BAHRAINI women were driven by a sense of national duty and a desire to serve humanity as they volunteered on the frontline of the country’s Covid-19 pandemic response, despite familial opposition, social alienation and personal loss, a recently published study has revealed.
The findings were made public in the Motivations of Young Women Volunteers during Covid-19: A Qualitative Inquiry in Bahrain, done by Royal University for Women researchers Dr Debashish Sengupta and Shaikha Dwa bint Khalid Al Khalifa.
They examined the motivations of young women in Bahrain to volunteer for RT-PCR testing and vaccination drives sponsored by the government during the pandemic.
“Volunteering work has played a major role in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic crisis,” notes the study published on May 31.
“As women make up a large percentage of volunteers, understanding the relationship between motivation and women intending to take up volunteering work during crises is necessary – particularly in collectivist Islamic societies.”
The study includes responses from a focus group discussion with eight women volunteers, followed by in-depth interviews with 10 female and five male participants. All surveyed individuals were part of Team Bahrain’s Covid-19 response volunteer group.
The first volunteer interviewed for this study was a university student. The interviewees were aged between 22 and 29, and included students and homemakers as well as part-time and full-time employees.
The interviews revealed that most of the female volunteers faced initial opposition from their families, whether this was their parents or husbands, but chose to stay strong, motivated by an aspiration to serve humanity.
“My parents initially opposed my idea of volunteering during the pandemic,” a 23-year-old Bahraini woman pursuing graduation, told interviewers.
“I had to convince them to a certain extent, but I told them that it affected all of us and if everyone thought like this then we will never be able to emerge out of this crisis. Someone had to take a stand and becoming a volunteer was the only way I could help my people as well as myself and my family.”
Many volunteers also realised soon that friends and neighbours were reticent about meeting them, lest they contract the virus.
“I cannot blame them,” a 27-year-old married Bahraini homemaker explained.
“They were perhaps justified in thinking the way they did, but that did not deter me. The same people later came to me and apologised for their behaviour, adding that they were proud of me.”
While some found motivation in philanthropy, others were driven by their sense of duty towards the nation and the influence of religious values.
The study noted that motivators like the call of the homeland, philanthropic zeal and a desire to alleviate suffering likely arose from Bahrain’s collectivist culture.
Meanwhile, some were driven by personal suffering and loss, with many of the respondents having faced death in the family due to Covid-19.
“I lost both my grandparents in a span of 20 days,” a 25-year-old married Bahraini graduate explained. “I could no longer just sit and watch my family suffer. I had to do something. Volunteering gave me strength and hope.”
All the interviewed volunteers were proud of what they had accomplished, with one saying that she was looking forward to telling her grandchildren one day about her experience and how it was the first time in her life she felt like she was doing something worthwhile.
They also found the experience had altered their career aspirations while helping them grow as human beings.
“Most young women who worked as volunteers now want to work either in the social sector or for companies who are socially responsible and socially driven,” the study found.
Bahrain’s ambitious Covid-19 response, including contact testing and mass vaccination roll-outs, were successful in part due to the extraordinary team of volunteers who supported these initiatives through their participation.
The government’s call for volunteers was met with an excellent response and in a nation with only approximately 1.7 million inhabitants, more than 30,000 from both medical and non-medical backgrounds quickly joined the cause.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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