JEDDAH, 16 June 2004 — A participant in the just-ended National Dialogue Forum in Madinah has said reports of high drama at the event were wildly exaggerated.
Dr. Haifa Jamal Alail told Arab News reports from the closed forum that a woman participant was so outraged by the comments of a conservative male delegate that she burst into tears misinterpreted the situation.
While Dr. Wafa Al-Rasheed did become emotional, it was because she was concerned for her son’s safety among the terror threat in Riyadh, not because she was hurt by remarks from Dr. Muhammad Al-Arifi.
However, Al-Rasheed did rebuke Al-Arifi, who denounced a 1991 protest in which a group of women drove cars through the streets of Riyadh and said women had more rights than they deserved, by saying: “This is not the time to talk about the driving thing, this is the time to stand shoulder to shoulder and combat extremism,” according to Alail.
Al-Arifi’s comments, in which he also denounced women teachers for dressing “indecently”, and Al-Rasheed’s supposed reaction made headlines internationally.
The forum ended with a list of 19 recommendations including better access to the law for women and greater choice in education and jobs amid criticism they were not representative and lacked teeth.
They were chosen out of a total of 500 recommendations. Only those recommendations that found unanimous support were included.
Dr. Omar Baquor said that the recommendations lacked an implementation mechanism and were therefore impractical.
Dr. Nadia Al-Hazaa, director of internal projects at Saudi Aramco, agreed saying that the recommendations were “sketchy and carry no depth.” She asked who would be responsible for executing them.
Some like Alail described the forum as positive and an opportunity to exchange views in a constructive atmosphere. She said the forum freely and openly discussed issues including driving, and of course some delegates were for and some against.
But others were less complimentary.
Dr. Khaled Al-Dakheel said the majority presence of ultraconservatives meant a whole range of different opinions was suppressed, and this shaped the final recommendations.
This imbalance was due to the fact that recommendations including allowing women to drive and doing away with the need for a male guardian were never put to a vote, according to Dr. Yusuf Makki.
Dr. Walid Fitaihi and others had asked for each recommendation to be voted on and a percentage shown, but instead any recommendation vetoed by any participant was simply excluded.
The recommendations:
• The role of women in the family is guaranteed by Islam.
• The rights of marriage and motherhood must accord with Islamic standards.
• The relationship between men and women in Islam is based on cooperation and compassion.
• Marital relationships are based on piety, guardianship and obedience, and consultation — but guardianship does not mean oppression and includes the right of women to be their own guardian.
• Establish a national body for women and family issues that will work with other relevant government bodies.
• Work on a national plan to raise women’s awareness of their rights.
• Revise the status of women with regard to litigation, including family courts and expanding women’s sections in the courts.
• Ensure textbooks incorporate the rights and obligations of women.
• Formulate a new curriculum for girls to meet their needs. Revise the range of available college majors and employment for women and provide them with majors appropriate for them and the needs of the community, and open more universities for women.
• Set up more vocational training institutes suitable for women.
• Increase employment opportunities for women to accommodate graduates and ensure a decent living for their families.
• Review regulations governing women at work, including maternal leave, holidays, etc.
• Assign a body to study a public transport system for women to facilitate mobility.
• Increase women’s participation in public issues.
• Encourage the establishment of voluntary organizations looking after women’s issues and resolving family issues.
• Establishing training and educational centers and social institutes for women in the cities and the countryside.
• Government and charities must provide support for poor women including job and training opportunities.
• Reform the Shariah-based system to address violence against women immediately and study the phenomenon of violence against women.
• The media must create awareness of women’s issues and propagate a correct image of their rights and obligations under Islam.
