The Paradox of Qatari Females' Education

Abstract

In 2019, about 67% of Qatar's higher education graduates were females. However, these rates do not reflect the rest of the Qatari society and women’s true role and status within the state. This thesis aims to illustrate the paradox that exists with the education of Qatari females. Although the state is motivating women to participate in high degrees in the workforce and education, they are simultaneously confining them through limiting their freedom, legally and culturally. The education of Qatari females is partly a superficial attempt by the Qatari State used for its soft power goals. This is done through the dichotomous roles Qatari women are assigned and the conflicts that exists between 'modernity' and 'tradition'. Through employing interviews with 15 educated Qatari female graduates from Qatar Foundation, this thesis is able to demonstrate how Qatari females are their inability to employ what they have accumulated from their education back into their societies and lives, therefore, indicating that the high rates of female education and their empowerment in Qatar, does not mark true development and progress.