Mary Ann Tétreault’s insights on feminism, specifically on how women begin to “participate as autonomous actors rather than as spectators whose public experience is controlled by or mediated through family members or religious leaders” (1993, 280), are formative foundational pieces for gender studies in the region. Her 1993 article on “protected spaces” in Kuwait made the important argument that diwaniyyas (gatherings within the home) are “a plausible substitute for civil society in the public space” (279) as they “institutionally, legally, and normatively are off-limits to state intervention” (277). As formal civil society organizations are often repressed in the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East, her observation on the protected space of the in-home diwaniyya represents a crucial link in the larger study of civil society in the region. In many different pieces of her work, Tétreault was particularly interested in how women’s engagement and empowerment may be advanced through these and other types of organizations. In her most recent work, a draft shared with me in May 2015, she speculated that progress in women’s human rights depends on “opportunity structures”: “open spaces where activists confront disharmonies between ideas and practices, question the status quo, and reach out for new values and approaches to living well” (22). In-home gatherings represent an opportunity structure that is particularly well defended against government encroachment, and as such may be places where we can witness civil society activism at the grassroots level. My own work draws directly on Tétreault’s insights on feminism and civil society. Her observation on the semi-private, semi-public sphere of the diwaniyya was the foundation for my recent grant, in which a team of faculty and students focused on Qatari women’s engagement and empowerment through their participation in women’s majaalis. Our research speculated that these majaalis may provide important spaces where civil society can take root, and lead to increased citizen interaction with and influence over the public sphere. Our ethnographic and survey evidence demonstrated the nuances of this hypothesis by elaborating on the differences between various types of majaalis as well as other indicators of public sphere engagement. Throughout this research, Tétreault was an advisor and a support, and her insights and interest remain an inspiration as we continue to investigate the drivers and obstacles of women’s progress in the region. Tétreault, Mary Ann. 1993. “Civil Society in Kuwait: Protected Spaces and Women’s Rights.” Middle East Journal 47 (2): 275–91.