Status of Women in Saudi Arabia - Literature review Example

Download file to see previous pages The seclusion of women from the rest of the world alongside the concurrent ban on the sexualization of women in the public eye has led to increased levels of sexual violence and abuse directed towards both women and children. It is only recently that researchers have uncovered more accurate statistics on the occurrence of this abhorrent violence following the establishment of human rights-based projects and refuges to rescue and protect women and children as well as to promote the welfare of the wider public in general.

1) General Theoretical Background: Women and Gender
An important foundation for the study of women and gender is to be found in the feminist literature of the 1970s. Around this time scientists had begun to untangle the complex interplay between biological gender differences, and the abstract concept of gender, which is now a socially determined construct imposed on all human beings from the moment they are born. (Maccoby and Jacklin, 1974) Terminology such as ‘the sexual revolution’ (Millet, 1970) was used to describe the birth of consciousness about women’s subordination to men in patriarchal societies and many aspects of women’s lives were re-examined in this light.

This analysis is similar to some Marxist ideas because it identifies the concentration of wealth and power in one area as the source of oppression: “the position of women in patriarchy is a continuous function of their economic dependence.” (Millet: 1970) Another American feminist studied the ways in which women in patriarchal societies are conditioned to adopt domestic and subservient roles, stressing the social constraints, which are described as “a comfortable concentration camp.” (Friedan: 1963, p. 438)

Later, scholars moved away from this confrontational approach and employed emotive language to develop a deep theoretical understanding of gender relationships. A more modern definition of feminism is that of Deborah Cameron: “As an intellectual approach feminism seeks to understand how current relations between women and men are constructed… and in the light of this understanding, how they can be changed” (Cameron and Kulick: 2003, p. xiii). From an early focus on white middle-class women, which largely ignored issues of race and class, feminism in the new millennium has taken a more inclusive approach and now examines the interplay of race and class alongside gender in the experiences of modern women across the globe.

2) Saudi Women in a Conservative Islamic Culture
Arab social norms and attitudes have cemented women’s role in the private sphere while creating barriers to their participation in public which remains a significant
obstacle to women’s empowerment. The World Bank sees gender roles and dynamics within the household as being shaped by a traditional ‘gender paradigm’ that presumes that the most important contribution women can make is to family and society, as homemakers and mothers. ...Download file to see next pages Read More