Saudi Arabia
Economic statistical indicators convey the fact Saudi Arabia is a developed nation. However, close analysis of political and social statistical indicators would suggest that their standard of living and individual freedoms are severely suppressed. This 'developed' nation has abnormalities in its statistical indicators which are similar to those that characterises third world nations.
Saudi Arabia is oil rich and is a strictly Islamic State. Their Muslim religion and its strict adherence to their interpretation of their holy book the Quran actively dominates citizens position and role in their society. Even though they are a very modest nation in appearance, western countries are extremely concerned about the lack
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of cases of tuberculosis 1995 (per
100 000 people) 14 9 348 142
Secondary Students per teacher 1994 13.70 11.60 31.70 19.20
Military expenditure (% of GNP) 1997 13.5 3.8 N/A 3.1
Education funding (% of GNP) 1995 5.50 5.30 2.20 N/A
Male/Female literacy rate (%) 1998 72/50 97/97 95/94 79.7/53.4
Electricity consumption per capita kWh 1995 3470 13732 350 18
Economic Success
Saudi Arabia was a poor country until oil was discovered beneath the eastern deserts in the late 1930's. The country suddenly found itself very wealthy as it became an important exporter of oil in just a few years. The price of the oil increased very dramatically from just $3 a barrel to over $40 a barrel. This economic success ensured that the leaders became very wealthy. The GNP per capita is economically sound. However, this figure is misleading. A large proportion of GNP is channeled towards the leaders while a disproportionate sum is filtered to the citizens. A large amount of construction was initiated using the revenues earned. However, most of the workforce consisted of cheap foreign labour while the Saudi Arabian citizens suffer an enormous 25% unemployment rate compared to the United States 5% unemployment. This economic success dropped somewhat as oil prices dropped tremendously in 1998-1999. Large amounts of construction work were
Women are not allowed to drive at all in Saudi Arabia. But women like Qahtani break the law and still drive around. They have been thrown in jail time after time but they keep on fighting to get rights. Women in saudi arabia are also not allowed to date. They are not allowed to date or even be friends with a boy, they also need permission from men to go get a job. “Others have been arrested” this shows that women here don't have many rights at all but just to vote. Women have been campaign on allowing women to drive . The last time a women went to court and tried to get rights for driving was in 1990. This shows perseverance because the women didn't give up after being thrown in jail they kept fight to get the same rights as men
Firstly, gender discrimination is not an exclusive feature of Saudi Arabia, but it is a more outwardly visible problem there. Gender
What's more, Saudi Arabia political system is very conservative when compared to the United States. For Muslim countries our freedoms can be seen as threatening by those who value that structure. For that reason, not all countries share the same philosophy in regards to their citizens’ right. For example, Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its implementation of Islamic law and its poor human rights record. In the same way the United States has been criticized for being too liberal. Civil liberties safeguard individual liberty and therefore, are valuable to every human being. More importantly, prevent the government from misusing power. Without a doubt, the highest law in the United States is the U.S. Constitution and such is fabricated by some amendments that are known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees that the government can never deprive people in the U.S. of certain fundamental rights. As a result, American citizens are protected by the First Amendment which, reads the following “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (“First Amendment").
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest arid country (Al-Ibrahim, 1991). The country covers some 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula (Al-Hamzi, 1992). The area of Saudi Arabia is 2.25 million square kilometers, equivalent (1.4) million square miles (Batayneh, 2012). The total number population in Saudi Arabia is 25.7 million (Al-Shayaa et al., 2012). Saudi Arabia climate is broiling in the summer and chilly in the winter, and Saudi Arabia does not have well-defined season. In addition, Saudi Arabia is waterless country, and it does not have rivers or lakes (Al-Shayaa et al., 2012).
The current relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia is contentious and competitive, however it can be said that it has improved since the twentieth century when the two countries engaged in direct conflict. The two countries have a very similar political agenda, which they use religion and faith to fulfill. They use the rally around the flag concept in order to strengthen their political agendas through their religious beliefs. The idea of a Sunni/Shitte divide is not as immense within the country, but there is one. Saudi Arabia is more of a
The countries present their ideologies to the outside world as holy nations. Recently there has been significant evidence on major shifts with increasing polarization and creation of new alliances. These strategic actions produce both risks and opportunities; however, in the Middle East, there has been growing sectarianism in the conflicts (El Fadl, 2005). The sectarianism plays a great role in the political conflicts within Saudi Arabia and Iran. While both Saudi Arabia and Iran claim to have theocracy model states based on Islam, Saudi Arabia is considered a Theo-monarchy with strong relations to Wahhabism, a branch of Sunni Islam, while Iran’s political system has democratic components and is based on Shiism (Al-Rasheed, 1996). The differences in religious practices and ethnicity between the two nations have contributed to the dilemma of instability in the Middle
First off women in Saudi Arabia face Discrimination from everyone, even the country's highest religious authority its Grand Mutifi, who said that women's involvement in politics would be like “ Opening the door to evil”. In addition the Grand Mutifi also stated that it would be a “dangerous matter” when asked what he thought about women gaining the right to drive driving (Source 1). In my opinion the religious leaders are the ones most responsible for the discrimination of women in Saudi Arabia. In, fact I believe that they are more responsible than the top government officials because of the fact that in many aspects the religious leaders have more power than the majority of government officials. However the political leaders don't get a break
women of Saudi Arabia are limited in their whereabouts. Kristof indicates that women in Saudi
One is that what the Saudis believe to be true is not true. Evidence of that can be seen in the United States. In this country woman are allowed to drive. Statistics show that woman both cause less accidents and the amount of damages also costs less (source: 2007 AAMI claims data)
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative Islamic states. The Islam is the religion that dominates all aspects of the citizen’s lives. The Islamic interpretations effects the politics, economics, businesses, and communications with other nations. For instance, Saudi Arabia and The United States have different views
Saudi Arabia’s fear after the fall of Iran in 1979 is two-fold. In the South Eastern part of the country there was a large Shia population that they feared would take up arms against the current regime. In addition, Saudi Arabia had no military, while Iran had a huge force. From looking at a map, it is evident that Iran and Saudi Arabia are only separated by a few miles. This is one of the major reasons that Saudi Arabia bought the access to nuclear weapons from Pakistan; they would look like more of a threat to Iran. Added U.S. presence brought with it culture that would penetrate the native culture and become intertwined with it. US intervention in Saudi Arabia is crucial in the rise of fast food and the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity there.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most gender segregated countries in the world. Did you know that women aren't allowed by law to drive in Saudi Arabia? The article Saudi Arabia’s Freedom Riders by Neil Macfarquhar explains how the ban on driving is just one of the many restrictions in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia needs to be more gender equal towards women.
In the heart of the Middle East is a country known by many Westerners for its oil production and, often, extremist beliefs of groups within the country. The country is Saudi Arabia, and though it is thought of by many as a rather backward country, Saudi Arabia has a rich history and culture, and it is a country that revolves around Islam and the worship of Allah as the one true God.
Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy. Shipments of oil account for 87 percent of total exports and for 46 percent of GDP. In recent years, in order to diversify the economy, the government has been investing in telecommunications, petrochemicals, natural gas exploitation and power generation sectors.
Bahrain was once part of the ancient civilization of Dilmun and served as an important link in trade routes between Sumeria and the Indus Valley as much as 5000 years ago. Since the late 18th century Bahrain has been governed by the Al-Khalifa family, which created close ties to Britain by signing the General Treaty of Peace in 1820. A binding treaty of protection, known as the Perpetual Truce of Peace and Friendship, was concluded in 1861 and further revised in 1892 and 1951. This treaty was similar to those entered into by the British Government with the other Persian Gulp principalities. It specified that the ruler could not dispose of any of his territory except to the United Kingdom and could not