Like many readers I am amazed at the sudden gush of liberal sentiment in the media. For centuries women in our society were marginalized and denied the right to represent their case or claim to have one. The principle was that we were the perfect society, period. To claim otherwise was to deviate from that perfect norm. All media, communications, and formal education were dedicated to strengthening the unchallenged concept of male supremacy. But we are like most of the developing nations, riddled with poverty, ignorance and a lethal combination of religious prejudices and the intellectual terrorism we have seen peak in the past few months, when the fanatics declared war on our infant civil society.
However, some of the hypocritical Western media has targeted Saudi Arabia, exposing the poor conditions of women in the country, as if it were a sudden discovery and not a natural result of lack of civil liberties in society. Do we owe it to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and most recently the savage bombings of civilians’ homes in Riyadh? Unfortunately, the answer to all is yes.
However, this biased coverage of our predicament would not have been possible if women had not in the first place been marginalized and devalued to extreme extents and under different pretexts. Some distinguished women were selected as goodwill ambassadors and sent abroad in SOS missions to salvage our damaged reputation and polish our tarnished image. In addition, some well-known and privileged women voiced their opinions on the status of women in the local and international media. Most of them were taking defensive positions, and blaming any wrongdoing on the inability of some of the religious extremists to understand the fundamentals of our great religion and its humane message. Some even claim that exclusions from public life and banning women from driving because of segregation rules did not affect their abilities to run their business around the world.
It is true that we may differ on how to arrange our messy house, but it is not true that these goodwill ambassadors represent women in this country or even echo their slightest concerns. It is unwise to put words on our mouths and defend a way of life that not every woman here chooses. Restrictions rarely apply to women of wealth and status, and good readers of history know that fundamental changes are championed by the less fortunate segments of society.
Careful selection of representatives from all segments of society is imperative to the success of the process. The best candidates are people whose competence in their field is unchallenged and whose eagerness to serve their nation is proven through their previous voluntary contribution toward recovering essential values. The pioneering men and women, who voluntarily worked to raise these matters when they were not as fashionable as they are now but were often still surrounded by taboos, will make the best partners in deciding on future changes. Our society has countless blessings, but we have to admit that we are in an awful shape and the future could be gloomy indeed. We can’t truly reflect an image that we do not possess. It is wise to invest in repairing the damaged façade, but first we must start fixing a house that is built on sand. The country witnessed an era of phenomenal economic and financial growth in the past few decades, but lags behind in the development of its human resources, especially where women are concerned. There would be no sustainable development as long as discrimination is practiced against one of the two genders and society perpetuates inequality.
The government’s recent announcements to embark on serious reforms such as elections for municipalities, establishing a Center for National Dialogue and a Higher Council for Women’s Affairs are healthy signs of a society correcting its direction and crystallizing a strategic vision of change. To complement these efforts and guarantee their success, speedy implementation of the various legal and administrative reforms is needed, and the results will speak for themselves. People should be engaged to participate and give feedback through the media, school programs, universities and all available public platforms and by creating new ones. Strategically we should prepare society to be more sensitive to gender issues through early education and upbringing of our children.
Our public and private sectors suffer from various degrees of red tape and inefficiencies. It is essential to avoid the bankrupt intellectuals and technocrats who were previously applauding for the status quo. Some of those professional cheerleaders may be skilled but may not be trusted, as Warren Buffett, US investor and second richest person on earth, has said. “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: Integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you,” he said. In the Western democracies this destructive behavior is frequent now, but their transparent governing systems allow for accountability. Unfortunately, when transparency and accountability are close to metaphoric myths in our administrative systems, it is not surprising that we have had to substitute political loyalty for the three qualities mentioned above.
The dialogue taking place now, whether behind closed doors or in the media, with the decision-makers or within closed circles of bureaucratic public figures, is a dream come true: To be able to differ in opinions and pronounce them in a peaceful and civilized manner without fear of retaliation. We are witnessing a paradigm shift in our country, and though some people may not welcome reforms, we should not allow these differences to jeopardize the sovereignty, unity, stability, and well being of the whole society. We are partners in this society and should seek to be part of the solution instead of trying to impose our own absolute version of the solution. It is time we acknowledged our cultural diversity; hence no one should be allowed to hijack the right of others to differ. Followers of old traditions should not fear reforms, and their preferences should be respected as they respect others’ ways of life.
Although reforms may be an alien concept to our society, the cost of resisting them would be unbearable. Our weakness and disarray make us vulnerable to outside intervention and deplete our national resources. To rise to the imminent challenges, it is vital for men and women not to be subjected to improper regulations and to treatment condemned by the international community. Currently, women from cradle to grave need a male guardian to permit them to engage in most activities in society, be it education, the labor market, or travel. Not infrequently the guardian is younger and less qualified than the woman herself. Ironically, it might be better to list the human activities that women are allowed to engage in directly without a male proxy, because it would be a shorter list than the prohibited activities.
No other society has witnessed such lengthy debates over the same dead issues for decades and concluded that following old traditions is far more important than the progress of our country. Just to take a recent example: How could physical education harm girls in schools? Why should this be a subject of discussion in the Shoura Council instead of a quick royal decree to implement it in all girls’ schools? Is physical education for girls a more controversial issue than what the late King Faisal bravely put into practice in the late sixties when he abolished slavery against all traditions, the business interests of some merchants, and social norms? Why would anyone assume that our religion would oppose introducing a scientifically proven healthy activity for girls and women? If sports are good for men, how can they be harmful for women? There is a momentum for change, triggered by internal and external factors. We should cherish this momentum, embrace it, sustain it, aspire for a brighter future for next generations, and, as Crown Prince Abdullah advises, take the change one step at a time. We are witnessing an extreme turn in our history that magnifies all elements of division and obscures the fact that we possess all the elements of unity. The choice is ours. I am quite certain that Osama Bin Laden did not anticipate that his horrendous attacks on innocent people might lead to this.
— Sheikha Althakafi is a Saudi writer. She is based in the Eastern Province.
