The Women of Saudia Arabia- Madeline B.

The Women Of Saudi Arabia Madeline B.

Most mothers have to run errands constantly, do things like picking up sick children from school, buy groceries, go to work to support their families and much more. Imagine if they had to have permission from their husbands or other male relatives to leave the house, and be accompanied by that male anytime they weren’t at home, were restricted from driving, and had fewer rights than an American child. Welcome to the life of a Saudi Arabian woman.

How Religion Affects Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country. Its interpretations of the Islamic law, and its customs, culture and traditions revolve around the Islamic faith. In the Islamic world, men are understood to be much more important than women. For example, it is against the law for a woman to leave the house without being accompanied by a male rel-

ative known as a “mahram”. These escorts are usually fathers, uncles, brothers or cousins of the women. This practice is based on the conservative Islamic belief that giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to committing a sin.

If a woman is reported to be leaving the house without her mahram, it is possible she could be sentenced to punishment by court of law. In addition,

women living in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive a car either. While this is not actually a law, if women are caught driving they can be punished by religious police. Saudi clerics say that allowing women to drive would “undermine social values”.

These are just a few examples of how the Islamic Faith affects the rights of women in Saudi Arabia.

“...remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.” ―Abigail Adams

Current Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia one of the topics Islamic culture addresses is women’s modesty. There is a strict interpretation of Islamic law that forms a sort of “dress code” for women. This “dress code” is enforced differently around the country, but generally women are expected to wear a long black cloak and headscarf called an “abaya”. Saudi officials say that allowing women to dress freely could make them more vulnerable to sin. Women are also not allowed to wear any makeup that “shows off their beauty”.

Recently the king’s council known as the “shoura council” extended the women’s “modesty” laws to female television presenters. Women are also required to “limit their time with men” accordingly to places such as offices, banks, universities, public transpor tation, amusement parks, beaches and other public places.

Criminal charges can be

held against people who commit “unlawful mixing”.

Men can also be punished for this; however, women are usually charged with harsher punishments than men. Women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to compete freely in sports.

The Islamic society finds it unacceptable for women to compete in sports and most women and girls are banned from sports-even in colleges and other schools. While Saudi Arabia did send female athletes to the olympic games for the first time in 2012, they had to be accompanied by a mahram and have

a special sports kit that covered their hair and “kept them modest”. They were also given only two weeks notice for training and were met by severe criticism upon their return home. Saudi women are also not allowed to: enter a cemetery, read an uncensored fashion magazine, or try on clothes while shopping. However Vanity Fair author : Maureeen Dowd says that everything in Saudi Arabia "operates on a sliding scale, depending on who you are, whom you know, whom you ask, whom you're with, and where you are".

WHY Can’t Women Leave?

The argument could be made that women who do not like these limitations could convert to another religion or move away from Saudi Arabia; however, women are not allowed to leave the house, much less the country without a male relative’s permission. If a woman’s family found out that she wanted to convert, she would probably be killed for the sake of family honor. These murders are called honor killings. By definition, an honor killing is “the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion”. Honor killings are more commonly committed against women and can even happen for things as small as dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate. Honor killings are not penalized by the government and are considered to be family issues.

Recent Advancements for Women in Saudi Arabia Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to vote for the first time in December of 2015.

While this is a huge advancement for these women, they will only be allowed to vote in municipal

elections

(municipal

means town or city) and as they cannot drive a car or even leave the house without a male relative’s permission and must be accompanied by a mahram when they do leave the house this is only a small victory for women, but it is a step in the right direction. Another victory for Saudi women occurred back in 2011 when the now deceased King Abdulla issued a decree that at least twenty percent of the king’s

consultative council must be made of women. While it must be taken into consideration that women cannot participate in this without their husband’s approval, this is another step in the right direction for women. This decree has allowed women to be more active in government and work towards their dream of a more equal country. King Abdullah also allowed women to work as waitresses (in women only sections) at restaurants and to be

saleswomen

at

stores. Even though all of these advancements are small and have some major setbacks every little

thing

counts

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"Saudi Arabia." Culture of. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.

for

‘suffragettes’ of Saudi Arabia.

Bibliography:

"Home Page." Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.

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