Socio-Political Expressions on Twitter: A Case Study on Female Qatari Users

In an attempt to learn more about the perceptions young Qatari women possess towards socio-political expressions on Twitter, phenomenological interviews with nine women between the ages of 18 and 30 were conducted. With the help of surveillance theories and the theory of the spiral of silence, the responses received throughout the interviews were analyzed to decipher factors that influence women to be critical of state or local affairs in Qatar. This study also attempts to learn about how Qatari women perceive the act of self-expression and voicing socio-political criticisms on Twitter. In addition, whether the choice of language impacts Qatari women’s perceptions of online surveillance as well as the ways in which it does, was studied. Finally, an examination of whether the political expressions of young Qatari women on Twitter have changed since the GCC blockade placed on Qatar in 2017 was done. The diverse set of results gathered concluded that young Qatari women are mostly driven by what they perceive as the shortcomings of women’s rights in Qatar to voice their opinions on Twitter. Interviewees shared several experiences highlighting the societal consequences of being vocal online, as well as the growing sense of intimidation they developed about state surveillance. In addition, the women believed that Twitter is the most ideal and the only platform where they could be critical of the state and the local affairs, advocate for their rights, and discuss the issues they are most interested in. The interviewees possess compelling perceptions regarding how code-switching impacts the level of surveillance they are exposed to by society and the government. Notably, some women believed that as a country that is concerned about its image on a global stage, criticisms made in English regarding its domestic policies are heavily surveilled. With regards to the GCC blockade, the majority of respondents believed that the immediate period following the blockade was too sensitive to be critical of state or local affairs. Yet, respondents believed that it was acceptable shortly after the blockade to be critical of domestic policies and social issues, noting that the topic of human rights should never be disregarded.