GU-Q Hosts Qatari Expert Lecture on Strengthening the Family in Qatar

Georgetown University in Qatar’s (GU-Q) Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) recently hosted a Monthly Dialogue Series with guest speaker Miss Noor Al Malki Al Jehani, the Executive Director of the Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) a member of Qatar Foundation, who presented on the topic of Strengthening the Family in Qatar: Challenges and Required Actions.

The CIRS Monthly Dialogue Series is designed to present interested community members with a forum for thoughtful dialogue with scholars about their latest academic endeavors and their research agendas. Each month, a leading scholar discusses his or her latest work and research interests with community members.

An expert in the field of family affairs, Miss Al Malki participated in the drafting of many national strategies and plans, including Qatar’s first national development strategy 2011-16, where she was the chair of the drafting committee of the strategy of family cohesion and women’s empowerment. She also participated in the review and drafting of several legislations pertaining to social and women’s issues. She served as the Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs from 2009-2011, and prior to that was the director of the Women’s Department of that same council.

CIRS Director, Prof. Mehran Kamrava, introduced the distinguished guest speaker, noting the strong ties between the GU-Q and DIFI collaboration in performing valuable research. “At CIRS, we were fortunate to collaborate with Miss Malki and members of DIFI team as part of our own research on the Gulf family, and the value of this partnership has proved to be a tremendous asset to the project,” said Prof. Kamrava, commenting on the affiliation productivity between the two organizations.

Miss Al Malki’s presentation focused on the institutional framework and the challenges facing the implantation of national strategy with regards to family policy. Discussing the different types of family policies and the importance of proper policy implementation in order to achieve a comprehensive approach required to create healthy families, she stressed that functioning families are the key to the social and economic development of any state.

She further stressed that adoption of policies which support the primary functions of the family unit such as family formation and resolution, partner relationships, child care and economic support, in addition to investment in long term planning, is required in order to achieve the objectives of the national vision.

“Achieving Qatar vision of cohesive families requires coordination between the government, civil society, the private sector, and first and foremost the families themselves,” emphasized Miss Al Malki in her closing remarks.

CIRS previously collaborated with DIFI in policy roundtable discussions and a collaborative research project studying the Gulf family and issues such as tribalism, mixed marriages, and the effects of religious education on family dynamics amongst other topics.

Currently a member of the Board of Directors for Qatar Foundation for Social Work and a former member of the Qatar National Human Rights Committee from 2003 until 2011, Al Malki was an expert in the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against women from 2013-14.