Gender Based Violence in Qatar

This thesis studies the occurrence of gender-based violence in Qatar and the extent to which laws in Qatar protect women. It also analyzes the effectiveness of governmental support mechanisms, such as Aman, the Social and Rehabilitation Center for Women and Children, in addressing and combatting gender- based violence in Qatar. Adopting a broad conceptualization of violence as encompassing different interlinking forms of structural, cultural and direct form of violence, this study relies on the theoretical frameworks proposed by Johan Galtung (Galtung) and Cynthia Cockburn (Cockburn). As such, the thesis expands its analysis to examine topics such as modernization and the legal and cultural landscape of Qatar, highlighting how these impact women’s lives in the public and private sphere (Galtung).Through interviews, participant observation and discourse analysis, this study provides a qualitative, contextualized analysis of the various forms of gender-based violence that exist in Qatar today, focusing in particular on women’s experiences with institutions like Aman. Deriving insights from a 10- day internship at Aman, the research also traces how organizations like Aman implement feedback through restructuring policies and support services. The study highlights that there is a need for legislative support mechanism against gender-based violence in Qatar, as institutions like Aman have relatively low success rates in battling this issue. Furthermore, this thesis also recognizes the various forms of discrimination that Qatari women encounter and highlights the need to revise the awareness campaigns proposed by institutions like Aman. While Aman tries to change Qatar’s cultural attitude on the issue of violence against women, their approach has been narrow. This thesis thus also argues that Aman should broaden its focus and conceptualization of different forms of violence, while maintaining its focus on providing protection to abused women.