Female Empowerment in the Gulf Region: Dr Elena Maestri and Dr Rafiah Talei

The University of Manchester

Female Empowerment in the Gulf Region: Saudi Arabia during King Abdullah's Reign (2005 - 2015) and Oman from 2004 to the Present Day.

Female Empowerment in the Gulf Arab Region:Saudi Arabia during King Abdullah's reign (2005–2015) and Oman from 2004 to the present day AbstractThis presentation examines the dynamics of female empowerment and advancement with specific focus on Saudi Arabia, during King Abdullah’s reign (2005-2015), and on Oman since 2004 to the present day. The strategic appointment of the first female Deputy-Ministers and Ministers in the Gulf Arab region between 2003 and 2009 has functioned as a mechanism for gender reforms, within realities marked by unprecedented female education growth, international mobility and rising economic inclusion and visibility.Drawing on feminist state theory and the concept of 'state feminism', the survey examines the ways in which certain government policies have advanced women's rights. The analysis of the reform process that started in Saudi Arabia under King Abdullah is conducted from the perspective of an Italian scholar, who studied the country through fieldwork during that period, and witnessed the dawn of the most recent Saudi women’s advancement. As for the analysis of the reform process in Oman, it is conducted from an internal perspective. Both case studies demonstrate that, although top-down efforts are often selective and instrumental, they have led to tangible legal and policy outcomes that expand women's autonomy and social participation.Main research question: In what ways has state feminism facilitated gender reforms in Gulf Arab States, and what are the implications for women’s legal rights and policy influence?Hypothesis: The institutionalization of state feminism can enable these countries to engineer targeted legal and policy reforms that improve women’s status and their interaction with other cultural realities, even in the absence of broad-based feminist movements.Regarding Oman, the analysis will focus on the appointment of a female Minister of Social Development in 2004, and the subsequent reforms impacting women, children and civil society. The presentation will address the constraints of top-down policies, limited budgets, and conservative social norms, while highlighting how state feminism has generated real but uneven advances in gender equity. This approach contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how Gulf Arab States selectively align gender initiatives with national development priorities, while managing the pace of reform in line with societal context.<h4>Speakers' Bio</h4>Elena Maestri is Professor of History and Institutions of the Muslim World at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) of Milan (Italy). She received her PhD in “Institutions and Organisations” from UCSC, specializing in history and institutions of Arabia. She has carried out extensive research on the Gulf Arab countries, gender issues and Islam, development and cooperation in the GCC, the old and the new media in the Arab-Muslim world. She is author of many articles, book-chapters, and books in Italian and English. In the most recent years she has been co-author and co-editor of Arab Women and the Media in Changing Landscapes, and of Migration and Integration Challenges of Muslim Immigrants in Europe, published by Palgrave Macmillan respectively in 2017 and 2021. Her book The Arabian City and its Territory. Historical Identity and Heritage Issues was published in 2019 by EDUCatt, Milano.Dr. Rafiah Al Talei is a distinguished scholar and researcher specializing in women’s rights and gender dynamics in the Gulf and broader Middle East. With a Ph.D. in Gulf Studies from Qatar University, her academic work centers on women’s political participation, gender representation in literature and media, and civil society engagement. She has authored and contributed to numerous publications, including reports for Freedom House and IREX, as well as chapters in edited volumes on women in media, politics, and Gulf literature. Dr. Al Talei's scholarship is informed by both thorough research and decades of professional experience, making her a leading voice in advancing understanding of women’s roles in the region’s social and political development.<h3>Empowering Muslim Women in Scientific Research Series </h3>Concept of the SeriesExploring the imagination and representation of women in history and today is a fully-fledged ambition that this series of lectures would like to explore through MENA women’s work in art, literature, history, archaeology, medicine, and sciences, along with their representation and perception in the works of non-MENA academics.The series includes speakers from the MENA region, the Gulf, the West as well as from other parts of the globe. The meeting point of these speakers is their research on the women of this region. Through their multi- and interdisciplinary distinctive, innovative, and creative approaches to their fields, they deconstruct the stereotypes of Muslim women and emphasize their diversity. This region, which comprises the Arab World and a large part of the Islamic World, is considered today as one of the hottest spots in world politics and economy, but as usual, women are the least visible participants, and yet the most affected by the consequences of political and economic crises. More positively, they are central to the waves of social change taking place in this region at a dizzying speed.The series, which is envisaged as a platform for debate among academics, students, and public actors with interest in the broader theme of Women and Gender in MENA, started at the University of Manchester on 1 December 2021 and ran through to the end of the academic year in May 2022 on the zoom platform and it is now to take another dimension with the partnership with the University of Sharjah.This is a joint venture between two universities, namely the Universities of Sharjah and Manchester. The organizers of this lecture series are Gender Studies researchers whose moto is the Empowerment of Muslim Women through Research. Their diverse specialisms in Core Sciences, Humanities and Medicine give this forum its Multi-disciplinary and Inter-disciplinary aspects.The organizing committee members are very happy to invite you to engage in a Women and Gender discussion forum which defeats geographical boundaries and extends the opportunity to participants from everywhere in the world. The Organising CommitteeCommittee Chairs:Hatoon Alfassi, University of ManchesterZahia Smail Salhi, University of SharjahCommittee membersIkram Bennai, University of ManchesterManar Abu Talib, University of SharjahNoura Alkarbi, University of SharjahBashair Muhammed Mussa, University of SharjahCommittee SecretaryBayan Naseer Mahfood, University of Sharjah

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