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,
00:27arms 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 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,
01:20with 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 and 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,
02:42personal needs, familial needs, professional needs.
02:46Almujadila translates into she who discourses, or she who speaks, or dialogues.
02:51It represents a woman asking a question,
02:54a 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 Shekha Moses' vision.
03:08I'm curious to know, how has Her Highness' 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.
03:25Modernisation, 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 the meaning of life is to find your gift
04:03and the purpose of life is to give that gift away.
04:06And in many ways, I feel the last two years at Almujadila,
04:11that really encapsulates what's happened,
04:13both for me as an individual, also the women that work here
04:16and the women that come to Almujadila.
04:18It's become a really open space for women to come,
04:21a space of self-discovery,
04:23a space where they are identifying their gifts.
04:25And then beautifully, Almujadila 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 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,
04:47published work of female scholars,
04:50and self-help books.
04:51The award-winning architects Dillis, 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.
05:33Every year, the Centre also hosts a Women's Summit,
05:36where scholars, thought leaders, practitioners,
05:39and members of the public gather
05:41to discuss contemporary challenges of Muslim women
05:45and 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 Riaya Young Adult Stewardship Programme,
06:05which is aimed at supporting the personal and professional development of young women.
06:09This programme 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 programme focused on, for example, climate change,
06:29ways of knowing, assistive technology,
06:31which was my favourite because it showed us how we can use technology
06:35to help people who are in need,
06:37and in general, like, Muslim values.
06:40There were also lessons that stayed with Almayasa
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,
06:59Al 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 startups that are being attracted to Qatar
07:56or that are growing out of the education ecosystem in Qatar
08:00are 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
08:15to recruit other women into their work.
08:20That 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,
08:34and 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,
08:46founder of the Desert Rose Cafe.
08:49She's blazed the trail for Qatari cuisine,
08:52putting the country on the Michelin Guide
08:54and on the map as a culinary destination of the world.
08:58The Desert Rose is the second place.
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 saying,
09:07you've been back 30 or 40 years.
09:09And this is a lot of fun.
09:11And this is what makes me feel more.
09:14I have a big job for Qatar's kitchen.
09:18I discovered this from my age,
09:20almost nine years.
09:22It's also the fun of my parents.
09:24It was always giving me references
09:27to the real kitchen.
09:29It made me a big job
09:30in order to reach the industry.
09:33I always go to my home to school.
09:36We're sharing the materials,
09:38to keep the materials in the market.
09:40When the person is ready to take this,
09:41he knows that the store is the store,
09:43it's the store that you see.
09:44I'm happy today
09:45to deal with the QC Plus organisation.
09:49Who I see,
09:50is it's a cultural cultural cultural background.
09:52...
10:42Grazie a tutti.
11:08Grazie a tutti.
11:50Grazie a tutti.
11:52Grazie a tutti.
11:54Grazie a tutti.
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