Birds, meat, and babies: the multiple realities of fetuses in Qatar

This paper explores miscarriage in a variety of Qatari contexts to reveal the multiple realities of the unborn. During 18 months of ethnographic research, a range of settings in which fetuses emerged were explored. The unborn are represented and imagined differently, particularly in relation to the ways they are located, with multiple beings emerging according to the context and position of the stakeholder. This paper considers fetuses produced within these contexts and considers how they can be different beings simultaneously. The paper reveals how categories meant to define these beings are in flux and are constantly negotiated; it reflects moments of ambiguity. The paper serves as an illustration of the way in which value-afforded pregnancy materials affects the contexts in which they emerge; this then loops back as context dictates the significance of the material, hence multiple realities of these beings

God's Design; Thwarted Plans: Women's Experience of Miscarriage in Qatar and in England

Through an exploration of two settings, Qatar and England, this chapter makes sense of women’s experiences of miscarriage, particularly the way they are impacted by the social landscape in which reproduction is embedded. I argue that expectations of reproductive agency produce anxiety about uncertain fertility futures and increase notions of culpability. Qatar and England provide an opportunity to compare and explore the tensions between reproductive choice and pregnancy loss because of the variation in reproductive experiences and reproductive agency. Such a comparison furthers analytic understandings of women’s responses to reproductive disruption by teasing out the way notions of agency impacts the experience. The chapter demonstrates how perceptions of avoiding miscarriage and being a “good”, “pre-conception” parent are situated within a broader cultivation of neoliberal citizens in England, compared with Qatari experiences where miscarriage is framed as reproductive proof. A comparative approach to reproduction exposes the opposing and fluid meanings of ‘control,’ and when fertility rates are viewed across a continuum

Pregnancy and Miscarriage in Qatar: Women, Reproduction and the State

As the bearers of the next generation in one of the richest countries in the world, the social status of Qatari women is closely linked to their ability to have children. Women are expected to reflect the cultural and religious values attached to motherhood, and not having children puts women in a potentially vulnerable position. But Qatari women must also play an essential role in reflecting the country as a centre of Arab modernity, availing themselves of the new opportunities in work, politics and public life. This book explores the changing role of women in Qatari society and analyses how Qatari women navigate the competing expectations placed upon them. Based on original interviews with pregnant women and women who have experienced miscarriage - as well as interviews with doctors, religious scholars and family members - the book reveals how socio-cultural forces shape the way miscarriage is framed and experienced. It also reveals how intimate reproductive events are deeply entangled with broader societal and political issues. In exploring the themes of reproduction, motherhood and family relationships, this unique study sheds light on the values and beliefs circulating in Qatari society and how these are mapped on to women's bodies

Qatari intersections with global genetics research and discourse

Genetic discourses have taken a predominant role in approaches to combating a number of conditions that affect Qataris. This paper is derived from an exploration of Qatari encounters with globalizing discourses of genetics, particularly as they relate to notions of risk. It explores Qataris negotiations of global interactions and influences, including the discourses around genetic risk and cousin marriage. It suggests that family marriage can be seen as one of the main platforms of resistance and a means for modern, cosmopolitan and tradition to be negotiated

Impotent warriors: the emergence, construction and moulding of Gulf War Syndrome.

From September 1990 to June 1991, the UK deployed 53,462 military personnel in the Gulf War. After the end of the conflict anecdotal reports of various disorders affecting troops who fought in the Gulf began to surface. This mysterious illness was given the name "Gulf War Syndrome" (GWS). This thesis is an investigation into this recently emergent illness. It sets out to describe and report the way in which the illness has emerged and become characterized by specific motifs. The symbolic wealth of GWS is that it is about much more than itself and this thesis explores the way GWS has become a potent symbol and a way to talk about a plethora of issues, anxieties and concerns. The various metaphors and themes contained in narratives of GWS are explored in order to better understand the condition. At present, the debate about GWS is polarized along two lines: there are those who think it is a unique, organic condition caused by Gulf War toxins and those who argue it is likely a psychological condition that can be seen as part of a larger group of illnesses. Although necessary to contextualize GWS through situating it amongst other emergent illnesses and widespread health beliefs, there is a need to bring back the particular. This thesis seeks to make sense of the cultural circumstances, specific and general, which gave rise to the illness. Narratives of sufferers and those around them are examined to unravel the way the illness is a unique expression and way of making sense of the life-worlds of a particular group of people. The methods and perspective of anthropology, with its focus on nuances and subtleties, are used to provide a new approach to understanding GWS

Arranging marriage; negotiating risk: genetics and society in Qatar

This paper considers how the globalized discourse of genetic risk in cousin marriage is shaped, informed and taken up in local moral worlds within the context of Qatar. This paper investigates the way Qataris are negotiating the discourse on genetics and risk. It is based on data from ongoing ethnographic research in Qatar and contributes to anthropological knowledge about this understudied country. Participants were ambivalent about genetic risks and often pointed to other theories of causation in relation to illness and disability. The discourse on genetic risk associated with marrying in the family was familiar, but for some participants the benefits of close marriage outweighed potential risks. Furthermore, the introduction of mandatory pre-marital screening gave participants confidence that risks were monitored and minimized

Culpability, blame, and stigma after pregnancy loss in Qatar

Background: Following a miscarriage many women report feeling guilty and culpable for what has happened particularly when aspects of societal blame and stigma are involved. This research investigated the impact of cultural context on the experience of miscarriage. In particular, it focused on how elements of stigma and blame are linked to notions of miscarriage etiology and risk among Qatari women. Methods: The research used an ethnographic approach. The data was collected over 18 months of fieldwork in Qatar, using semi-structured face to face interviews, and participant observation. A purposive sample of 40 women (primary participants) who had recently miscarried, participated in the study. Potential subjects were initially identified in the Women’s Hospital and were consented, and then interviewed in Arabic either in the hospital or at their preferred location. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Additional key interviews were performed with 20 secondary participants related to the miscarriage cohort including family members and husbands. Inductive thematic analysis of content was performed manually to extract themes. Results: Two main themes emerged from the material looking specifically at miscarriage aftermaths: rhetorics of blame, self-blame and feelings of guilt; and miscarriage attitudes. Overall society is sympathetic and miscarriage is seen as normal and not particularly worrying, but understood to be upsetting to women. However, findings suggest there is some ambivalence around blame, culpability and stigma applied to miscarriage; some participants perceived miscarriage as a relatively normal and common event, whereas, others felt that miscarriage is resounding stigma and shame. Conclusion: Miscarriage aftermaths are embedded in social, cultural and religious frameworks in relation to notions of risk and causation. Attention should be paid to ensure women and those around them are given appropriate and robust information about miscarriage causation to deflect discourses of blame that may be employed and reduce harm to women who suffer miscarriage

Survey and scoping of wildcat priority areas

This report summarises the findings of three complementary projects commissioned by SNH to inform the selection of Priority Areas for wildcat conservation; as proposed in the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan 2013. The scoping projects combined field surveys, taxonomic and genetic assessments, population modelling and a questionnaire survey of public attitudes to wildcat conservation measures. The report makes a recommendations for six wildcat Priority Areas from the nine areas pre-selected by SNH for survey. The sites recommended as Priority Areas all had evidence of cats that were classified as wildcats based on their appearance. However, domestic cats or hybrids (between domestic cats and wildcats) were also found, highlighting the need for conservation actions to reduce the risks they pose to wildcats from hybridisation and disease

Calm Vessels: Cultural Expectations of Pregnant Women in Qatar

This article explores emerging themes from the first stage of ethnographic research investigating pregnancy and loss in Qatar. Issues around the development of foetal personhood, the medical management of the pregnant body and the social role of the pregnant woman are explored. Findings suggest that Qatari women are expected to be calm vessels for their growing baby and should avoid certain foods and behaviours. These ideas of risk avoidance are linked to indigenous knowledge around a mother’s influence on a child’s health and traits. Motherhood holds a particularly important place in Qatari culture and in Islam, and women are ultimately responsible for protecting and promoting fertility and for producing healthy children