00:01Kolejne, ekspresive, meaningful, and inspiring.
00:06All around Qatar, you'll find street art like these,
00:10each portraying women beyond beauty and femininity.
00:14But there's one that stands out.
00:16I'm standing in front of a sculpture called Al-Azam,
00:20situated within the grounds of Qatar's Education City.
00:23It symbolises the determination of Qatari women,
00:27arms crossed, walking against the wind,
00:29depicting strength and solidarity.
00:32This month, we celebrate how women are inspiring thought leadership,
00:36bridging cultures and collaboration,
00:38and driving change in society.
00:41I'm Laila Humaira and this is Qatar In Motion.
00:48Did you know that among the GCC countries,
00:52Qatar leads the way with the highest rate
00:54of female labour force participation?
00:56In 2023, it was 60% compared to the global average of 47.4%.
01:03It's also a 33% increase from 2001.
01:08The GCC has also made strides in appointing women
01:11in the government, ministries, C-suite, and leadership roles.
01:16Qatar became the first GCC nation to appoint female judges,
01:20with women making up over 48% of the Supreme Judicial Council's workforce.
01:29Amid the hustle and bustle of Education City is a space of serenity.
01:34This is the Almujadila Centre and Mosque for Women.
01:38It opened its doors in early 2024,
01:41aiming to be a platform for learning and discussion.
01:44Vein-cut stone from Turkey and Italy,
01:48marble on the rooftop sourced from Oman,
01:51a massive carpet woven in China using wool from New Zealand,
01:56and a wise vision brought to life by American architects.
02:02Almujadila's space is the culmination of a melting pot of ideas and materials,
02:07much like the people, discussions,
02:10and exchange of knowledge that happens in it.
02:13And I'm here to learn more about what makes this building so special.
02:18Can you introduce us to Almujadila for a global audience,
02:22put into context what the Centre aims to do,
02:24and what does the word Almujadila mean?
02:27At the heart of the project is really trying to create a space for Muslim women.
02:32And we do that by trying to ask the question of,
02:35how can we approach the needs of Muslim women in a more integrated and holistic way?
02:39There are intellectual, spiritual needs, religious needs, personal needs, familial needs, professional needs.
02:45Almujadila translates into she who discourses, or she who speaks, or dialogues.
02:51It represents a woman asking a question, a woman who's rooted in her faith,
02:56a woman who's identified a social problem,
02:59and a woman who wants to find an answer to that specific challenge within her community.
03:03And at the core of it all, it started with Her Highness Sheikha Moza's vision.
03:08I'm curious to know, how has Her Highness's vision translate into the initiatives
03:13to empower young women, women, future leaders of the world here at Almujadila?
03:18Society has gone through such, I would say, drastic changes in the past hundred years.
03:26Modernisation, globalisation, industrial revolutions,
03:29So many changes to how we as individuals actually live.
03:33And in that transformation of society, women have also taken on such a different role.
03:40And so for Her Highness's vision, it's to ensure that we also stop
03:44and make sure that we're taking care of the people who support that society
03:48and who ensure society is continuing, which are the women.
03:51The centre will be marking its second year since it opened its doors to worshippers.
03:56How has this journey been for you?
03:57There's this quote that I always found very powerful, which is,
04:01The meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to give that gift away.
04:07And in many ways, I feel the last two years at Almujadila, that really encapsulates what's happened,
04:13both for me as an individual, also the women that work here, and the women that come to Almujadila.
04:18It's become a really open space for women to come, a space of self-discovery,
04:23a space where they are identifying their gifts.
04:25And then beautifully, Almujadila is the place where they can then give those gifts back to community.
04:30And for me, that is a really beautiful thing to witness.
04:34The designers of Almujadila made it a space for both spirituality and learning.
04:40The mosque has a library with a capacity of more than 8,000 volumes,
04:45including collections on Islamic history, published work of female scholars, and self-help books.
04:51The award-winning architects Dillis, Cofidio, and Renfro wanted to preserve the tradition of building mosques in harmony with nature,
05:00thus centering the structure around these two olive trees, which are also symbols of peace, knowledge, and continuity.
05:08Right next to it is the main space for worship, a 9,400-square-foot prayer hall.
05:14It has the capacity of hosting 750 worshippers, and up to twice that number during the holy month of Ramadan.
05:22While Ramadan is the busiest period of the year, visitors come to pray, deepen their knowledge,
05:29and take part in communal programs all year round.
05:32Every year, the centre also hosts a women's summit, where scholars, thought leaders, practitioners,
05:39and members of the public gather to discuss contemporary challenges of Muslim women and find solutions through dialogue.
05:48Through dynamic programming, dialogue, and strategic engagement,
05:52the centre showcases the breadth and depth of the Islamic tradition and its enduring relevance to modern challenges.
06:01There's also the RIAYA Young Adult Stewardship Programme,
06:05which is aimed at supporting the personal and professional development of young women.
06:09This program unites young Muslim women from all around the world.
06:14There were ladies from Malaysia, Indonesia, there were also from the Philippines, Germany,
06:21and there were also people who came from Gaza.
06:24This program focused on, for example, climate change, ways of knowing, assistive technology,
06:31which was my favourite because it showed us how we can use technology to help people who are in need,
06:37and in general, like Muslim values.
06:40There were also lessons that stayed with Almayasa well after her time in the classroom.
06:46Here we've learned that being a leader isn't just about the title.
06:50It's about our values, how we inspire others to make them have a better self in general.
06:57Two years in, Al Mujadila is already seeing glimpses of the fruits from the seeds it has planted.
07:04The hope is that the centre will continue to be a sanctuary for women,
07:08a beacon of faith-based dialogue and a limitless pool of ideas and knowledge.
07:17Not far from Al Mujadila is the Qatar Science and Technology Park.
07:21It recently launched an initiative called The 300,
07:24aiming to build a community of women investors to help reshape the venture capital ecosystem.
07:30QSTP is headed by Rama Shikaki, a long-time Silicon Valley native
07:35who has paved the way for many wanting to pursue a career in technology and entrepreneurship.
07:41We did some focus groups to see the sentiment towards investing,
07:46whether women were interested in investing in deep tech and impact and the response was a resounding yes.
07:51I think it's a fantastic time because the number of start-ups that are being attracted to Qatar
07:56or that are growing out of the education ecosystem in Qatar are growing exponentially.
08:03We're starting with women who want to invest at an angel level,
08:06but some of these women have the financial resources to graduate to become venture capital limited partners
08:13and want to be in this community to recruit other women into their work.
08:19That will change the landscape dramatically because once women come in,
08:25who they'll invest in, what they will invest in will be radically different
08:30and that will create new economies, I think, and new green spaces to invest in.
08:38From faith and education to tech and investing,
08:41we've now come to the National Museum of Qatar to meet Chef Nuf Al-Mari,
08:46founder of the Desert Rose Cafe.
08:49She's blazed the trail for Qatari cuisine, putting the country on the Michelin Guide
08:54and on the map as a culinary destination of the world.
08:58Desert Rose is my second home.
09:00It's not just a place to do it.
09:03For example, when they come to me for many years,
09:06they're sitting with me and say,
09:07you've been back 30 or 40 years.
09:09And this is what makes me a lot of sense.
09:12And this is what makes me a lot of sense.
09:14I have a big job in Qatar's kitchen and I've discovered this from my age.
09:28I have a lot of sense.
09:50She, she, she, she've got a lot of sense.
09:55That I've had to do best of вкус and fruits in Italy,
10:00Brazil, treason, Italy, Morenso and the palace.
10:02And that, in faith, we can Ж after the whole room andhouse
10:07move up to the Clerwhy store for their publics.
10:10That is what can be made for theあります.
10:12The temperature is so high.
10:14The temperature is so low.
10:16It is not a taste.
10:42Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone.
10:49ma dzisiaj jestem bardzo fajny zastanowymi, jaka kobieta,
10:54jest to wspieranej przyjemność,
10:57jest jestem w twórczo,
10:58lubię przywoić jej do sobą przyjścia,
11:01na dwoju jej się,
11:03przyjauwuję na przykład,
11:04do kobieta,
11:06do kobieta,
11:07do kobieta,
11:07do kobieta,
11:08ma dzisiaj mam mam jedzenie,
11:10w opisie od tego,
11:11doНАЯ МУЗЫКА
11:12na świecie,
11:13na przykład,
11:13podoba mi się,
11:14i to zawsze muszę przyjechać w niefesie,
11:17Wszyscy są jednocześnie, i wszyscy, w końcu, są jednocześnie jednocześnie.
11:23Wszyscy naszą sprawę, że wszyscy muszą się odwiać.
11:25Zazieńczamy się, że zawsze jest to jednocześnie, że nie jest to jednocześnie.
11:35Zatem, jak w tym sprawie, że kobiety będą spodziewali w społeczeństwie,
11:39i jak kobiety będą proszytować się w przyszłości w wielu różnych miejscachachach,
11:43Places like Al-Mujadila have shown that faith-based leadership
11:46can be blended with a contemporary approach to fill women's advancements.
11:51That's all the time we have for now.
11:53Thanks for watching Qatar in Motion and see you next time.
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