Breaking Barriers: Emirati Women, Feminism and Challenges to the Status Quo

Abstract

This paper investigates women’s perceptions of feminism in the 21st-centry in the United Arab Emirates. As an oil-rich country located in the Arab Gulf, traditionally composed of traditional tribal sheikhdoms, the UAE has achieved advanced levels of human, social and economic development. It has provided educational opportunities for women in tandem with men, as well as empowering women to pursue decision-making positions. Yet despite the opportunities afforded to women by the state, questions still remain about whether they can develop feminist subjectivity and leadership capabilities in the face of prevailing traditional cultural norms and values. In this study we investigate what barriers exist to challenging the status quo. Using a qualitative study comprised of face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions, we set out to ascertain how women view mobility, social freedom and feminism. We find that while the nature of male authority has indeed changed within the society, the demographics of the UAE have placed cultural stress on women to fulfil role expectations within the family, extended kinship networks and wider society. We argue that a form of neo-patriarchy has emerged, which now replaces original forms of domination. In practice this means that although women have gained higher positions in the decision-making arena, the opportunities for change that were envisaged are also entangled within social and cultural expectations in the society and home. The net result is that women’s emancipation and familial expectations walk side by side in the UAE, creating outcomes and tensions that are hard to overcome.