Young, educated women in our society gossip about how they feel Saudi men are beasts and predators. They make men appear heartless, merciless and ignorant of human values and noble Islamic principles. Older women, on the other hand, adore men and are eager to get back home to see them, be they their husbands, brothers, sons and, most of all, fathers.
The line that separates these contrasting views of Saudi men is a difference in perspective of women’s and men’s roles. Some women lamented the fact that their husbands refuse to allow them to go out with her friends every night even if he does the same with his friends, and is often out until late into the evening or early the following morning.
A woman in this situation only gets to see her husband during feeding hours. This type of men might end up spending more time with his mother than his wife. And if this wife also works, she gets resentful of having to attend to her unappreciative husband without recognition of her hardship in fulfilling domestic and professional responsibilities. Women also complain about a husband’s dominance over the family income.
The problems that women are suffering are the gradual increase in the mixing of roles. And when these women get financially more independent, they become less tolerant of their husbands’ lack of respect. So they seek divorce, even if this means giving up some freedoms, independence and equal treatment.
A man convinces his wife that her monthly income belongs to him. Then he dumps her or finds a second wife. The question here is: Do women know their rights or how to fight for them?
