Shifting Sands: Khaleeji Women and the Discourse Of Development

Khaleeji women are currently the least represented and utilised in the current socio-political and economic development process. Hence, the Gulf States deferment to achieve tangible successes in development and equality for women is the main topic this thesis examines. Using a decolonising approach, this PhD thesis investigates the role development discourse had in shaping these States' political, economic, and social structures. Mainly how Global/International Political Economy, influenced by oil wealth, impacts National Visions and Strategies. By exploring the theoretical significance of the decolonial development discourse as an overarching constructed system- rather than a methodology-, the thesis presents a historical analysis of the colonial systems influencing women's status in the Gulf. The Gulf regions' failure to achieve tangible development and social reforms may be summarised in two main points. Firstly, the region is held in a triangle formed by constitutive colonial political systems that own vast oil-based fortunes, are governed by an outdated social contract free of public accountability, and finally, the regions' reliance on Western powers for protection. Secondly, women's status in this evolving paradigm of governmentality defines and hinders her righteous role in development strategies. The lack of thorough, inclusive, and authentic examination into the relationship between development discourse, political economy, and inclusion of women is what this thesis investigates. The Gulf States development process and social reform policies are imperative to successful transformations. Not just because they challenge the most influential theories of decolonial development, women equality, and economic sustainability, but examining these reforms allows for understanding the complex adjustments required between politics and economics underlie these regimes' endurance.