1st Edition
Emirati Women Journalists Bargaining with Patriarchy in Search of Equality
This book presents a rare investigation of the media landscape and gender dynamics in Emirati newsrooms, with a socio-cultural focus on the influence of tribal patriarchalism in determining Emirati women’s role as news-makers.
Shedding light on the stories of 40 Emirati and Arab expat journalists, including pioneer Emirati women journalists, the book offers insight into how these journalists construct gender differences and identity, and how this influences their everyday attitudes, conversations, routines, and journalistic practises. The empirical study is supplanted with ethnographic explanations of the newsroom norms and journalistic practises from the author, who used participant observation inside two major news centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to understand the socio-cultural factors that shape the lives of Emirati and Arab expat journalists, their thoughts and beliefs about the media environment in the Emirates, and their opinions on the authoritarian political control, censorship, and the outdated media law.
This book will interest students and scholars of journalism and journalistic practice, media policy, international journalism, gender studies and Middle East studies
1. Introduction
2. The Status of Women: History, Identity, and Gender
3. Ethnography in the Newsroom
4. The Media Landscape and State Control
5. The Ultimate Question: Who’s in Charge?
6. Journalists at Odds over Censorship, Language, and PR Influence
7. Tribalism and the Female Journalists’ Voice: A Dilemma Overlooked
8. State Feminism: Empowerment, Gender Balance, and Nation-Branding
9. Conclusion
Biography
Noura Al Obeidli is a research fellow at the Humanities Fellowship Program for the Study of the Arab World in New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). Her work in the field of feminist media studies began at the University of Westminster, where she defended her doctoral dissertation in April 2020.
"Noura Al Obeidli’s book is timely and very important. It explores, using a sound method, how patriarchy in the UAE prescribes institutionalized sexism inside the newsroom that disempowers Emirati female journalists. The book makes a fundamental connection between tribalism, media practice, state feminism and patriarchy in the Gulf countries. Al Obeidli’s ethnographic study is an excellent contribution to Arab media studies. It is a must-read for anyone researching media practice and gender politics in the Arab region."
Tarik Sabry, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Westminster.
