Socioeconomic, demographic, housing and health conditions of Qatari women by status of marriage and implications for family polices

Abstract

This study addressed the problems and issues facing the Qatari family in the wake of rapid socioeconomic development. The study explored housing conditions, health conditions and economic conditions of Qatari women as related to the marital status categories such as never married, married, divorced and widowed across seven administrative regions of Qatar, i.e., at the national level. The data for the study were obtained from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Qatar Census Data, 2010. Macro-level data were analyzed in Excel for prominence in frequency for demographic, socio-economic, housing and health conditions across different types of marital status categories. The results of the study showed that most of the Qatari women belonged to the married or never married categories. However, the divorced and the widowed women, though in the minority, faced health issues in terms of more reported disabilities and lower housing and economic conditions as compared to other categories.

The Patriarchal Bargain in a Context of Rapid Changes to Normative Gender Roles: Young Arab Women’s Role Conflict in Qatar

“…This contract generally includes agreements about the woman's future activities, such as continued schooling, working outside the home, and in some cases, support in the event of divorce is also included (El-Haddad, 2003;Golkowska, 2014). Divorce rates in Qatar have fluctuated between 7-10% in the last 10 years (Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, 2014;Shehzad, 2015). These fluctuations added uncertainty to the marital equation for women who, in most cases, cannot initiate divorce (Welchman, 2010).…”

Attachment Style, Marital Satisfaction, and Mutual Support Attachment Style in Qatar

“…Divorce was reported to adversely affect women more than men, especially in low- and middle-income countries (Hailemariam et al, 2019; Lu et al, 2019). Negative connotations associated with divorce in the Arab world, affecting women more than men, were found in a study conducted in Qatar (Shehzad, 2015). This study of 74,724 Qatari women showed that educated women were less likely to marry and were disadvantaged with regard to living and economic conditions.…”

“…This study of 74,724 Qatari women showed that educated women were less likely to marry and were disadvantaged with regard to living and economic conditions. Importantly, divorced women were more likely to have psychological and physical problems compared to married women (Shehzad, 2015). Even though both men and women can suffer due to divorce, Leopold (2018) found the suffering of men is often transient, while the suffering of women is usually chronic.…”