"I believe that in general, for the Saudi woman, every
day is a new battle. She needs to find ways to live on the face of this earth
without colliding with the law, with men, with society, with the religious
clerics, or with the political establishment. She is besieged. …Within every
Saudi woman, there is a Scheherazade. Imagine
Scheherazade trying every night to
stay alive until the next night. That's how I see the Saudi woman.” - Wajeha
Al-Huwaidar
On paper, it looks like the
wind has changed for women in Saudi Arabia. For the first time in the country’s
history, women are registered to vote in municipal elections. It is a
significant step forward to empower Saudi women and girls, who are now on their
way to be a part of the public sphere, not just the excluded victims of society.
Sex segregation in Saudi Arabia is nothing new. There has always been a female sphere of activities in the kingdom, for women have a “special” nature that needs a “special” type of education and a “special” set of behaviors. By the age of seven, boys and girls are separated into a divided world of men and women: all public facilities such as transportation, banks and restaurants are segregated as a matter of law. Saudi women are subject to the concept of qawama or “male guardianship.” A woman is not allowed to travel without the permission of her male guardian; she needs him to write her a letter to enroll in university; a permission from him to get medical care or to marry. Basically, women in Saudi Arabia need men to give them permission to do everything in their life. Qawama robs women of their autonomy by placing them under the custody of their male relatives. They cannot make decisions without men’s consent. Women are only treated as objects whose ownership is passed from one man to another.
The Arab
Spring inspired Saudi women to make demands for their rights. The access to the
Internet by the end of the 1990s gave rise to e-activism. Social networks
have made the spread of ideas easier and more effective. Women connected with
each other and created new ties through social networks. Blogging became the
main platform for women to express themselves, often anonymously. The internet is a safe space where
women have equal access in ways that are different from the reality where women
are always subordinate to men. Blogs such as women2drive campaign, Saudi Eve,
Saudiwoman, etc. are examples of female bloggers that try to bring in changes
to women realities.
The recent
change in suffrage law is a landmark for a country that is notorious for
imposing constraints on women. While this is a significant change for a
conservative monarchy like Saudi Arabia, it probably will not make much
difference. Municipal elections in Saudi Arabia are not that important because
local elected officials usually have little power in the country. Moreover, the
right to vote does not go far enough to advance any substantial women’s rights.
The most controversial restriction is the government’s ban on driving. Saudi Arabia
is now the only country that prohibits women from driving or even riding a
bicycle. The right to drive is very important, especially in a country that
lacks transportation, the inability to drive is an obstacle to women to achieve
even the smallest equality. Without the right to drive, women will have to
depend on a male companion to travel to places, for it is relatively unsafe to
walk and women are often prohibited from walking alone in public. There is a “women to drive”
movement that attracts the media attention lately. Women participating in
the movement will drive out in public spaces. But these women who broke the
taboo on driving were arrested. They were ridiculed. They were condemned.
It is never just about driving.
It is about being in the driver’s seat for one’s own destiny. The new extension
of suffrage to women is laudable, but there is still a long way to go in the
fight for gender equality in Saudi Arabia.
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