Communications technology and culture
Using technology in Qatar
By Gillian Kerr, RealWorld Systems
The information in this article is current as of June 8, 2005.
I've been in Qatar, on the Arabian Gulf, for over a month working on a project with the Qatari government. Qatar is in the process of becoming a constitutional democracy, and their new Constitution came into effect on June 8th. The Constitution was passed in a national referendum two years ago, with a vote of 97% in favour, and much of it deals with human rights and public participation in governance. Qatar is the home of Al Jazeera, the television station that is reviled (and admired) by the West and sister Arabic states for its dedication to free speech.
Qatar is a conservative Muslim state, in which almost all of the Qatari women wear abayas (black cloaks worn over their clothing) and headshawls when in public, and most of the Qatari men wear thobes and headdresses. Most women wear veils covering their faces as well, though the Emir's consort keeps her face uncovered. Non-Qatari women are not expected to wear abayas, and in fact, it's seen as disrespectful for Westerners to do so.
Besides being a very conservative nation, it's also a very wealthy nation, due to its massive oil and gas reserves. Sixty years ago there were less than 20,000 people in the entire country; now there are more than 750,000. Only a quarter are Qatari; the rest are expatriate workers from all over the world.
Technology has made great inroads here, but in a way that's consistent with the local cultures. Here are some examples:
- Most Qataris seem to have mobile phones, and use them constantly. Every meeting (and I've been to dozens) is interrupted regularly by phone calls, and even the Chair will stop talking and answer his phone in the middle of a discussion. The effect is of being in a large and crowded room, with everyone's friends, colleagues and family members all around us. Apparently, before mobile phones people used to drop in to see each other, and meetings were even more disrupted. Now they just call. It's a beautiful example of cultural values affecting the acceptance of new technology. Interestingly, voice mail is unusual and few people have it. You don't need voice mail when you always answer the phone!
- Qatari women, when they have jobs (more and more often, and generally in government), often work in 'women's sections' behind locked doors. There they can remove their abayas and veils. They communicate with their male colleagues and bosses over the phone and via e-mail, and occasionally come to meetings if they can be assured that they will sit beside a woman. Non-Arab women are handy for this, because we can sit between the men and the Qatari women. E-mail has the potential of allowing women to participate more fully in project teams, but it also may lessen the pressure for integration. In fact, with good enough remote collaboration tools, women don't need to leave their homes, though videoconferencing isn't terribly useful when participants are fully veiled.
- Most of the expatriates are low paid labourers and service workers from places like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India. They work all over the country, often in labour camps, and on Fridays they pour into downtown Doha (the capital city) for their weekly holiday. On Friday nights the Internet bandwidth across the city drops dramatically as the expats fill Internet cafés to communicate with their families at home. (I don't know why they are called Internet cafés - they never serve coffee. How did that name stick?)
- Many small businesses have web sites, partly because there are no physical addresses. Doha is in a constant state of demolition and construction, and all mail is delivered to post office boxes. To find a restaurant or business, you have to go to their web site and see the map or phone them for verbal directions.
- Qatar has won regional awards for its government portal, www.e.gov.qa, and is using web services to streamline the distribution of visas, driving licenses, building permits, and so on. Qatar is a highly security-conscious nation, and requires visas to be renewed monthly for business travellers and expat workers. Online visas make it more convenient for business people, while still keeping a tight lid on who is going in and out of the country. (If you get a residence permit, you need a visa to leave the country.)
- Because of the high Internet and e-mail penetration among Qataris, the government is beginning to use web surveys and other online tools for public participation in governance. There are less than 200,000 Qatari citizens, and online communication is a natural way to communicate with them. This is a new approach, and it will be interesting to see how much they use the Internet over the next few years as they develop consultation mechanisms to support their democratic processes.
As in every culture, technology is a double-edged sword. Remote collaboration tools can engage women in teams, but it can also create a type of technological purdah. And web services can streamline bureaucracy, but also provide easier ways to track people.
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Gillian Kerr, Ph.D., C.Psych.
President, RealWorld Systems
gkerr at realworldsystems.net
Read my weblog at http://blog.realworldsystems.net
