Qatari women and journalism, achievements and challenges

A view of Doha's West Bay

Qatari women have achieved a prominent presence in the media field, helped by a clear government policy that strengthened their role and opened windows for them to contribute in this field, in parallel with other fields in which women have proven ability to work in order to achieve the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030, which seeks to exploit all community energies to create a bright future for the country. The role of women in the media and journalism fields has evolved with the development of their roles, and the prospects that have opened, especially during the past two decades, to emerge as pioneers in various fields, becoming ministers, ambassadors, judges and businesswomen, as well as engineer, doctor, teacher, athlete, skilled in the world of arts and creativity, and in the police and army. The indicators reflect this strong presence of Qatari women in the fields of development, as the State of Qatar leads the countries in the region in indicators of gender equality, including the highest rate of womens participation in the labor force, and equal wages in the government sector, in addition to the highest rate of female enrollment in universities. The media field, with its diversity and different means, was one of the fields where Qatari women was present years ago. Qatari women appeared on Qatari television in the seventies of the last century, and through Qatar Radio stations, several Qatari female reporters left an important imprint in this field. During the same period, the first womens magazine was published -Al-Jawhara magazine-, was launched at the beginning of 1977. It ceased publication in the late 1990s. Distinguished Qatari female writers also appeared in the local newspapers that were published at the time, while the presence continued through the written press until the present time.