University Dissertation: Arab Women, Art, and Stereotypes

This dissertation investigates the significant role of Arab women artists in challenging and breaking societal stereotypes within the Middle East, focusing on the cultural context of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The study examines the lives and artistic contributions of Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan, renowned feminist artists, analyzing their artwork as a means of interrogating cultural norms, religious doctrines, and gender roles. The research explores the historical and contemporary challenges faced by Arab women, the impact of stereotypes, and the importance of art as a tool for social commentary and change. Through literature review, case studies, and data analysis, the dissertation aims to understand the effectiveness of these artists in addressing societal issues and promoting a more nuanced understanding of Arab culture. The study includes interviews and analysis to determine the role of stereotyping in the Arab region, the role played by women, the importance of Arab women as professional artists, and the effectiveness of their artistic work. The conclusion synthesizes the findings, links them to the research objectives, and suggests directions for future research in this field. The study also explores the vibrant artistic culture in Saudi Arabia and how it has been impacted by changes in religious establishments. The dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of the stereotypes present in the Arab world and how Arab women artists are working to break them.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Role of Arab women in breaking stereotypes with the support of art: A case study of Shurooq
Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The aspect of stereotypes are present in the context of every nation state of the world and in their
culture. The purpose of this research is to lay emphasis on the understanding of the significant
role that is played by the Arab women artist in revealing to the society that the evils that are
present within this Arab culture. This paper seeks to focus on the life and work of a renowned
feminist artists in Kuwait, known as Shurooq Amin and of Manal Al Dawaiyan of Saudi Arabia.
The first chapter is the introductory chapter of the dissertation. This chapter provides an insight
in to the main objective of this research. This chapter also outlines the various research
objectives and research questions that this paper seeks to answer in the course of the work. The
second chapter is that of literature review. In this chapter, the researcher consults the various
sources of secondary literature such as that of books, academic articles and journals related to the
topic at hand. In this regard the researcher tries to understand the various stereotypes that are
present within. The third chapter is known as research methodology. In this chapter, the
researcher outlines and describes the various methods that have been used in the course of the
research for its effective execution. The forth chapter tries to find the relevant information for the
research topic. In this regard, this chapter looks in to the different art work of Shurooq Amin and
Manal Al Dawaiyan who has tried to break the stereotype present in the society with the aid of
such art work. The fifth chapter of the dissertation tries to analyze the data that has been
collected so far in answering the main research objective of this paper. The sixth chapter of the
paper is the concluding chapter. This chapter synthesizes all the information which has so far
been presented in the paper in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the research aim.
This chapter shows the significance of this research work for the future studies related to this
field.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................7
1.0 Over view...............................................................................................................................7
1.1 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................8
1.2 Research Aim.........................................................................................................................9
1.3 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................9
1.4 Research Questions..............................................................................................................10
1.5 Research Rationale...............................................................................................................10
1.6 Research Structure...............................................................................................................11
1.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................14
2.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................14
2.1 Meaning of stereotypes........................................................................................................14
2.2 Stereotypes present in the Arab region................................................................................17
2.3 The social status and position of the Arab women..............................................................19
2.3.1 Economic sphere...........................................................................................................19
2.3.2 Social sphere.................................................................................................................19
2.3.3 Political sphere..............................................................................................................20
2.3.4 Cultural sphere..............................................................................................................21
2.4 The importance of art in breaking stereotype......................................................................22
2.4.1 Before the Age of Enlightenment.....................................................................................22

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2.4.2 During The Age of Enlightenment...................................................................................24
2.4.3 Present contemporary world.............................................................................................25
2.5 The efforts made by the Arab women to break stereotypes.................................................27
2.5.1 Stereotypes present in the Arab region with regards to women...................................27
2.5.2 Historical art work present within the Arab region......................................................28
2.5.3 How Arab women seek to break stereotypes................................................................29
2.6 The role played by art in breaking stereotypes present in the Arab world..........................30
2.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................35
Chapter 3: Research Methodology.................................................................................................37
3.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................37
3.1 Research Outline..................................................................................................................37
3.2 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................37
3.2.1 Application of research philosophy..............................................................................38
3.3 Research Approach..............................................................................................................38
3.3.1 Application of research approach.................................................................................39
3.4 Research Design...................................................................................................................39
3.4.1 Application for research design....................................................................................40
3.5 Research Strategy.................................................................................................................40
3.5.1 Application of research strategy...................................................................................41
3.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................42

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3.6.1 Application of data collection process..........................................................................42
3.7 Data analysis technique........................................................................................................42
3.7.1 Justification of data analysis technique.........................................................................43
3.8 Ethical Issues.......................................................................................................................43
3.9 Accessibility Issues..............................................................................................................44
3.10 Summary............................................................................................................................44
Chapter 4: Data Findings...............................................................................................................45
4.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................45
4.1 Interview with Shurooq Amin.............................................................................................45
4.2 Interview with Manal Al Dowaiyan....................................................................................52
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................57
Chapter 5: Data Analysis...............................................................................................................58
5.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................58
5.1 Theme 1: Stereotypes present in the Arab society...............................................................58
5.2 Theme 2: Importance of Arab art.........................................................................................61
5.3 Theme 3: Arab artists breaking stereotypes with the aid of art...........................................63
5.4 Summary..............................................................................................................................67
Chapter 6: Conclusion....................................................................................................................69
6.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................69
6.1 Linking with objectives........................................................................................................70

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6.2 Future Scope of study..........................................................................................................72
Bibliography:.................................................................................................................................73
Appendix........................................................................................................................................87
Interview Questions for Shurooq Amin.....................................................................................87
Interview Questions for Manal Al Dawaiyan............................................................................88

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Over view
The Middle East region is considered to be one of the most highly conflicted zones of the
world (Rizzo 2017, p 10). The countries which fall in this area of the world are mainly inhabited
by the Arab population, ascribing to the Islamic religious faith. The people of this region place a
lot of emphasis and importance on the religious doctrine of their Holy Book of Quran whose
ideas are sought to be followed in both the personal sphere as well as the public sphere of
activity. In other words, the scriptures guide the daily activities of the individuals (Ginat 2017,
p5). The doctrines of the Quran are usually interpreted by a religious group of people who are
known as the ulemas in this part of the world. In this context, it can be observed that while
interpreting the various religious doctrines of Islam, there is a considerable potential that the
actual meaning of the doctrines would get lost in the process of such translation (Tlaiss and
Dirani 2015, p 14).
The preponderant influence of the doctrines of Quran on the lives of the people has
shaped the way of living of the two genders. In the Islamic way of life, it can be seen that the
men and the women are not ascribed an equal status in the society (Sidani 2016, p 10-16). This
has posed a challenge to the way of life of the women gender as they are not given the same
freedom as their male counterpart in terms of their educational freedom, the rights which are
given to them to participate in the public sphere of activity such as taking an active participation
in the process of elections and other activities of similar nature. This has given rise to the feeling
of oppression among the female gender within the region of Middle East (Arar and Shapira 2016,
p 7).

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This stereotype which is present in the entireArab cultureof the Middle Eastwhereby the
male gender is found to be more dominating, has significantly impacted the lives of the female
gender of the Arab countries (Holmes-Eber 2018, p 32). Irrespective of the various countries in
the Middle East, the women are treated in a subservient manner. The aspect of stereotypes are
present in the context of every nation state of the world and in their culture. The main objective
of the presence of stereotyping is that it reduces a particular society and community to a single
thought process with the aid of which the other people of the world are able to recognize the
concerned culture or community (Layish 2017, p 41).
The purpose of this research is to lay emphasis on the understanding of the significant
role that is played by the Arab women artist in revealing to the society that the evils that are
present within this Arab culture. In this manner, they aim to hold a mirror to the various societal
aspects (Abalkhail and Allan 2016, p 13). This paper seeks to focus on the life and work of a
renowned feminist artists in Kuwait, known as Shurooq Amin and of Manal Al Dawaiyan of
Saudi Arabia. The paintings painted by Shurooq Amin are marvelous and ground breaking as
they seek to challenge the very cultural norms to which she belongs. She attempts to interrogate
the various cultural constructs of religion, truth, class, gender and sexuality.
1.1 Problem Statement
The Arab women face a lot of challenges within their own society in the Middle East
region of the world. Their political systems do not allow them the various freedoms that are
universally granted to all the other individuals of the world (Saleh 2017, p 11). Furthermore,
their lives are governed by their own male counterparts who seek to ensure the continuance of
this subservient nature of their own women. In this regard, the society of Arab has certain social

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evils which prevails in it and as a consequence, this society has been stereotyped by the other
individuals of the globe in the context of such social evils.
In the contemporary world order, it can be observed that there are some women
particularly belonging to this Arab culture, who have taken the onus of ensuring that their voices
are heard by the other nation states of the world. Instead of taking a recourse to political
movements or public outcry, such women has now taken refuge within the field of art (Buang
and Suryandari 2017, p 21). They try to portray their challenges and hard ships through such art
with the aid of which they wish to make their voices heard in the larger community.
However, even in this respect, they face certain issues. There exists many varied kinds of
social evils within the Arab culture in the context of the female gender. Breaking all of these
stereotypes will prove to be quite difficult for the artists who have taken up such a challenging
responsibility (Kostenko, Kuzmuchev and Ponarin 2016, p 14). Holding up a mirror and
confronting the very nature of the society is a monumental task for any one individual without
the active support from the other members of the society who also desire such changes. Thus,
there is a need to understand the life and the work done by such artists and the extent to which
they have been successful in their endeavor (Yahiaoui and Al Ariss 2017, p 10).
1.2 Research Aim
The aim of the research is to understand the life and work of the leading women artists
within the Arab culture with particular reference to Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan and
to analyze the extent of her work in breaking the stereotypes present within the Arabian culture.
1.3 Research Objectives
The objectives of the research can be stated as follows –

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1. To determine the role of stereotyping as present within the Arab region, especially within
Kuwait.
2. To discuss the role played by the women present in the Arab culture.
3. To understand the importance of the Arab women as professional artists.
4. To identify and analyze the effectiveness of artistic work done by Arab women to break
stereotypes present in the society.
1.4 Research Questions
The research questions can be stated as follows –
1. What is the role of stereotyping as present within the Arab region, especially within Kuwait?
2. What is the role played by the women present in the Arab culture?
3. What is the importance of the Arab women as professional artists?
4. What is the effectiveness of artistic work done by Arab women to break stereotypes present in
the society?
1.5 Research Rationale
A region in the world is known by its cultural aspects and the people who ascribe to such
cultural aspects (Almansour and Kempner 2016). The geographical boundaries does not apply
much in the present order of the contemporary society but it is still significantly present. In this
context, it can be seen that the region of the Middle East is considered to be one of the most
traditional and religious places of the world. The ascription to religious doctrines from the Holy
Book of Quran, in this part of the world is significantly high (Akhmatshina and Nikonov 2017, p
11). Furthermore, such religious doctrines are found to play a preponderant role in the lives of