Women in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

Recently a Saudi woman was arrested by Saudi police for posting a picture on a social media website, in which she appears to be driving her vehicle. “An Arabic newspaper recently alleged that Saudi women are the most beautiful and pampered women in the world. The article asserted that princesses do not drive cars by themselves and neither do Saudi women” (Almansour). This paper critically analyses the claim put forward by this newspaper.

It appears that the newspaper made the allegations against Saudi women to placate them so they would stop raising demands for their basic rights. Because of the growing international exposure, Saudi women are getting more awareness about the oppression they are facing in society now. Social media websites and foreign education (UK/US education) are helping them to compare their social life with that of women in other countries. Modern Saudi women know very well that gender equality is a natural right or a basic right for them and the dominant male community is trying to deny it. In Saudi, “gender equality means that the different behaviors, aspirations, and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favored equally” (Alsaleh, N.d., p.124).

However, Saudi culture does not provide equality to men and women as the western culture does. It should be noted that Saudi women cannot start a business in Saudi without a male sponsor. All the Arabic newspapers in Saudi are run by the male community. The male community in Saudi does not like the over-involvement of Saudi women in business, politics, or social life. As a result of that, the above-mentioned Arabic newspaper tries to calm down the emotions of Saudi women by comparing them to the most beautiful women in the world. The newspaper knows female psychology very well. Women usually are interested more in hearing praising words from others, especially from the male community. Even an agitated woman may calm down while somebody praises her beauty or appearance. The newspaper uses this technique very well to settle the growing tensions among Saudi women.

“A pampered life is impossible for Saudi women unless they stop working, cooking, doing errands, carrying out chores outside the home, contributing financially, and making the lives of Saudi men more comfortable” (Almansour). Saudi’s social systems are trying to tie down females within the boundaries of their homes. Saudi laws, customs, and religious beliefs are one-sided; helping only the male community. CNN has reported an incident from Saudi recently. Samar Badawi, a 30-year-old mother of one, was forced to spend seven months in jail for disobeying her father. She was physically abused by her father from the age of 14 after her mother died of cancer. She was forced to leave her house because of the torture by her father. However, of Saudi Arabia's guardianship laws, force women to gain permission from their father, husband, or even adult son for many daily activities.

As a result, she was forced to spend seven months in jail after her father brought a "disobedience" case against her and she refused to return to his home. Her father even refused to conduct her marriage which forced her to change her guardianship from her father to her uncle(Maktabi&Elwazer). From this incident, it is evident that Saudi women are not getting safe shelter even under their fathers. Saudi fathers treat their female children differently. They see female children as a burden and male children as an asset. Under such circumstances, The Arabic newspaper's argument about the pampered life of Saudi women seems to be wrong.

Saudi women are raised to be patient. Their marriage gives them many children, sometimes more than 10. Saudi men have the right to marry more than one woman. They can keep as many wives at any time. At the same time, Saudi women do not have this luxury. They cannot keep any extramarital relationships with males. Saudi men try to tie down the females within the boundaries of the home, by forcing them to conceive regularly. They know very well while spending considerable time caring for children, Saudi women may not get enough time to participate in other activities.

According to Jarallah, (1996), Islamic principles promote the concept of human brotherhood and the equality of all humans. It provides equal rights to all irrespective of gender or sex. However, some Muslim scholars believe that God has given the upper hand to men over women and hence it is against the laws of religion to treat women and men with equal status. Some Saudi scholars deliberately misinterpret religious teaching as a measure to keep the women community oppressed as long as possible.

To conclude, the remarks by the Arabic newspaper seem to be an attempt to calm down the agitated Saudi female community. Instead of trying to lift women from severe oppression, the newspaper tries to whitewash the social systems in Saudi Arabia. Read More