AJRC_Analyses_2014A03 Júlia Palik

TICKET TO FREEDOM: HOW COULD METRO CONSTRUCTION IN RIYADH CONTRIBUTE TO WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND EQUALITY? JÚLIA PALIK

AJRC-Analyses 2014A03

AJRC-Analyses Series of the Antall József Knowledge Centre

Publisher: Antall József Knowledge Centre Publisher-in-Chief: Péter Antall Managing editor: Ádám Éva Editorial office: Antall József Knowledge Centre H-1093 Budapest, Közraktár utca 4-6.

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© Júlia Palik, 2014 © Antall József Knowledge Centre, 2014 ISSN 2416-1705

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TICKET TO FREEDOM: HOW COULD METRO CONSTRUCTION IN RIYADH CONTRIBUTE TO WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND EQUALITY? Júlia Palik

Article outline:  The rationale for developing Riyadh’s public mass transportation system  Gender inequality and segregation in Saudi Arabia: Key determinants  The symbolism of the quest for driving and its limitations  Wise compromise: how to satisfy both sides The Kingdom of vehicles: Public transportation system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia With nearly 28 million people, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula. Since the 1973 discovery of oil, the Land of Two Holy Mosques became the symbol of rapid modernization. In this context, transportation and public infrastructure development became crucial elements to the Kingdom’s economy. Ambivalence, however, might the best word to describe the contemporary internal structure of the Kingdom. The peculiar duality of conservative religious rules and the oil-revenue fuelled western lifestyle exist parallel to each other. This confusing character often leads to biased and one-sided policy evaluations from the academia.

During the last decades, as a consequence of the above mentioned improvements, the number of motor vehicles has significantly increased.

The dependence on automobiles, as exclusive mean of transportation, paved the way for various negative side effects. For today, obesity rate among Saudis is very high,

Map of Saudi Arabia created by Norman Einstein 3

which contributes to the rising level of diabetes.1 Even more worrying is the fact that, according to the WHO, traffic accidents evolved to the primary cause of death in the Kingdom.2 In addition, traffic congestion and the lack of appropriate road maintenance considerably reduce economic productivity and increase greenhouse gas emission.

The underdevelopment of alternative transportation methods is the result of the highly subsidized oil prices. Obviously, in a state where a bottle of water is more expensive than a barrel of oil, low prices serve as a disincentive to invest in mass transportation. Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia is home to 5.7 million people.3 Ironically, the current public transport system in the city consists only of a single bus route. According to the 9th Development Plan, investment in this almost non-existent area tends to stimulate economic productivity, reduce traffic congestions and improve air quality.

Metro construction: To be clear, inter-state mobility is a complex social, political, environmental and economic matter. In 2014, having recognized the need to establish alternative modes of transportation, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) has launched the ambitious Riyadh Public Transport Project (RPTP). The RPTP will be the largest public transport project in the world, which comprises construction of a metro, a bus system and other transport services. Effective work started in April 2014 and it is expected to be completed by 2018. The $22 billion project will be materialized by consortiums from the USA, Spain and Italy. The Riyadh metro will be 178 km long with six lines and 85 stations.4 Renewable energy will be the source of power for all the stations. The large-scale application of solar power systems will simultaneously decrease domestic oil consumption and contributes to improved air quality. Regrettably, the paper was unable to find any concrete data on ticket fees or the logistical challenges posed by the obligatory prayer times.

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Saudi

Gazette:

70

percent

Saudis

risk

diabetes,

downloaded:

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20141114224342 19 November 2014 2

World Health Organization (2013): Country Cooperation Strategy for WHO and Saudi Arabia 2012-2016, downloaded: http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccs_sau_en.pdf 19 November 2014 3

CIA World Factbook: Saudi Arabia country profile, downloaded: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/sa.html 19 November 2014 4

Reuters (2013): Huge Saudi metro projects aim to shift economy beyond oil, downloaded: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/30/saudi-metro-economy-idUSL6N0FZ38O20130730 19 November 2014

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Behind the wheel or the veil?

It is logical to ask what the exact nexus between metro construction and gender equality is. In order to be able to provide a satisfactory response to this question, one has to be familiar with the general situation and role of women in the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia managed to avoid the political turmoil that swept across the region since 2011. At the same time, it is safe to assume that the dynamics of these popular protests encouraged a particular segment of the Saudi society to raise their concerns. Clearly, the ambivalent treatment of women - at least measured by western standards - poses a great political challenge for the Kingdom.

Nevertheless, it is prudent to clarify gender roles in Saudi context. During the recent decade considerable amount of literature has The six lines according to the Riyadh metro been published on the subordination of Saudi project female population, which materializes in 5 various social spheres. Women’s actions depend on the permission of their mahram (i.e. guardian – the husband or other close male relative). This type of institutionalized reliance on their male counterpart is a completely alien practice to western female activists. Therefore, the academic discourse on gender equality and segregation in Saudi Arabia often does not take local identities and conditions into account.

At the same time, since the rule of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, women have become more visible and number of socioeconomic developments changing the gender status quo ante.6 Despite recent improvements, the fact remains that public separation of sexes is still a key component of Saudi national identity. In fact, one could conclude that women face tough restrictions on their movement. They are forced to completely rely on costly private drivers or taxi. Conservative clerics, who oppose gender mixing - ikhtilat - exert powerful effects upon 5

According to the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report, Saudi Arabia ranks 130 out of the examined 142 countries.

Source: World Economic Forum: Global Gender Gap Report 2014, downloaded: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2014/economies/#economy=SAU 19 November 2014 6

Notable achievements in this area include the launch of the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University for

women, the appointment of the first female Deputy Minister and 30 women to the Shoura Council. Additionally, women are encouraged to apply for various originally male dominated areas such as engineering or law.

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the discourse on female driving. They argue that female driving poses a serious clinical and religious threat to the wahhabism dominated Kingdom.

Indeed, neither Qur'an, nor any specific traffic regulation refers explicitly to the ban on female driving. The prohibition of driving stems purely from historical events. In 1990, 47 women together called ‘the drivers’7 sat behind wheels and drove through Riyadh. As a result of their disobedience the activists were fired from their jobs and later detained. Afterwards, Saudi authorities issued fatwas, thereby officially prohibited women from driving.

Nevertheless, the desire for driving did not fade away after 1990. The next attempt to challenge the taboo took place in 2011, when Manal al- Sharif uploaded a video of herself driving in the city of Khobar. Later she was sentenced for nine days in jail. For today, old sentiments have acquired new intensity with the launch of the ‘October 26th’ campaign in 2013. The movement has its own website8 - which was of course blocked in the Kingdom - where activists publish videos of themselves while driving. Their main goal is to persuade authorities to lift the ban by collecting online signatures. The cornerstone of their demand is the simple wish to drive their car. Hence, their mobility could improve and their dependency on male relatives could be significantly reduced. Driving in this sense symbolizes greater freedom for women, which undoubtedly evokes religious opposition. However in the absence of real political power, these campaigns have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears.

Wise compromise?

One could easily arrive at the conclusion that the quest for the freedom of movement sooner or later needs to be addressed in Saudi Arabia. Without question, through the lenses of the gender studies, the main relevance of the metro construction is that women will be allowed to travel without male escorts. Once the metro will function, women and children will have their own separate compartments, which will enable them to travel through Riyadh without guardianship.

In the broader context, the subway system could lead to a win-win situation. It could simultaneously reduce the immobility of women, while it won’t provoke further religious condemnation. Furthermore, metro tickets will be evidentially cheaper than the employment of private chauffeurs. There is an enduring lesson here: It is quintessential not to underestimate the sociological impact of a simple infrastructural investment.

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The Atlantic (2014): Saudi Arabia’s Women Problem, downloaded: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/saudi-arabia-womens-driving-ban/381858/ 19 November 2014 8

The official website of the campaign: http://oct26driving.com/women-driving/

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