Doha: Over the past few years, or roughly since it won the right to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup, Qatar has found itself at the centre of worldwide media attention — and mostly for unflattering reasons.
To counter this unwelcome spotlight, government bodies and local companies have been involved in putting together events, campaigns and social programmes to show that Qatar is moving ahead with the times. However, sometimes such events end up doing more harm than good to the country’s image.
One such example is the recent fiasco involving a group of young Qataris, who left for Brazil earlier this month to take part in an Amazonian adventure and community-building exercise.
The seven young men and women were backed by telecom company Vodafone and media production house Mediadante. The group is to stay in the South American country for three weeks, during which time they will live in the jungle, canoe through rivers and eventually help local children by rebuilding their school, which burned down earlier this year.
To ensure that the project received publicity, the group was heavily involved in a social media campaign, which included a video showing them leave Doha dressed in traditional Qatari outfits. Photographs taken in Brazil, however, showed that the young women had taken off their abayas and headscarves, which led to an outpouring of disapproval and outrage on social media websites.
Commenters, who were at first critical of the girls’ attire, went on to question the entire project as it was based on a “mixed” group of youth from both genders. A large number of young and progressive Qataris showed their support for the volunteers and their cause, turning it into a heated debate between both sides.
While Vodafone initially chose to continue its backing for the project, saying that the participants had their families’ consent, the continued pressure from locals and possibly some higher-ups led the company to cave in and withdraw its name from the project. It cited the chairman’s “commitment to seeing Vodafone Qatar providing the best services and initiatives that are suitable to the norms and values of the Qatari culture,” in a statement issued following the pull-out.
Those who were calling for action praised the company and its chairman but the move continues to stir debate on local news sites and social media forums. For young local women, the decision comes as a reminder that their country’s journey becoming an inclusive environment does not come without some roadblocks. According to Alanoud Al Thani, a journalism student in Doha, the move highlights the fact there is a vocal minority, which is trying to impose strict laws and is unwilling to be tolerant and respectful of those who do not follow them.
‘On guard’
“This is the first time we have seen such a large-scale attack on mixed-trips and hair showing, and it has put me on guard,” Alanoud told Gulf News.
Gulf News contacted several young men and women to seek their opinion on the issue but most of them chose not to comment on the issue as they feared it would bring them into the public eye and jeopardise their ambitions.
Condemning the move, Alanoud said that by deciding to agree with the minority who are calling these women non-Qataris and unfit Muslims for showing their hair, Vodafone has shown that its morals are against that of personal freedom despite claiming that their telecom services have assisted women in developing countries
After receiving several inquiries and complaints Vodafone stated that it had fulfilled its financial obligations for the project, confirming that its withdrawal was indeed, a face-saving publicity move.
While the Amazon adventure will continue as per schedule, it will be solely run by the production company, which posted an update on its website on Tuesday, to show that the group is moving on with the project, which ends on August 21.
Alanoud is among the dozens of local youth who have taken to social media and personal blogs to censure this latest blot on their country’s image. Apart from bringing Qatar back into the world’s focus for another unsavoury move, it will also put doubts in the minds of the young progressive individuals like Alanoud, who said: “These trips have been going on for years and they won’t stop, but now men and women will think twice before promoting them online for fear of being bullied.”
— Hafsa Adil is a journalist based in Doha
