What have been the major influences on higher education on the Arabian Peninsula?
The Arabian Peninsula is experiencing an education boom as a large number of institutions of higher education are cropping up and expanding every year. Several reasons or influences have contributed to the phenomenon. For instance, the economic and education history in the region has influenced education in a number of ways. First, the decline of the pearl trade caused the decline of many economies, causing a decline to the Western-funded or motivated academic system in the region.
However, with the booming oil and petrochemical economies in the region, leaders have emphasized developing education to promote a knowledge-based industry. Secondly, the fear of over-reliance on the oil sector has motivated leaders to emphasize on knowledge-based economies. They have developed various projects to fund institutions of higher education in the region. Moreover, the large number of individuals seeking education in the western world, especially the US, has influenced local leaders to start western-like institutions of higher learning.
For example, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the US caused many Arab and Muslim students to lose their chances to study in the western world. To fill this gap, local leaders, with support from American universities and institutions, embarked on developing western-like institutions of higher education within their countries.
It is also worth noting that the need to improve the quality of the local education and workforce for the booming economies has further motivated leaders to embark on massive drives to support, fund, and enhance education. Leaders seek to attract and retain top expatriates in education and other economic sectors. To achieve this, they seek to develop quality education through the establishment of western-like institutions of higher education, with emphasis on English and Arabic languages. In addition, they emphasize science and technology in order to promote research and development that will propel the economies and reduce overreliance on the oil sector.
What obstacles have challenged the development of universities in the 20th and 21st centuries in the Arabian Peninsula?
Despite the academic boom in the Arabian Peninsula, a number of obstacles have hindered the development of education and institutions of higher learning. For instance, the academic system is challenged with the inability to attract and retain expatriate faculty in the institutions of higher education. In addition, the methods of teaching critical thinking in a region dominated by traditional cultures as well as religious beliefs have proved to be a challenge.
Moreover, English is a second language in the region, yet local leaders and universities want to teach everything in English. In this way, the methods required to teach top-quality course materials in English to the local students have proved to be a major hindrance to the development of education in the region. With an increasing trend towards the establishment of a western-like education system in the Arabian Peninsula, the need to adopt western concepts in the classrooms has risen. However, it has proved to be a challenge because the western and local cultures differ significantly.
Finally, emphasizing modern education in a region where such issues as freedom of expression, free-thinking, and other issues are greatly forbidden has become a problem. For example, it is difficult to teach such issues as freedom of expression because it is not a protected right in the region.
What improvement on the US model is present at KAUST for instance? What is yet to be accomplished?
The university was established as a modern institution to carry out interdisciplinary research needed to solve new and emerging problems. According to the article, the university has adopted an American model of higher education in various ways. For instance, it has a large number of western-trained professors and researchers. This has helped it reject the traditional models of education by focusing on sustainable prosperity, with a focus on the real problems affecting the society such as energy, water, food, and environmental issues. In addition, it has adopted the US model of partnering with industries and corporate in carrying out research and development.
It is also worth ting that the institution has embarked on cosmopolitanism, with a focus on hiring and retaining expatriates and enrolling students from various parts of the world. The institution’s majority number of students is made up of international students from various parts of the world. In addition, the administration is led and facilitated by foreign expatriates, giving it an American style of governance.
However, KAUST is yet to achieve some of its dreams. For instance, the number of students at both undergraduate and graduate levels is relatively low, currently standing at about 5000 as compared to the target of 2000. In addition, a graduate-level research ecosystem is lacking at the university. It needs to establish itself as an institution dedicated solely to carry out interdisciplinary research.
Why has the headscarf been a political issue in Turkey? How did it get to this point?
The imposition and implementation of the Kemalist doctrine, a sociopolitical and economic idea of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, provides a good explanation of the politicization of the headscarf in the country. Although the doctrine did not pay a lot of attention to such issues as ideas of attire, its implementation as well as focus on modernization drew a number of social issues to the center of controversy.
For instance, the degree of modernization was measured, to some extent, with the level of westernization in society. Therefore, the adoption of the term “modern Turkishâ emerged. Since then, the headscarf became a political issue. First, there are laws and regulations that prohibit women from wearing the veil in certain activities or situations. For instance, women have been barred from performing public duties while veiled.
For example, teachers, lawyers, judges, court workers, doctors, and other public servants working in offices were barred from veiling. The issue became political with the passage of the Hat Law in the 1920s. Nevertheless, the actual politicization of the headscarf issue occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. The entry of human rights activists and the involvement of international organizations for human rights, including the EU, have made the veil become a political rather than a social issue. Politicians seek to influence voters by siding with one side of the debate on the headscarf by taking the advantage of the majority opinion as far as the debate is concerned.
How the headscarf became a political issue in turkey is a question that needs an in-depth analysis of the article. According to the author, the politicization of the headscarf began sometimes after the enactment of the Hat Laws in the mid 20th century. Nevertheless, the author argues that the origins of the headscarf politics began in 1968 after a student was jailed for months after sitting her graduate exams while veiled.
The student was found guilty of interfering with examination rules by âaffecting other candidatesâ in the exam room. Secondly, the issue of modernization progressively made veiled women appear as less progressive, traditional, and backward. For a woman to work in the public sector, she was required to be modern, which included removing the veil. Moreover, the requirement for women to produce ID photos with naked hare and neck brought a new debate, which further politicized the headscarf issue.
What role is the headscarf playing in modern politics? How is it a feminist issue in Turkey today?
Since 2000, the headscarf has been allowed in various public sectors. However, it is still attracting political debates. For instance, the ascent of the AK Part to power in 2002 brought a number of changes, including allowing women to enter public universities as well as exam rooms while veiled. Nevertheless, the courts have remained rigid, often thwarting the efforts by the political class to overturn the previous laws and rules banning the veil. Secondly, the entry of Turkey as a member of the European Union has affected the headscarf debate. Currently, those who advocate for the removal of the headscarf bans are considered to be fighting for human rights. In fact, wearing the veil is seen as a part of the basic rights of women in the country.
The issue is largely feminist because it affects women only. In addition, the banning of the veil was a weapon used by men to discriminate against women, especially in politics. For instance, the author cites an event in which the Turkish parliament experienced turmoil after Merve Kavakci, a female lawmaker, refused to remove her veil in the house.
The âWomen of the wallâ website. Who are the women? Describe the objectives of the group. What strategies do they use to achieve them?
The organization is a group of Jewish women from all over the world seeking to achieve women’s rights to perform religious rituals such as wearing shawls, praying, and reading from the Torah loudly and collectively at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. To achieve this, the group seeks to influence Jewish and non-Jewish women around the world to join the efforts by donating. In addition, they seek to use these funds to press the Israeli government to amend laws giving women the right to perform the previously mentioned rituals.