In the news: 2012
What the media say about The Doha Debates...
As controversial and timely as the latest headlines, The Doha Debates have been making news themselves. Here are a few of the stories that have aired or been written about us:
The medical implications of consanguineous marriage, such as hereditary disorders, were a key feature of a high profile and globally televised debate in Doha. At the end of the debate most students attending the session voted to discourage unions between cousins.
"I'm living evidence that cousin marriage doesn't work," said Salma, a Sudanese woman living in Qatar who was in the audience and spoke during the question and answer period. "My parents are both first cousins. My aunt married a first cousin and had two children, both of whom died young. I'm now afraid I'll get diabetes, because everyone in my family has it."
Last week, The Doha Debates held its regular one-hour session under the banner "This House believes marriage between close family members should be discouraged", making it possibly the most sensitive social subject the forum has tackled to date. Discussions hit close to home in Qatar, where more than 50 per cent of marriages are between people, as the Debates' founder and presenter Tim Sebastian put it, "joined by the ties of blood".
Despite arguments ranging from new restrictions due to the rise of political Islam to the lack of personal safety and rights, the audience who attended the Doha Debates resoundingly rejected the motion by 74 percent.
Middle East women believe they have a brighter future following the Arab Spring protests, according to a young audience on the TV show Doha Debates.
A Turkish news report on the January 2012 Doha Debate held at Bogazici University in Istanbul. The motion was: 'This House believes Turkey is a bad model for the new Arab states'.
Iyibilg writes about The Doha Debate held in Istanbul on the topic of whether Turkey is a good model for the Arab world to adopt.
