"We have resorted to this method in order to buy our
freedom to work," said a teacher from Asir province who did not want to be
identified due to the sensitivity of the subject. "I am paying 2,000
riyals every month for my father's silence. He is happy with the money he
receives every month and I am happy that I now work after eight years of
unemployment. A working woman has a better social position than an unemployed
one."
Some women object to this practice — not because they object
to Saudi women having jobs but rather because they view this as bribery.
"By so doing these women are exploiting their guardians
who do not want them to work or to travel to remote areas," said one woman
who requested anonymity. "We do not object to women working in jobs that
do not oblige them to mix with men. We only do not agree with them bribing
their fathers or husbands in order to allow them to work."
Women who do resort to paying their guardians a portion of
their salary agree with the cliché that "money talks."
"My father does not only approve of me working now but
he also does not object to me traveling a long distance to reach my
school," said the teacher. "The 2,000 riyals I am paying him every
month have done wonders."
The teaching profession is one of the few jobs Saudi women
have little problem obtaining. However, because they cannot legally drive or
live alone they often travel long distances to and from their schools every day
by bus. The busing of women teachers has led to the phenomenon of accidents
involving the death or injury of numerous educators.
Fatima, who was hired as a teacher at a public school for
girls in Al-Buqaa, located far away from her home in Khamis Mushayat, Asir
province, said she hired her brother to drive her to and from work every day
for SR1,500 a month, an arrangement her family was happy with because her
brother can act as her guardian, too.
Nadia was hired as a school teacher in Makhwah, Baha
province. She lived with her husband and children in Jeddah, too far away for
her to take the job without relocating. She convinced her husband to allow her
to pay her brother to live with her and act as her local guardian.
"My brother Abdullah just graduated from intermediate
school and did not want to continue his education," she said. "I
offered to pay him SR1,000 every month for just staying with me in my new
place, and he readily agreed."
Nadia recently completed her third year on the job.
Nura, who works as a nurse at a public clinic, said she
convinced her father to allow her to go to nursing college on the condition she
wouldn't seek work after graduation. She said she convinced her father that she
only wanted to study and have a certificate of graduation.
"After the Civil Service Ministry decided to appoint me
as a nurse at a health center, I began talking to my father to convince him to
allow me to take up the job. I told him that unlike general hospitals, there is
no gender mixing at health centers."
Nadia said her father initially looked at her "like I
was a criminal" for wanting to work. Then she offered him SR2,000 a month,
which changed his attitude.
"He is now very keen about my work," she said.
"He will not allow me to be absent for any reason. Not only that, he now
allows me to travel for conferences inside the Kingdom."
One of the primary concerns voiced by men who are adverse to
granting permission for their siblings, daughters or wives from working is
their aversion to women mingling with unrelated men. Husbands often claim they
want their wives to be completely devoted to domestic duties and child rearing.
Muna, a professor at a local college, has another theory.
"They only fear that we may become financially independent," she
said.
But when Muna's husband started seeing that her income was helping
domestic expenses, "he became very appreciative of my work."
Muna said she wasn't completely open about her salary; her
husband doesn't know how much she really earns. "I have to save money to
be able to enjoy my financial freedom," she said.
