Understanding women's issues

Dubai: The idea of pursuing a higher education in women's studies might seem to some people in developing countries as a form of self-indulgence.

But for academics, experts and women activists alike, it is an essential step in order to achieve a better and more comprehensive understanding of women's issues. This can ensure their development and progress in society.

"It is overdue," said Rula Qawas, Director of the Centre for Women Studies at the University of Jordan. She believes that is vital for such centres to be present so they can educate and enlighten future advocates and researchers on the topic.

"Women's studies are undertaken around the globe. It is a fact of life," she told Gulf News.

US-educated Qawas is also an associate professor at the English Department.

She explained:"There is a need for us to understand women's issues. We do not need a centre to prove that women are right. We need a centre to prove that there is a characteristic to women's issues and that women have desires and needs.

"We need the centre to show that women are on the other side ... that there must be a balance."

Moreover, there is a need to acknowledge that women's rights are about human rights, added the articulate and highly-regarded professor.

The centre is the first of its kind in the Middle East to offer a masters degree in women's studies. It started offering the programme in 1998 and has 159 graduates so far. Four of the students at present are male.

The centre has also grown to include two more sections, one for research and another for training that are active in adding to the depth of knowledge.

The Research and Consultation department at the centre seeks to build a clearing house of original and professional level research on gender issues.

Workshops are carried out through the Training and Coordination department, which offers training programmes and partners with regional and global centre's for women's studies.

The curriculum at the centre includes a range of subjects such as: women in law, politics and political participation, literature, culture, psychology, gender issues and human rights.

The programme also aims to prepare students for leadership in a variety of fields, namely business and management, public administration, health, journalism and teaching.

Qawas hopes that the centre will one day be able to grant a PhD degree programme. In developed countries having academic programmes in women's studies is not unusual, particularly in the oldest and most reputable institutions for higher education.

"I am very happy with what I am accomplishing at the centre," said Qawas. "I feel I am doing something that should have been done long ago.

"Women's studies is an internationally recognised, multidisciplinary field of teaching and research that seeks to understand the social construction of gender and the historical and contemporary mechanisms that promote or limit women's development as full participants in society," she said.

At the same time, Qawas said she loves teaching at the centre, "Teaching is my life."