TITLE:
Factors Influencing Omani Women’s Autonomy to Study Overseas: A Synthesis of the Literature
AUTHORS:
Saif Juma Salim Al Weshahi
KEYWORDS:
Gender, Equity, Autonomy, Overseas Study, Capability Approach, Essentialism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.13,
December
28,
2022
ABSTRACT: This paper explores why many Omani women choose not to complete their
higher education studies overseas in affluent countries such as the UK, America,
Canada, or Australia. The study has shown that with a gender population of
about 50/50 in schools and where the World Bank report indicates that female students’ outcomes outperform male
students’ within a high-income country context of Oman, the percentage
of females who obtain external scholarships is underrepresented compared with
men. It has also revealed that Omani women are to some extent cognitively
stymied to perpetuating wrong conceptions and beliefs toward studying abroad,
and this could be attributed to the influence of essentialization,
socio-cultural conventions, religious misinterpretations, and micro-political
practices which have relatively restricted Omani women’s independence to pursue
their aspirations. The article has investigated the status quo of gender equity
in Oman and discussed what education should do to ensure more inclusive and
equitable quality education, enable Omani women to realize their capabilities,
and promote life-long learning opportunities for all. However, this account
must be approached with caution because gender identity results from a complex
interplay between structure and agency. In this study, data are collected using
only a literature-based approach.