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“It’s a forum for free speech where in this part of the world you don’t really have any free speech at all.”
the art of talking
C
By Asha Toulmin
atherine Harte isn’t used to being on the other side of an interview – although, you wouldn’t know it. Perched casually on a chair in Qatar Foundation headquarters, coffee mug in hand, she’s bubbly, articulate and bright eyed. Then again, her job as producer of the Doha Debates has prepared her in the art of conversation with types far more interesting than the typical journalist. “I get to talk to people on the phone all day, that’s my job,” she explains. “The level of people I speak to former ambassadors, people who are high up in think tanks, policy makers – it’s really quite extraordinary.” Harte searches for people with an opinion, panellists for the debates. The nature of the programme mandates participants must be either for or against the motion, with no room for compromise in be-
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tween. It’s Harte’s job to contact, vet and keep up with these potential debaters. “I just go straight in for ‘are you for or against the motion’ and wait and see what their response is. If their response is a bit wavering then I think maybe they’re not right for this debate,” she says. “As much as there are certain people you want to be on the debate, you have to be honest as much as you really want them to be there.” Told that journalism was too competitive of a field to bank on, Harte started her career on a local gardening show in the UK. She shortly moved up to regional news programmes and eventually transferred to the BBC where she first experienced bantering with the political glitterati. “I remember Madeline Albright coming on breakfast TV when I was at the BBC and getting up at 5.30
AM to meet her in her hotel room. And she was just a lady. I was expecting her to be a little frosty at that time in the morning but she was lovely,” Harte recalls. Another of her more inspiring interviewees was Shukria Barakzai, an Afghani MP and prominent women’s rights activist. Barakzai colourfully spoke against the motion “This House believes this Afghan government is not worth fighting for.” “Her stories were just incredible being a female in Afghanistan and having fought for women’s rights for years and years even during the Taliban regime. Just so brave and extraordinary and she’s still there and she’s still very, very active,” Harte says. “Unfortunately we don’t get as many females participating as we’d like to only because that seems to be the nature of politics. It’s very male dominated.” The Debates staff tries to maintain an editorial balance between panellists and shies away from using “token” females. However, Harte believes there is more room for women in the political sphere and is trying to increase female visibility. “We’ve made quite a few contacts this year with women’s groups and people who are interested in putting more women on the programme. So when the motion fits the individuals expertise that’s what we’re trying to push for,” she explains. Harte holds a unique position at the centre of one of the world’s most unlikely progressive media outlets. Despite both the self-censorship and regulated censorship of the Gulf region, she claims that the Debates have never been told to shy away from an issue. “It’s a forum for free speech where in this part of the world you don’t really have any free speech at all. Every month, students from all the universities here of all different nationalities come and ask questions freely and often really challenge the panellists. They stand up and don’t sit down until they get an answer. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the region or anywhere in the world where debating exists like that,” she says. One of the American panellists even told Harte that the recent debate on Obama could never have taken place in the US. However, it’s not just Harte’s freedom of expression that may contradict international stereotypes
Harte with series producer Tanya Sakzewski of the Middle East. She finds the treatment she receives a woman in Doha is the same as in her native England. “Even when I’ve met people face to face I cannot say I’ve felt I have been treated a little differently than I would have been in the UK and I think a lot of people at home are surprised by that. But it’s true, I’ve never felt that as a woman I’ve been treated differently at all,” she says. Despite producing some of the world’s most watched arguments, Harte claims she isn’t a debater.
I think if there was ever a debate in the UK about perceptions of Arabs especially Arab women then I would participate.
Although if forced into it, there is one topic she could discuss. “I think if there was ever a debate in the UK about perceptions of Arabs especially Arab women then I would participate. My preconceived ideas of what Arab women would be like or wouldn’t be like have totally changed since I came here 18 months ago,” she says. “I don’t think I’d quite want to debate that issue but I think for myself it’s been a real eye opener, it’s been really fascinating.” However, when it comes to The Doha Debates’ latest issue – whether women are superior to men (the first ever comedy discussion), Catherine is ever the diplomat. Although she comes from a female dominated workplace (the Doha Debates team is five women and two men) she argues for both sides. “This is why I’m not a debater. Because actually I think neither are superior. I’ve always worked in places where you’ve had a good mix of both and I think that’s what you’d need. I think you don’t want to be overly dominated by one or the other,” she says. “I know I probably should say women but no. I honestly don’t believe that. I think a healthy environment requires both.”
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The Roles Women Play 2010 June
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