Online Realms, Offline Constraints: The Complexity of Qatari Women’s Online Political Engagement on X
I am Jood Sheikh (SFS-25), an International Economics major at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q).
This e-portfolio encapsulates my journey in the Certificate in Media and Politics (CMAP) offered collaboratively by GU-Q and Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q).
This experience has not only allowed me to expand my knowledge of and explore how mass media shapes and affects social, political, and cultural spheres, but has also allowed me to appreciate disciplines and issues beyond my immediate interest in Economics — thereby first-handedly witnessing the interdisciplinary nature of the world, regardless of how mutually exclusive I imagine certain topics to be!
In addition to the many academic, co-curricular, and reflective insights offered on this website, you will find my digital research project Online Realms, Offline Constraints: The Complexity of Qatari Women’s Online Political Engagement on X, mentored by Dr. Firat Oruç.
This project examines the dual role of social media as a platform for Qatari women to circumvent traditional sociopolitical constraints and assert their agency, while also highlighting the transmission of cultural and legal restrictions into the digital realm. It argues that although social media offers Qatari women a space to voice dissent and advocate for gender equality, the same patriarchal norms that govern their physical spaces permeate online interactions, impacting the authenticity and freedom of their digital personas. Therefore, while digital platforms enable activism and the formation of supportive networks, they do not fully relieve Qatari women from the gendered stereotypes and discrimination imposed by their society.
