Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
On September 26, 2017, the Saudi Arabian monarchy lifted the law against women driving, the act of which has since proved to be a gateway into new freedoms for women who have lived under repressive laws. Since women were granted the right to drive, at least 70,000 driver’s licenses have been issued, in addition to the establishment of a few driving schools catered specifically to women. Even car manufactures have released advertisements targeting women, further enhancing the idea of gender equality within Saudi Arabia.
A few weeks before women were granted driving rights, around 11 women’s rights activists were arrested, and later even more were detained. Although some women have since then been released on bail, others remain imprisoned. Even after the driving ban was lifted, women like Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent figure in the push to allow women to drive, are behind bars, and some have even reported enduring torture.
Despite the fact that steps have been taken to instill equality between men and women in Saudi Arabia, many problematic and prejudiced laws remain, one of which includes Saudi Arabia’s guardianship laws. Built upon an authoritarian interpretation of Islam, these laws require all females to have a male guardian, typically a father, brother, husband, or uncle. A woman who goes against her guardian’s wishes can be arrested on charges of disobedience. In 2019, these legal codes were altered to exclude women over the age of 21 years old, and allowed women to travel abroad, register a divorce or a marriage, and apply for official documents without male guardian permission.
Prior to researching the current state of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, I had not known that it would be this blatantly distorted. To claim that Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women is as a reflection of Islam’s teachers and what god has prescribed in the Quran personally seems disrespectful to the entirety of the religion. Pertaining to the world as a whole, the events currently occurring in Saudi Arabia indicate that although steps in the right direction are being taken, in terms of gender equality there is much more to go and improve on.
- Mariam Vaid
Your blog post addresses an important social issue. I think your point at the end is particularly crucial to our understanding of oppression in our society. While there have been great strides made toward progress, there is still a long way to go, and it's important to keep both in mind. Many people today use the excuse of "women can vote" or "women have jobs" and that things are "much better than they used to be," and while all of that is true, it does not mean that everything is solved and perfect. These ideas often are just focused on the US and don't acknowledge the many systems of oppression and bias still in place. This was a great, well written post talking about something many people fail to comprehend.
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