The redefinition of roles for female nationals in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has accelerated in recent years with state building and modernising projects, both pushing for the inclusion of women in the labour force and in political leadership roles. Alongside top-down policies aiming for greater inclusion of citizen women, there are ongoing grass roots struggles to advance women’s rights. These movements often intersect with a selective resurgence of tribalism by some state actors which leads to questions about the preservation of national identity, as well as new forms of “Khaleeji” feminist activism that will redefine this space and introduce new parameters to the “tribal” (and largely masculine/patriarchal) paradigm.
In this webinar, part of the MENA Programme Online Events Series, subjects matter experts and the authors of the recently published book Tribalism and Political Power in the Gulf: State-Building and National Identity in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE will discuss the changing roles of women and tribes in Gulf societies, and what they mean for the preservation of these countries’ national identities.
This event will be held on the record and will be livestreamed on the MENA Programme’s Facebook page.
Participants
Hessa AlMuhannadi, PhD Candidate, Qatar University
Alanoud Alsharekh, Associate Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House; Director, Ibtkar Strategic Consultancy; Non-resident Fellow, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Courtney Freer, Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Emory University
Moderator: Sanam Vakil, Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House
