00:01Colourful, expressive, 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,
00:26arms crossed, walking against the wind, depicting strength and solidarity.
00:32This month, we celebrate how women are inspiring thought leadership,
00:36bridging cultures and collaboration, and 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 of 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 in the government,
01:12ministries, C-suite and leadership roles.
01:16Qatar became the first GCC nation to appoint female judges,
01:21with 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 Al Mujadila 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.
02:01Al Mujadila's space is the culmination of a melting pot of ideas and materials,
02:07much like the people, discussions and exchange of knowledge that happens in it.
02:13And I'm here to learn more about what makes this building so special.
02:17Can you introduce us to Al Mujadila for a global audience,
02:22put into context what the Centre aims to do,
02:24and what does the word Al Mujadila mean?
02:27At the heart of the project is really trying to create a space for Muslim women.
02:31And 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?
02:40There are intellectual, spiritual needs, religious needs,
02:42personal needs, familial needs, professional needs.
02:45Al Mujadila 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.
03:04And at the core of it all, it started with Her Highness Sheikha Moses' vision.
03:08I'm curious to know, how has Her Highness' vision
03:11translate into the initiatives to empower young women,
03:15women, future leaders of the world here at Al Mujadila?
03:18Society has gone through such, I would say, drastic changes in the past hundred years.
03:25Modernisation, globalisation, industrial revolutions,
03:29so many changes to how we as individuals actually live.
03:33And in that transformation of society,
03:37women have also taken on such a different role.
03:40And so for Her Highness' 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,
04:00which is,
04:00the meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to give that gift away.
04:06And in many ways, I feel the last two years at Mujadila,
04:11that really encapsulates what's happened, both for me as an individual,
04:15also the women that work here and the women that come to Mujadila.
04:18It's become a really open space for women to come,
04:21a space of self-discovery, a space where they are identifying their gifts.
04:25And then beautifully, Mujadila is the place where they can get,
04:28then give those gifts back to community.
04:30And for me, that is a really beautiful thing to witness.
04:34The designers of Al Mujadila 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,
04:47published work of female scholars, and self-help books.
04:52The award-winning architects Dillas, Cofidio, and Renfro
04:55wanted to preserve the tradition of building mosques in harmony with nature.
05:00Thus, centering the structure around these two olive trees,
05:04which are also symbols of peace, knowledge, and continuity.
05:08Right next to it is the main space for worship,
05:11a 9,400-square-foot prayer hall.
05:14It has the capacity of hosting 750 worshippers,
05:18and up to twice that number during the holy month of Ramadan.
05:22While Ramadan is the busiest period of the year,
05:26visitors 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,
05:36where scholars, thought leaders, practitioners,
05:39and members of the public gather to discuss contemporary challenges
05:43of Muslim women and find solutions through dialogue.
05:47Through dynamic programming, dialogue, and strategic engagement,
05:52the centre showcases the breadth and depth of the Islamic tradition
05:56and its enduring relevance to modern challenges.
06:01There's also the Ri'aya Young Adult Stewardship Program,
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,
06:18there 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,
06:29ways of knowing, assistive technology, which was my favourite,
06:32because 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 Al-Mayasa
06:43well 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,
06:53how 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
07:02from 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,
07:10and 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
07:27to help reshape the venture capital ecosystem.
07:30QSTP is headed by Rama Shikaki,
07:33a long-time Silicon Valley native
07:35who has paved the way for many wanting to pursue a career
07:38in 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,
07:49and the response was a resounding yes.
07:51I think it's a fantastic time
07:53because the number of start-ups that are being attracted to Qatar
07:56or that are growing out of the education ecosystem in Qatar
08:01are 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
08:09to 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
08:23because once women come in,
08:25who they'll invest in, what they will invest in,
08:28will be radically different,
08:30and that will create new economies, I think,
08:33and 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
08:44to meet Chef Nuf Al-Mari,
08:47founder of the Desert Rose Cafe.
08:49She's blazed the trail for Qatari cuisine,
08:51putting the country on the Michelin Guide
08:54and on the map as a culinary destination of the world.
08:57The Desert Rose is the other one.
09:00It's not just a place that we can do it.
09:03I've been thinking, for example,
09:04when they come to me for years,
09:06they're sitting with me and say,
09:07you've been doing 30-40 years and you've been doing it.
09:09And this is what I'm doing for me a lot.
09:12And this is what I'm doing for me a lot.
09:14I have a big job for the Qatar space.
09:18I've discovered this one from my age,
09:20for about 9 years.
09:23And the love of my father,
09:24who is working on my life,
09:25was always giving me the details of the Qatar space.
09:29It made me a big job that I was able to discover
09:32the paintings.
09:33I always went to the house with them,
09:36and I was able to discover the paintings,
09:38and I was able to discover the paintings.
09:40When the person is walking on this table,
09:42he knows that this table is a table for Chef Nuf.
09:44I'm happy today with the QC Plus.
09:49I'm looking forward to it with the QC Plus.
09:51It's a culture, it's a culture, it's a culture,
09:53it's a culture, it's a culture.
09:54For example, we are outside the country of Qatar, Italy, France
10:00And we will be able to get through the team and through us to get the country to the world
10:10The food is very strong
10:13The food is coming to the body and to the brain
10:17I have a book called Taste of Qatar
10:20I have a book in all of my books, all of my books
10:24I mean, the details of the details
10:26I have a birth from my mother, my mother
10:30These are the areas that we have to learn
10:33I have to see the people who have the same
10:36There are areas that we have to see, they are not going to die
10:39It is a year after year
10:40We must be able to share, we must be able to share with each other
10:43This is something that I have to do for many
10:45And I always do it, alhamdulillah, for the country of Qatar
10:49I am today, I am very proud of myself as a woman
10:53I am a woman, a woman, a woman
10:55The amazing woman, a woman, a woman, a woman
10:58I love her to give her a special shout-out
11:01I am always looking for her
11:02And I always see her example
11:04For the women, a woman, a woman, a woman, a woman
11:08The woman, a woman, a woman
11:09I have a message, she is a woman
11:12She is a woman, she is a woman
11:13I love to tell you that you must be able to share with your emotions
11:17Every woman is a woman, she is a woman
11:23We are all in the end
11:23We are all in the end
11:24We are all in the end
11:24We are all in the end
11:25I am always looking for the women
11:28I am always looking for the women
11:35So as we reflect on the role women have played in our societies
11:38And how women will continue to shape the future in many different fields
11:43Places like al-Mujadillah 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
11:55And see you next time
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