A misperception generated by the western media and endorsed by women activists hold the Saudi government solely responsible for women’s backwardness in the Kingdom.
It’s a western perspective that governments have control over its people through legislation designed to protect its citizens. Those attitudes are a result of the western media serving its audience, lazy reporting and a complete lack of understanding about how the Saudi society functions.
The Saudi government — specifically the ministries of higher education, social affairs, health and labor — has been instrumental in advancing the rights of women thanks largely to the reformist policies implemented by King Abdullah and strengthened by King Salman. To be clear, it’s not the Saudi government that is holding women back but Saudi society that is hidebound to social traditions.
The Kingdom’s Central Department of Statistics and Information released a study recently that found that women entering the work force increased from about 475,000 females in 2005 to about 800,000 in 2014. From 2010 to today, the number of Saudi women employed in the private and public sectors has increased by 48 percent, more than double the rate for Saudi men. The majority of employed Saudi women are still found in traditional “female” jobs such as health, education, retail and public services, but an increasing number are joining the ranks in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and finance. In the finance sector alone, there are about 100,000 Saudi female workers, and more than 150,000 in the construction industry. The study does not break down the types of jobs women are holding.
Of course, much of this has to do with the government’s free scholarship program that allows young men and women to obtain their university degrees abroad. As of 2014, 49.6 percent of all graduates from Saudi universities are women. Still, there is a long road ahead as only 16.4 percent of employed Saudis are women.
This is government action and not a result of a demand by the public. Ten years ago the father of any young women traveling to the West for a university education would be condemned and ridiculed by his peers for failing to control his daughter and sending her into the devil’s den.
Today, Saudi families are eager to send their daughters abroad. Today’s generation of young women are often brighter, more motivated and have the wherewithal to get an education and find a well-paying job than their male counterparts.
Overall, however, Saudi society has not caught up with the progressive programs implemented by the government. I call this the real Saudi society. The West embraces and gives hero status to English-speaking uncovered Saudi women who speak against patriarchal mistreatment of women. These women take to YouTube or social media to air their grievances against the government. They gain international attention thanks to the western media machine and are regarded as courageous.
Most of these young activists speak to the western narrative. They do not speak for the common Saudi woman, the fully covered Bedouin who possess the overwhelming desire for sons and to serve their husbands and keep house. The real Saudi woman either does not know these young activists who purport to speak on their behalf or they simply don’t care and think of these young women as shameful.
This is the real Saudi Arabia. If anything is holding our country back from joining the 21st century, it’s the “real” Saudi woman. It’s not a government problem, but a social one. Perhaps it’s not even a problem. If this is the life Saudi women embrace, who are we to judge?
