A recent incident in Dammam has left everybody in a state of shock. Two young men were harassing an older couple on the street when another man attempted to intervene and was shot at and seriously injured.
At roughly the same time, the Shoura Council decided to hold in abeyance adoption of anti-harassment laws to protect women and other vulnerable people such as the old couple. While the inclusion of women in the Shoura Council has had an impact on public discussion of women’s rights, many decisions like abandoning anti-harassment legislation make many Saudis, especially women who remain the target of roving bands of men, somewhat fearful for their future.
Civilized societies respect and enforce the rule of law. Legislators pass laws and local agencies enforce those laws. But I don’t know which laws protect me and I don’t know what laws are even on the books.
To compound the problem authorities in the capital are cracking down on women who
don’t adhere to the Riyadh’s standard of a dress code. Women in Riyadh are supposed to
wear black abayas that authorities claim conforms to Islamic standard, but they don’t explain how.
The status quo may create problems at many levels. It defies Saudi society’s intention of modernizing and becoming more open as it seeks greater relationships in international trade. Saudi Arabia for the past decade has made great efforts and much progress to be accepted at the international level.
Yet rulings, such as the one that now governs how abayas should be worn, undermine our argument that western nations should not impose laws that ban the hijab.
The irony is that we send thousands of women to western universities and expect them to join the government and private sector work force after graduation. But at the same time we impose regulations that don’t help women become productive members of the society.
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