Essay Why and How Women Are Oppressed in Saudi Arabia

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

One Saudi woman, Lana, criticizes American women for displaying their bodies in public, debating that women in Saudi Arabia are free rather than the women in Western Civilization. Lana disparaged Western culture by asking “Why should I show my legs and breasts to men? Is that really freedom?'' This becomes a trend for the answers Kristof had gathered that Saudi women believe they are the ones “free from sexual harassment, free from pornography, free from seeing their bodies used to market cars and colas. It is Western women, they say, who have been manipulated into becoming the toys of men,” demonstrating how Saudi women defend their traditions and essentially attack what is foreign to their

Oppression of women is in the Middle East is present almost everywhere. In 2011 women were allowed to work in lingerie stores in Saudi Arabia. Previously, men were selling women bras and panties because the avoidance of "mingling" and being in the same store between the sexes at work meant that most shops had male assistants. So a man staring at your chest to guess your bra size was perfectly fine but a women driving a car, as they do in every other country, is not.

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.

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.

A common misconception is that Muslim women are oppressed all around the world, but this is a fallacy created through the use of propaganda and misinformation. The so-called "oppression of women" is not a characteristic of Islam at all and to say otherwise would be out of ignorance. Reza Aslan (2015), a scholar of all religions, makes it clear that oppression of women is not related to Islam but to particular countries. A common propaganda technique is to use Saudi Arabia as the standard of Islam. This could not be further from the truth, as many Muslim countries view women equally if not beyond that. There are dozens of Muslim countries who have had more female heads of state than the US; Algeria, Turkey, Sudan, Senegal. There are a handful of Muslim countries around the world, who mention women's equal rights in their constitution, whereas the U.S is one of 32 countries who does not include an explicit gender equality guarantee (Ravitz, 2015). Using an uneducated generalization, that holds no merit, causes inconsistencies and mistaken impressions of a particular

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

When we look back through history you will find a timeline of events showing exactly when women gained certain rights and for what. Most of these events occurred in the late 1800’s and all throughout the 1900’s. Since 2000 the women of Saudi Arabia have gained 9 new rights even being as small as being able to have an ID.Ever since the rule of King Fahd the rights of women in Saudi Arabia have been growing, although some of the rights might seem little but

It is not hard for a woman to feel that the country is discriminating against her. In fact, I believe that is what made the video store incident to me, a “stupid” thing, not a something that I should cry over. What is more, No women in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian women don’t have any privacy while they are out and about with their lives. They all must have a guardian with them at all times. For example, if a women wants to go out in public, she must be escorted by a driver because Arabian women aren’t allowed to drive. She also has to have a guardian with her where ever she goes. A grown women who is able to take care of herself doesn’t need to be chauffeur around 24/7. It’s not possible for a women to be independent with all the rules and laws that they are required to obey. In a piece “Under the Abaya” by an “American Girl” who lived in Saudi Arabia says, “In Saudi Arabia, women, regardless of age, are or marital status are required to have a male guardian. A woman cannot

. The treatment of women in these countries were finally being noticed by women worldwide."In September, 1996, a court in Pakistan issued a decision that a woman does not have the right to marry the man of her choice, and that her guardian must approve her marriage." In Saudi Arabia women aren 't allowed to drive cars much less participate in government. In these countries religion is again used as means of oppression, this can be seen in the words of one Religius cleric, "Attacking men 's guardianship of women is an objection to God and an attack on His Book and on His prudent law. This is great infidelity (Kufr akbar) by the consensus of Islam 's `ulama ... It is absolutely necessary that the

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.

Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. “Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail” (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the

The diversities within North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia (cultural, religious, political, etc.) play a crucial part in the status of women and the key features of gender roles in these particular geographic regions. The Middle East and North Africa share commonalities through Arabic and Islamic culture. Establishing equalities for women amongst the current social and political changes of Middle Eastern and North African societies stands as a difficult obstacle to overcome, but in spite of this, women’s rights efforts are still being made. While Islamic culture is dominant in Southeast Asia, the culture of Southeast Asian nations is diverse. Islam and gender in Southeast Asia have contributed to the continuing debate over Islam, feminism, and gender rights in the region. The cultures of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are male dominated, but this cultural dominance might not sustain in the future. This essay will compare and contrast the current status of women and the key features of gender roles in North Africa and the Middle East with those of Southwest Asia. Examples will also be provided to justify any arguments that are made.

How this communicate women oppression and the basis for such denouement will now undertake a focal point in the course of this study. In 2001, Saudi Arabi ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which defined discrimination in the following terms: