Since 1982, al-Rifa'i has worked as a professor in the Department of Arabic Language at Kuwait University.[1] Her poetry and her research are published in both English and Arabic.[3][4]
Al-Rifa'i is an expert in the culture and history of sea-songs and shanties, from Kuwait and the Persian Gulf region.[5][6] She studied has studied their musical structure, demonstrating that they follow Arabic melodic structures.[7] She has also studied the movement of Arabic musical traditions across the Mediterranean to Andalusia.[8] As well as the musical heritage of sea-shanties, al-Rifa'i has studied the cultural practices that go alongside: for example women performing rituals, such as placing a bar of hot iron in the sea, to ensure the safe return of fishermen.[6] In addition, al-Rifa'i studies comparative folk literature, including the Cinderella narrative in Kuwaiti tradition.[9] She has worked on the legacy of the folk-poet Zaid Al-Harb.[10]
Poetry
Al-Rifa'i is a poet herself and has published four books of poetry.[1]
^Ulaby, Laith (2008). Performing the past: Sea music in the Arab Gulf states (PhD in Ethnomusicology thesis). University of California, Los Angeles=. ProQuest304653749.
^ abUlaby, Laith (2012). "On the Decks of Dhows: Musical Traditions of Oman and the Indian Ocean World". The World of Music. 1 (2): 43–62. ISSN0043-8774. JSTOR24318118.
^Al-Rifai, H. (1987). "Cultural and Historical Features of Kuwait Sea Song Music". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 17: 143–162. ISSN0308-8421. JSTOR41223052.