminum, joinery and interior fit outs. Therefore, majority of the staff in the labor section were men and barely had females in the office. This may be because women consider sex-appropriate positions such as the secretary and choose occupations that will not require them to relocate and work in unpleasant environments such as the factory.





From a sociological perspective, I examined the concepts of power-over, power-to and power-with while visiting the company’s office and factory in the industrial area. The notion of power-over was greatly evident as the foreman’s, manager and the director had the ability to get the workers do jobs when they didn’t want to. According to Weber, he defined power, as the ability of one actor to carry out his will against another. Clearly, this is was evident. While I was there, the foreman was achieving his goals by making one of the labor workers do his work. In this case of master/subject relation: the foreman is powered (master) and the worker is not (subject). At most times, this could possibly be a problem, as power is seen as an abusive force, unequal and the ability to force your physical strength and ideas over other employees in a workforce.



Luckily enough, I got to observe a power-to situation. One of the experienced workers came in and asked if he could either higher his position in the company or leave. From a sociological perspective, he recognized the control he has over his life, saw results of his actions and utilized his power. In other words, this could be described as self-control and self-efficacy.



In addition, the notion of power-with was not evident. However, it may be applied to labor workers if they come together as a group to challenge the system and ask for a change. In this case, if the workers struggle against the oppressive system, they would collectively work together to change it. This could happen if the workers need a rise in salary, new housing or even higher positions.



All in all, we could possibly say that the social construction of gender socialization goes back to social stratification and ethnic backgrounds.

Gender and our society

A society labels all male and female individuals according to their genders. It is the way of classifying and separating the males and females in terms of dressing, in terms of behavior, in terms of their respective roles and responsibilities. An individual cannot define his/her gender by himself/herself; the society mostly establishes a gender from their perspective. Most of the communities perceive gender differently. However, gendering people plays an important role in publicizing community organization. Due to globalization and tremendous growth of technologies, the roles of these two separate genders started mixing up. Even though this has not been so prominent, women and men have proven that they can perform each other’s role perfectly without any strain. Is gender today necessary for the society’s organization?

Does it limit our skills and talents? Now days mostly women play the roles of breadwinners in our society. This wasn’t possible in the past because the society made sure that a woman gets married to a man who would take care of her and would support her for family needs. Gendering has always been a part of human culture. Since like culture, the gender roles are so dynamic that keeps on changing from time to time. Gendering takes place soon after birth and all the children are designated according to their particular genders. After the birth of a child, girls and boys are treated accordingly with clear differences in the type of clothes that they wear, the kind of games that they play and also both of them have different behaviors.

The activities carried out by men and women may indeed be genetic and also their behavior may differ according to their genes. For example, biologically it is proven that men are more aggressive than women because of the hormones that are produced in their bodies. The aggressive behavior is common in almost every species but it differs with sex. For example, Crime rates are usually higher in men than in women. But boys usually display a lower level of aggressiveness as compares to girls. Does the genetics really influence the genders? Studies have shown that, if the levels of testosterone between the two sexes in animals are reversed then the aggressive behavior is also influenced.



There are some clear things that we notice like male children usually play with toy guns and violent toys but on the other hand, female girls play with dolls and soft toys. Some of the homely tasks like washing dishes can be done by both the genders but usually females more commonly do this task.



The society today, has failed to promote gender equality. Why is it that even after the developmental measures of equal rights, there are clear discrepancies on the gender roles of the community? Why is it that when people try to cross the gender lines, they are always seen as deviants in our society because they hold a small position in our society?

On the other hand, our society is successfully ensuring that the community is organized along gender lines and that gender cannot be compared to sex. Every individual accepts gender because gender promotes similarity. Living a life in a normal way and by accepting the social norms, these people do not conflict with the society. Every individual wants to be identified with the society. The good thing about gendering people is that is creates recognizable roles, rights and responsibilities to the different sexes making it easy for society organization. Anyhow, gender creates social stratification in our male dominated society that places men above women. We can find many examples and issues like employment, education etc. Girls and boys can be different and at the same time equal in terms of respect. Today living in this world of modernization the society has still not changed when it comes to a task that men can do and women cannot.

System of Untouchability

More than 160 million people in India are considered Untouchable – people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure and less than human.

Indian caste system is a system of social stratification in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called jatis. The values and ethics are strongly held by the people belonging to the castes. Their life chances, context, choices and social status in the society largely depended on their caste. There are 5 different levels of the Indian caste system followed over years:-

The untouchables or dalit faced non prejudiced discrimination and were not considered as citizens. Historically, they were associated to odd jobs such as butchering, removal of waste and animal carcasses. They were called untouchable as they were not allowed to come in contact with the other castes. This system has worked in Indian history. But present-day India forbids discriminating and practicing untouchability. Along with this law the government allows positive discrimination of the depressed classes in India. But positive discrimination have created new problems in the Indian society.

The video below is a brief description on the prejudice and discrimination faced by the dalits. The video gives us examples of movements held to destroy the system of untouchability.



Indians have become more flexible in their caste customs. In urban India, the people are less strict about the caste system than the rural. The biggest challenge in India is to overcome the violent clashes connected to caste tensions in remote villages. This will be a big leap to a more developed India.

Cleethorpes, The Commoner's Beach

During last week's Sociology classes, that discussed social stratification, I remembered my holiday to the U.K that summer. It didn't just cross my mind nonchalantly, it came to mind as I thought of Cleethorpes beach in Grimsby, and how I can actually apply social stratification to my family excursion.

I've been to that beach ever since I was little, always the same kind of people doing the same mundane things that people do on the beach. However, after learning about social classes I realized that the people who go to this particular beach are of a certain social class. The majority of the people to this particular beach have certain life chances. They don't live in a big city, they aren't as exposed to the outer world as those who live in the capital. To them Cleethorpes is a great place to relax or take their children, plus it's free.



The fact that these people are only capable of going to this beach as opposed to, say, the French Riviera shows social inequality. Some people are born into ascribed statuses that allow them to go elsewhere for fun in the sun. The status value of the people who I have observed on the beach is not that of the upper class. In general the people who were at this particular beach were clearly of lower middle class, or even the working class. It is clear from the way that they dress (minus the fact they are in beachwear), the way that the talk, and what they actually do on the beach.



There isn’t a lot of social prestige associated with Cleethorpes, but at the end of the day it is just a beach like any other beach, but it’s the stratification that goes on in society that associates certain places, or activities with certain people. Cleethorpes is a child friendly beach, with the tradition English beach pastime of riding the donkeys still in practice. You wouldn’t necessarily find this on a much more prestigious beach. The only people who actually sunbathe are usually the parents of the children, and opposed to the usual teenage crowd that is associated with beaches this particular beach is family oriented.



Social stratification of the different classes can be found everywhere. Certain people eat at certain restaurants that others don’t, some people drive secondhand cars as opposed to new ones, and some people go to Cleethorpes for their little weekend holiday while others might go to France. It’s a funny world that we live in, where not everyone is born with the same chances of living the lifestyle they dream because of social restrictions, or limitation. It is important to note that just because these people spend their time on this beach, doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of being socially mobile and striving for a better lifestyle. All it means is one question: do they want to move up the social ladder so desperately that they’d give up the simple things they enjoy in life?

Unfair

Are we born with a given social status? The answer to this question is yes. Each individual is born with a given status that is inherited. Classes tend to reproduce themselves over time. You are likely to be the same class as your parents. However, with time, you may experience a social mobility, going upward or downward in a social class system.



To relate to this idea, I recently had a wedding to attend. Therefore, I had to call a beauty technician to come over. Her name is Shevani. Shevani comes from a relatively low social class in Pakistan. When she came over, she got her whole kit with her in a small bag. Her English is perfect. I’m not sure why, but I found this to be very surprising to me, as most of the ones that work in salons here in Doha have broken English. I was very curious to know what her previous job was.



Whenever I decide to ask her about her English language, I hesitate doing so since it might offend her. Last time she came over she brought up the subject without me having to ask her. Shevani was talking about education and asked me when my Northwestern graduation is. Then she went on talking about her younger sisters that studied with her at the same school, but each of them had completely different personalities. Shevani was the one that got the excellent grades, and won several awards including the top in her country. Her sister’s classmates would keep asking her sister why couldn’t she be similar to Shevani.



Due to her high grades, she applied to one of the top prestigious universities in the UK and got accepted. Nevertheless, due to her social class, she was refused to go by the government. Curiosity was killing me, so I asked her why? She replied by saying that if they check that her bank account has less than 50,000 riyals, they would automatically refuse to let her go. Their belief is that if she goes to the UK she will reside there and get a well-paid job instead of pursuing her education and back.



I then asked her why she chose this job. She replied by saying that she loves the Qatari culture, and that all the customers she has are very nice. Shevani is very well educated but is socially stratified into this job. If she did go to the UK, she would experience a social mobility, going higher up the hierarchy. Nonetheless, since she does not have a university degree, her choices are limited.

Social Stratification

According to sociology, social inequality would be defined as a situation in which valued resources and desired outcomes are distributed in such ways that people have unequal amounts and/or access to them. And one of the main ways they would be affected, is because of social stratification, the systematic process of ranking people on a scale of social worth, leaving many either in a situation of absolute poverty or relative poverty.

We can see every society in the world stratify itself people, any criterion could be used to distinguish them, the most common being social status - which is determined by your profession - the kind of job you do and the money you earn as a result of it.

This chapter on social stratification reminded me of the all time epic Hollywood love story, The Notebook, where the main focus of the movie is the separation of this poor and young man who falls in love with a rich young woman and gives her a sense of freedom. They get separated because of nothing else but their social differences. Her family rejects the guy because of his un-wealthy family, and instead gets her engaged to a soldier, to maintain the same social status. More or less, that’s the laws of the universe.

WOQOD Petrol Station in Doha: Examining Social Stratification

As I drove into a Woqood petrol station, I didn’t really think my sociological imagination was in gear. I wanted to fill up my car tank, grab some treats and candy after a very long day, re-fill on some comfort McDonalds meal just in front of the Sidra convenient store of Woqod – and go home. However, waiting for my gas meter to fill up, I look around and notice the countless sociological concepts that can be applied in every corner and feature of this location. Apart from the McDonaldized process of the car wash service, the gas meters, oil change, and convenient store including a small fast food corner, an Internet area and other services and adjacent fast-food chains located next to the Woqood Petrol station, I move on to observe the social stratification of people within this cluster of car and food services in the context of this petroleum-rich country.





According to this source, in 1973, petroleum production and profits radically increased, moving Qatar from the position of one of the world’s poorest countries and leading it to have one of the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world. Today, Qatar is probably viewed as a very “wealthy” nation. And in sociology, wealth can refer to income, property, buildings, businesses, assets, stocks, bonds etc. However, this wealth is not distributed equally. Although absolute poverty, where people live without the basic needs of living such as food, water, and shelter, may not really exist in Qatar, relative poverty can be observed when the wealth of different people in this society is compared to other standards within the same country.



For example, if the situation of the employee who filled my gas tank and wiped my front and back windows, or the person who served me my fries were compared to the living standard and wealth of the owner of Woqod for example, their situation would be ranked way at the bottom, or at a significantly lower level. Even though these workers might be way better off than the people in their home country, compared to the standards of the average situation or elite and high status members of the Qatari society, they would fall at the bottom of the hierarchy.




If you are born into a Qatari family, your life chances are not likely to lead you to any of the jobs I observed in the services offered at Woqod. Instead, you will more likely to earn a relatively high income, and belong to a social class that shares characteristics of high economic and social status, high level of education (with lowest being a college degree), and an occupation that holds a certain prestige. If I come across a “Land cruiser”, or an expensive car on the road, I would assume, that the driver is most probably Qatari, or a driver for a Qatari family or businessman, based on my cumulative experiences and observations.



Furthermore, the arrangement of people into divisions of power and wealth can be determined by ascribed statuses (characteristics you cannot control/inherited) or achieved statuses (characteristics you achieve or attain). Due to Qatarization most top ranks in management roles are given to Qataris instead of expatriates and non-Qataris. This program or system favors or prioritizes Qataris for the positions of higher authority and management. According to the book by Joan Ferrante, a caste system of stratification is a form of assigning people into social classes on the basis of their ascribed status, which they have no control over, and usually cannot change. A car wash worker is not likely to move up the social ladder to become the CEO of Qatar Gas. And neither would the McDonald’s cleaner, or the server, or the laborer moving stock around the store. Therefore, social mobility is unlikely for those in the caste system that is more prominent in this society.