By Fazeena Saleem
A woman balancing home and work is much talked about, but in Qatar we have a new section of women who is trying to balance home and education.
A new trend is emerging in the Qatari community as some girls are getting married younger and perusing higher studies.
Many married university students are either pregnant or mothers. A majority of them are Qataris and some are Arab expatriates.
For instance, at least seven in a class of 13 students at Qatar University’s Mass Communication Department are married and two of them are expatriates.
In another class of 45 students in the College of Business and Economics at least 10 are married.
Some of them got married at 19; have children and are studying at the university for their bachelor’s degree.
These young women have succeeded in overcoming the challenge of balancing their families and studies, although they are not excused from lessons for having babies.
Dareen Al Hamdan, an enthusiastic 22-year-old undergraduate at the Qatar University, is a mother of two. She agreed to speak to The Peninsula over the phone while her newborn was asleep.
“I got married at 19, I have two children and I will be graduating next year,” said Dareen who will major in Mass Communications.
She is keen to find a job soon after completing her degree. But neither Dareen nor her married friends get any leave or exceptions at the university.
“We are not given any excuse at the university, getting married while being a student is considered a personal issue. If a woman is employed she would get maternity leave.
“I think it’s more challenging to balance life and education than life and work, but we have managed to overcome the challenge and succeed,” Dareen added.
Most young girls get married due to their traditions and customs but also want to fulfil their desire for education.
“Most of us get married when we complete education at high school. In the Qatari society parents want their daughters to be married at a young age,” said Dareen.
However, she said that the trend of young girls continuing their studies after marriage was not very common before 2000.
“During the days of our mothers and grandmothers, girls either got married or decided to study, but now they get married and study,” said Dareen.
Her friend Jomana Ali, also 22-year-old undergraduate at the Qatar University’s College of Business and Economics, got married at 19.
She has a two-year-old child and is pregnant with her second baby.
“It is not very easy, it’s difficult to balance studies and children,” said Jomana.
“Last semester was very difficult for me because I was pregnant, the delivery date is nearing and now we have a summer break for two months,” she said.
However not every girl get the opportunity to study after marriage. Their families, especially husbands, have a role in deciding whether they should continue studies.
“I got married at a young age because of our traditions and culture. Not many men let their wives study, but my husband is very supportive and encouraging, he even helps me take care of the child,” she said.
Jomana is planning to find a job soon after obtaining her degree with a major in Business Management.
This trend is common among Emirati women as well. The National newspaper recently reported that a growing number of university students are married and either pregnant or new mothers.
Interestingly, a study has found that a high percentage of Qatari women are delaying their marriage to continue education or pursue a career.
Qatari women today want to get married in their late 20s or early 30s and only one per cent marry between 15 and 19, according to a survey conducted by the Social and Economic Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University.
The study concluded that 60 per cent of women marry after 25.
However, after 30, the likelihood of first marriage declines significantly in the Qatari society.
According to the study, 28.1 per cent of Qatari women are married to their first cousins, while 10.1 per cent said they were married to distant cousins.
The Peninsula
