JEDDAH, 1 August 2003 — The obstacles women face if they want to participate more fully in society come from two sources: Their own ignorance and outdated cultural practices that conservative forces in the Kingdom confuse with religion. This was the conclusion of a seminar organized by Al-Madinah newspaper here recently. In a two-part series Arab News reprints highlights of the discussion.
Consisting of seven prominent Saudi women, the seminar drew an appreciative audience and produced a number of groundbreaking recommendations, the paper said. Speakers agreed that women have to shoulder some of the responsibility for their limited role in Saudi society. Hampered though they no doubt often are by insufficient access to education — especially in families who cannot afford to send their daughters abroad or do not believe that women should be educated — they nonetheless rarely make the effort to discover the extent of their rights. On the other hand, the fact that some 50 percent of women in the Arab world remain illiterate makes it difficult for many to discover what their rights are. Those who do know their rights often face the additional hurdle of being unable to speak to officials and rectify the situation if their rights have been infringed. Speakers cautioned that there was no need to copy in all its aspects the role of women in Western societies. But it was clear, they agreed, that insufficient planning and lethargy in broadening the scope for women both in public and private life had made Saudi Arabia a target for Western commentators, who accuse Islam of injustice against women. In fact, they said, it was a mixture of culture and obsolete traditions — rather than Islam — that was responsible for holding women back.
Speakers highlighted several practical examples of contradictions engendered by prejudice and traditions, which often send confusing messages and produce injustice.
Driving was one of these examples. Women who work are forced to hire drivers, often foreigners, to transport them. Muslim women anywhere else in the world are able to drive, it was pointed out, and there was no such restriction in the past on women riding beasts of burden, for example.
Employment regulations are also full of contradictions. In court, women have to rely on a male guardian to speak for them, and women may find it difficult to open up to a male lawyer when talking about sensitive issues. Women lawyers, however, do not exist in the country’s deeply conservative legal system. In marriage too, women are treated unequally by Saudi law. If they are married to a foreigner, their children have no right of citizenship and cannot study at Saudi high schools or universities. If a Saudi man marries a foreigner, by contrast, the children are considered Saudi citizens.
The writer Omayma Zahid stressed the difficulties faced by divorced women. “Women suffer socially, financially and psychologically after divorce. Their pain and suffering is even greater if they have children,” she said. “Divorced women are left to face their responsibilities alone, and they cannot live a normal life after divorce, especially since they face tough barriers they cannot overcome.
“For example, they can’t get a personal ID or renew their passport, get a bank loan or buy a house or a car without the help of a man. And when they are physically abused or their dignity taken away by their husbands, they find it nearly impossible to get redress from the courts.” The most eloquent contribution came from journalist Samar Fatany, who summed up many of the concerns of the participants. Fatany called for the participation of women in all spheres of public life. “Internally, women must participate in discussing issues such as terrorism, unemployment, drug problems and the increasing crime rate,” she said. “Women represent more than half of our society; therefore it is important for women to form a strong bond with men to stop these problems.
“To participate against external problems, women must confront the defamation campaign against Saudi Arabia. Based on my experience and contacts with foreign journalists, the image of Saudis in the foreign media is that we support terrorism, we do not accept the opinions of others and we abuse women.
The question is, is that true or not?” She said some practices were serious stumbling blocks. Traditions that are often confused with religion included the peculiar reluctance of Saudi men to utter their wives’ and daughter’s name in public, let alone see them published in newspapers. “There are people who think sitting at the same table with their female relatives is unacceptable,” she said. “There are people who consider sport forbidden for girls, and as a result we have a huge percentage of women with heart problems and high blood pressure. There are people who think women’s faces can’t be shown in public.
“As long as these attitudes dominate, there is no way women can have a full role in society,” she said. She listed a range of issues that need to be addressed. Women should be employed in executive positions where they can make decisions instead of merely in marginal positions, as advisers. There is a need for women to raise awareness in schools, the media, mosques, public and private institutions to make a change and address negative attitudes to women in Saudi society. “Women must work together with men to encourage tolerant Islamic thought that appreciates science, women and human rights,” Fatany said.
“Saudi society does not so much address problems as try to frighten people with illusory problems with scary consequences. For example, women playing sports: will lead to vice. Women driving cars: will lead to dissolution. Women working: will lead to the break-up of the family. Revealing the face: will lead to vice. Whenever we try to take a step forward, we are told it will lead us into darkness. “The logical way of thinking does not exist in our curriculum. If we are afraid of Western negative influence, we will have to build the a strong generation of intellectuals that can confront ideas that are against Islamic teachings.”
Women also need strong organizations that can give a voice to their concerns and ensure their rights, she stressed. “Many recommendations have been submitted to the general administration for girls’ education, for example, by universities and researchers, but they were ignored and not supported or implemented.
“I am against the idea that we are a society with a special structure. That will only lead us into isolation. We are regarded as a backward society that support violence and encourages terrorism, and we have to change that structure to protect our society,” she said.
