When King Abdullah succeeded his late half-brother to become ruler of Saudi Arabia eight years ago, many believed he brought with him an air of reform, women's rights. While Saudi Arabia is an autocratic monarchy and governed by the king who serves as both head of state and head of the entire government. The Koran is what the King uses as his guide. Abdullah promised to achieve a great many changes for women. Previously, they were forbiden from driving and were required by law to seek the approval of a male “guardian” to work, travel and, at times to undergo surgery. Muslim women, the king said in a speech, in 2011, “opinions and advice since the era of Prophet Muhammad” and “we refuse to marginalize women in society in all roles that comply with Sharia,” or Islamic law, the recent ruler added. As Saudi Arabia marked the eighth anniversary since King Abdullah has had the throne, the new government announced that it would lift a ban on sports at private girls’ schools across the kingdom. This came weeks after the government made another concession— lifting a ban on females riding bicycles and buggies, even if they are in the presence of a male guardian.
The decisions were seen by many reformers as positive “baby steps,” but many more issues continue to stall the women’s-rights movement in Saudi Arabia, including the right to drive, the right to operate without male approval or supervision, as well as the right to win custody of a child or legally defend herself in cases of domestic violence. Authority is formally given to the husband. Women have been fighting for equality in Saudi Arabia long before the rumble of discontent erupted in countries like Egypt and Tunisia. Since regional uprisings began in 2011, the Saudi government, apprehensive that its citizens would join in the call for change, has tried to please the opposition with concessions in the form of housing allowances, government handouts, and new social liberties. However, women say the time has come for real change. There is a need for “removing any constraints that make [women] unequal to men in terms of self-determination, be it the need for guardian permits for education, travel, hospitalization, as well as being treated with full citizenship, as men, in rights to housing or citizenship for her children.”
In April 2013, the justice ministry licensed Arwa al-Hujaili of Jeddah as a legal trainee, making her the first woman to train as a lawyer in Saudi Arabia. However, its not over for Arwa, Saudi judges have the right to remove a lawyer from a case, with no regulations against gender discrimination. Some judges even continue to segregate men and women in their courtrooms. The Ministry of Labor answered a long-awaited call last year, allowing women to work in lingerie shops across the kingdom, a role traditionally held by men prior to a 2011 decree. While the move certainly lifted a social stigma, many point to the economic practicality of allowing women to take on these jobs. More than 28,000 women applied when the ministry first announced the change, according to government statistics. As of February, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (commonly dubbed “morality police”) even started policing lingerie shops to ensure the ban on male employees.
The decision to reform has come with some disturbance. A popular television anchorwoman (Rania Al Baz) was among the first to break a taboo by going public with her own battle with domestic violence—photographs of her severely battered face making headlines worldwide in 2004. According to the Riyadh-based National Family Safety Program, one in every six women is abused verbally, physically, or emotionally every day in Saudi Arabia. Ninty percent of the abusers are usually husbands or their own fathers. In May 2013, the first public-awareness campain on domestic violence was released in Saudi Arabia—in Arabic and English—urging victims to stand up and to seek help. The campaign, released by the Riyadh-based King Khalid Foundation. This campaign was groundbreaking, however, there remains no legislation to legally help female victims of domestic violence, according to Human Rights Watch researcher Adam Coogle. “There is no penal code that protects women and girls from domestic violence, marital rape is not considered a crime in Saudi Arabia, and there is no legal protection that any women can cling to in the face of abuse,” says Coogle. Women may work outside the home and are employed in schools and sections of universities, social work and development programs for women, bank that many deal with female business clilents, nursing, some radio and television, and library and computer work. Remember, women only account for approximately 5 percent on the Saudia Arabia's work force.
On September 25, King Abdullah announced recently, that women will be able to vote in municipal elections in 2015. The government excluded women as voters or candidates in the September 2011 municipal elections. In March 2011 women activists launched the Baladi (My Country) campaign in protest, trying—unsuccessfully—to register to vote. In the first municipal elections in 2005, authorities said that election workers could not verify a woman’s identity since many did not have identity cards. However, the Interior Ministry began issuing identity cards to women over 22 years old in 2000. The king also promised to appoint women as full members of the Shura Council. On June 17 around 40 women with international drivers’ licenses participated in a “women2drive” campaign. No law bars women from driving, but senior government clerics have ruled against the practice. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to prohibit women from driving. Evolution is taking place, too bad that it is so slow. Women hae No full rights as individuals.
While women's rights seem a given in some countries, that is not always the case. The decision to reform women's rights will only go as far as the tribes of Saudia Arabia find it socially acceptable. Saudi Arabia has just given some basic rights to the women in rescent years. They can have an education, serve in local government seats and some can even drive. The king has made some changes and it seems that these supressed will soon be making a difference. There is some acceptance of change. When change in a conservative society happens, it usually has opposition. Ultimately our society in the Unites States, is a Liberal Democratic Society and Saudi Arabia is not a democratic country. Religion infusses in every aspect of life. When women are given the same, equal rights as men the Saudi women will soon be happy, healthy contributors to the general public in the twentyfirst century. Giving the women of Saudi Arabia the opportunity to aspire is a great belief. Making women's rights equal to those of the Saudi men is not a top priority, however, the king is making monumental steps.