Doha: The Women, Society and Development programme at Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) is an interdisciplinary programme focusing on issues related to women in the context of social and economic development in the Middle East, as well as women’s various roles in the advancement of their communities and societies.
A Master of Arts in Women, Society, and Development student at HBKU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hamidah Dorzadeh (pictured) has sad that the programme gives a great depth to life and give a better understanding of society, as well as systems of gender.
“What I like about my area of studies is how interdisciplinary it is which has been useful in terms of understanding gender constructs, power structures, and their impact on men and women as well as paying closer attention to the lived experiences of women,” she said.
“I was always passionate about issues relating to women and gender, and in particular, I could see within my community that when it came to women, they were subject to multiple rules and regulations. Therefore, I joining the programme was really a quest for understanding my own life and experience as a woman,” she added.
Hamidah’s short-term goal is to continue reading and writing about what she has learnt over the past year.
After graduating, she is aiming to pursue a PhD in gender studies with a focus on the Middle East region and continue my journey as an academic.
At present Hamidah is the coordinator for newly established Iranian Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.
“One of the most important skills along with research, writing, and strong interdisciplinary skills that I have gained through this program has been critical thinking. I apply all these skills in the work I do as my job involves a lot of research and writing,” she said.
“Ever since I started this master’s program, my aim has been to write about my own community, which is the Balochi community in Qatar. My professors and classmates have repeatedly heard me saying that “I will integrate the Balochis in Qatar to literature” and that is what really keeps me going as I feel the need to fill this gap and contribute to a better understanding of my community. I am very sure that my thesis will be a great addition and I hope that, one day, people would see me as a reference when writing about Balochis,” said Hamidah.
Sharing about how HBKU experience differ from her expectations when she first joined, Hamidah said, “I remember when I first joined, I really had no idea about gender, gendered practices, and discourses. I also was not aware of the many great feminist scholars, and their theories. I was truly not expecting to learn so much in such a short period of time. Each course I took added a new dimension into my understanding of these issues and introduced me to so many interesting scholars whose books have really had a great impact on my life.”
According to Hamidah, the programme helps in critical thinking about certain notions, terms, and institutions that are taken for granted such as patriarchy, family, marriage, kinship, religion, laws, feminism, liberalism, and capitalism.
