I thank the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for their serious attempt to evaluate the social status of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their appreciation of the Kingdom’s initiatives to issue legislation that grant women rights. I must be thankful for their efforts in seeing positive things in my country. Yet that doesn’t mean I must be quiet concerning the unfairness of CEDAW’s report against a country where women are given their rights fully, unlike women in many other countries, including those in the West.
I sense the jealousy of many Western and Eastern women I meet in international events when I tell them that my male colleagues — who financially take care of their families — earn a monthly salary equal to what my female colleagues and I make. Equality in the salary scale for men and women has been achieved in an admirable way in the Kingdom. I usually see resentment on the faces of foreigners when I question why they can’t convince their leaders that women deserve the same amount of money men take, especially when they do the same jobs as men with the same amount of effort, efficiency and time and they have the same qualifications. I ask how they accept being paid less when they work an equal number of hours and achieve the same results. What I understand according to their laws is that they are paid less simply because they are women.
Yes, I’m a pampered Saudi woman. Being pampered isn’t just because I’m a human being, but because I’m a woman. This is my official status. As for my social status, there are some social violations that may affect some women. But they also affect men. They are usually a bunch of social contradictions that defame the country’s view and they can’t be generalized to describe our society. The reason why these contradictions exist is that people are ignorant of the sublime constitution of the Kingdom that is based on Islam, which elevated the value of the human being and took into consideration the natural differences between men and women. These differences as we see and understand complement each other.
As for the woman’s independence in making decisions, I say that the law protects her financial independence and her academic freedom. The consent of a male guardian isn’t necessary for a woman to pursue her studies at Saudi universities. In fact, her degree isn’t given to her guardian unless she signs an authorization letter for him. The allowance the students — men and women — receive while studying in public universities that are $266 a month are not given to the legal guardian but directly to the students. The student also chooses what field she wants to study without her guardian’s permission or consent. As for inheritance, the woman — no matter how much money she has — isn’t forced according to the law to financially support her family and not even to contribute to household expenses. If she supports her family financially, then she does it willingly out of love. But no law can force her to do so. Islamic law states that a man inherits twice as much as a woman inherits. However, in many other cases she inherits more than the man when he’s the one responsible for financing her needs irrespective of whether she’s richer or poorer than he is.
As for women having a mahram (male legal guardian), I really laughed about CEDAW’s objection to the idea. I’m a Saudi woman who doesn’t leave the country without having an official delegation that takes care of me and looks after my needs when traveling. Having a mahram is just like having official delegations accompanying VIPs and political leaders. If Britain’s queen or the American president agreed to travel without a high caliber delegation that included security, diplomatic, media and administration cadre, then I might agree to be deprived of my mahram.
The Higher Education Ministry’s condition to have a mahram when women travel to study for their scholarships costs the country fortunes. The ministry spoils Saudi students by granting them and their mahrams costs of living, academic expenses and tickets. The ministry gives a monthly income to the mahram and if this mahram is a husband, then the ministry takes care of the husband and the children too. Seriously, is there a way to indulge a woman more than this? And guess what? Any student’s mahram can pursue his education and be granted a scholarship by the ministry.
What I’m trying to say is to explain a Saudi vision of a Saudi woman that hopes to receive proper respect from CEDAW and its allies. I also hope that what I wrote attracts the attention of Yakin Ertürk, the special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Violence Against Women. At the same time, I wish that women around the world could find a tiny bit of the pampering I receive here being a Saudi woman.
- Omaima Al-Jalahma is a member of the King Faisal Faculty and member of the Shoura Council. Email: [email protected]
