Saudi Arabia Women Rights

Westerners often hear of how oppressed women are in Saudi Arabia. As a result, one might expect these women to be vocal about their challenges living in such a country. However, contrary to the assumption that they are unhappy, they are quick to defend their country, saying that their often overbearing abayas are parts of their tradition. These women say that they still enjoy freedoms and that “[i]t is Western women… who have been manipulated into becoming the toys of men” (Kristof 272). Even so, they still receive unequal treatment from men. Saudi women journalists must stay in their own rooms when they work while men do not. Because of these types of segregated and deleterious practices, Nicholas Kristof argues in his essay “Saudis in Bikinis” that the West is not being paternalistic in trying to advocate for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia; they are trying to free women who have never tasted true liberty. It is

Saudi Arabia is commonly known for its strict moral values and customs regarding religion and women. Gender discrimination is a global conflict but it is prevalently seen in Saudi Arabia. Gender discrimination is so poignant in Saudi Arabia because there are strict sets of moral guidelines and ideologies that Saudi Arabian culture implements on its people. Although Saudi Arabian men impose restrictions on women for the sake of upholding their cultural beliefs and family’s honor, there is no doubt that Saudi Arabian culture is male dominated and holds misogynistic views on women, but progress is being made.

In the United States in 2016, women were paid 80 percent of what men were paid (Kevin Miller, The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap). Women are still treated as second hand to men to this day, but we have come a far way since the sixteenth century European women. Women can go to school, work, and have lives in the United States. In other countries and cultures, however, women still have a long fight ahead of them. In Saudi Arabia, women were just recently granted the ability to drive (Nicole Gaouette and Elise Labott, CNN). This is a huge stepping stone for women in Saudi Arabia and many more countries. The guardianship rule in Saudi Arabia is still ongoing, stating that women cannot make any decision without a man or young boy telling her yes or no. Women have no freedom for making their own choices, but their chains will soon be loosened through newly imprinted laws. Just like in the home, European women and Native American women vary greatly in societal structure and cultures.

Every Saudi woman irrespective of her age has a male guardian that protect her and he is like a legal representative to her. Therefore, if she wants to travel, go to university or to get a bankcard, she have to get permission from her male guardian first. This is the reason why they are offended, but because that all the woman’s are like that, they look at it as something normal; they feel protected and not abusive, but some of them are fighting against.

Accustomed to stereotypical depictions, Westerners are told that Middle Eastern women are passive, weak, and always veiled. It is often assumed that the severe conditions in Saudi Arabia—where women are not even allowed to drive cars—represent the norm for women throughout the Middle East and in the larger Muslim world. In reality, Saudi Arabia’s versions of both Islam and sexism are rather unique in their severities, although the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan is now emulating the sexist Saudi model. Women enjoy political and social rights in many Muslim countries, and Egypt has recently granted women the right to divorce their husbands. In Tunisia, abortion is legal, and polygamy is prohibited. Women have served as ministers in the Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi, and Tunisian governments, and as Vice President in Iran.

Jean P. Sasson wrote a true event story about a Saudi Arabian princess. It was about Sultana’s own life story and the whole book is in her point of view. To protect her identity she had to change names and obviously not explicit hers. It’s a nonfiction story of the outrage that is forced upon women throughout Saudi Arabia even today, a story that leaves readers praying for change before it is too late for the next generation of girls growing up in Saudi Arabia. This story is quite scary and very unbelievable how women around the world are being treated. Even though Arabians have a very different point of view of religion and marriage it’s really all sexist and very sad what women have to go through, no matter rich or poor.

Like many other laws in Saudi Arabia, the law to wear the abaya was picked from a few verses of the Koran – ones that were appealing to the king. The fact is that religious books contradict themselves, and if you want to take one verse about modesty from the Koran, then you must consider them all. The point of the abaya is to protect women from unacceptable male attention and sexual harassment. However, some say that it does exactly the opposite, by adding mystery. Within Saudi society, the abaya often carries with it a certain perception of how the woman wearing it should act: walk politely, avoid eye-contact, talk in a low voice, etc. The ideal honorable and proper Saudi woman would present herself as the perfectly molded, mysterious, religious, and modest woman. Interestingly, the older generation of Saudi women was not required to wear abayas. Although no answer has been found after much research of when the abaya was implemented, I believe it may have been enforced in the 1970s. Presently, it has been viewed in religious terms. Some women have been so brainwashed that they will say they are

An angry god can bring about destruction and bad times to a kingdom. However, if one will follow the rules, especially through ancient Hebrew society and ancient Babylonian society, the gods will not be angry. This ultimately leads to justification of social inequality because nobody wants to disobey the gods. In Saudi Arabia today, women have much less freedom than the men. Women in Saudi Arabia cannot drive and cannot be seen uncovered. If a Saudi Arabian woman is seen uncovered, she is then captured by the Mutaween, known as the religious police, and is most likely beaten. Seeing as Saudi Arabia has a religious police force concludes that those in power in Saudi Arabia justify and even enforce social

“Life is full of unhappiness and most of it caused by women (Harik and Marston 11)”. For women in the Middle East life is faced with great and unequal odds, as their human rights are limited, due to Islamic beliefs and that of patriarchy. From their daily actions at home to their physical appearance, Middle Eastern women are portrayed as quiet, faceless women veiled from head to toe. While this image is just another stereotype, women in the middle do face many obstacles and challenges of creating their own identity as they are frequently denied a voice in their rights. Living in a society dominated by men life is not, but regardless women in the Middle East, predominantly Muslims, continue to fight for

In “News Coverage of a Woman’s Rights Campaign,” Saudi women are driving even though it is against the law and they could be thrown in jail. The women consider driving as a right that they should have. Mrs. Qahtani said, “I woke up believing with every part of me that this is my right, I woke up believing this is my duty, and I was no longer afraid,” (Collections 123 lines 19-20). Since men in Saudi Arabia can drive, they don’t understand what the women are going though. “Women in Saudi Arabia see other women in the Middle East making revolutions, women in Yemen and Egypt at the forefront of revolutions, being so bold, toppling over entire governments… The women of Saudi Arabia looked at themselves and they realized, ‘Wow! We can’t even drive,” (Collections 124 lines 43-49). The Saudi women want to make a revolution, they want to be able to do what the men can

Women are denied many basic human rights, along with the ability to partake in many activities that us as Westerners would consider to be rights, simply because of their gender. The most infamous example is Saudi’s ban on women driving cars. This takes away a woman’s independence and therefore makes her further dependent on males. The stratification doesn’t stop there however; the enrollment in academic institutions is strictly contingent on the approval of the male guardians. This means women can be denied the basic right to an education if their male guardian so chooses, with no ability to protest. Women are then further marginalized in the work force. According to the Saudi labor code, “women shall work in all fields suitable to their nature.” Although this law is vague in terms of what these fields are, it is clear that this piece of legislation further restricts women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Women also have severe restrictions on their legal rights. Females in Saudi Arabia must be granted permission from their male guardian in order to sue or take a case to court. This makes it virtually impossible to prevent domestic abuse, as the perpetrator is the one who must grant permission to get the legal procedures started. This puts women at a seriously compromised and defensively position creating further stratification between males and

Yet, when one considers the life of a modern woman of an Islamic country like Saudi Arabia, this viewpoint is still an issue in today’s world. Arabian women, just as women were in ancient Greece, are put in strata below that of men. This is illustrated by the fact that Saudi women are not allow to have a driver’s license and, therefore, can’t legally drive (washingtonpost.com). Additionally, each woman is lorded over by their male guardian to whom they must permission for anything outside the domain of the

Living behind the veil may be all the women of Saudi Arabia know, some may be comfortable with it, others afraid of the consequences they will face for not wearing it. Either way they do not have much of a choice since they are constantly chaperoned around by a male guardian know as a “mahram”, according to theweek.co.uk 4 “The guardian is often a male relative and will accompany women on all their errands, including trips and visits to the doctor”. Can you imagine having to go

The women of Saudi Arabia have been oppressed by the men of the country for generations due to the ignorance of the people, their Islamic faith, and the government. They have no rights and they must receive permission from their husbands or fathers to work, travel, and receive medical attention. The memoir Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson, is an excellent example of the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia and the literary devices of characterization and setting help to bring the oppression to life.

There are countless injustices experienced by people throughout the world today, but one in particular that stands out is women’s rights. In a few places such as China and India, parents are willing to kill their daughters at birth since it is more honorable for a family to have a son. This is more commonly known as infanticide, which is an extremely unjust way to treat women. Another example of females not having equal rights to men arises in the South African country, Lesotho. Women encounter a problem when attempting to acquire large sums of land; whereas, men can simply buy whatever their money can purchase. My final third world example emerges in the middle eastern country, Saudi Arabia. One of the lesser injustices faced by women is their