Emerging Norms Bump Stationary Traditions for Women in the GCC (2/4)

Challenges

Women, in the general sense, are well-educated in all of the GCC nations, but women’s decision to work past that education is still controlled by the conservative culture that surrounds them (Asia Business Council). Even as women are now granted more rights, many laws continue to discriminate against women and their progress in leadership development. In Saudi Arabia, women are seen as minors under the eyes of the laws, requiring male guardian consent for even basic things. Furthermore, women in Saudi Arabia still cannot drive, attend school, or travel abroad without such consent. Kuwait, although less restricted, still gives a mixed bag of laws that may allow women to travel abroad but on their own but not be permitted to obtain a driver’s license without permission from their male guardian. In the UAE, the culture still practices sexist ideals that make women’s leadership difficult to stand on its own. Bahrain and Oman, although achieving gender parity in education, still have low levels of female workforce participation.

Inability to Drive Change (Saudi Arabia)

The increase in female participation in Saudi Arabia’s workforce, although an excellent sign of gravitation towards women’s access to the public space, has created a host of new problems, according to an article from Spiegel Online. How will women get to work if they are barred from driving? It is crucial for reforms to address these problems within the point of economic necessity, rather than the freedoms gained from human rights (Mittelstaedt and Shafy, 2015). Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world in which women are not allowed to drive cars.

According to the Financial Times, women seeking jobs face an ultraconservative kingdom that implements a wide range of challenges. Inability to drive, limited public transportation, and strict gender segregation are among the issues that make it nearly impossible for women to gain employment opportunities. Furthermore, the costs associated with complying with the labor ministry’s segregation rules carry a hefty price tag that many business will not or cannot afford to pay.

Traditional Notions vs Progressive Thinking (Saudi Arabia)

Some activists speaking out for women’s freedom in the public spaces are taking a positive approach to view these obstacles as challenges (Mittelstaedt and Shafy, 2015). Artist Ebtisam Almutlaqd makes sculptures out of wire to showcase in recently-opened art galleries. Reema Al-Jawiny trains to run in marathons in a country that bans school girls from participating in gym class. And Rajaa Alsanea, best-selling author for the once-banned book “The Girls from Riyadh” after the Quran. Ms. Alsanea says that change in the region means carefully testing the limits of the conservatives' resistance between reality, law and tradition. Although certain government policy officials celebrate the progress of working women in glowing reports, a study by the Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid Center in Jeddah noted that the respondents still believe that women do not belong in factories or the political world; the traditional notions of women’s place in society as homemakers maintains a louder voice than the progress being pushed forward. Are these important pillars of the traditional society being challenged by society’s contradicting yet progressive changes?

Independence and Wealth in Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia)

Marriage is one of the valuable pillars in the traditional Saudi society, along with child bearing and running the house hold. This contradicts the status of women in education and the slow-changing face of the workplace (Mittelstaedt and Shafy, 2015). According to official figures for marital status, 45% of women over 30 are single, and 40% of marriages end in divorce. According to figures in education, 60% of all the graduates are women, and one third of all female university graduates are unemployed. There are over 150,000 Saudi Arabian students studying abroad, one third is women who wish to develop programs and lead companies. International study abroad students like Eman Al-Zahrani, an un-married graduate, will discover that her country paid extensively for her Master’s degree in computer science but will not leverage her knowledge in a meaningful way.

A Positive Approach to a Negative Reality (Saudi Arabia)

Many advocates claim that the social status of working women is changing around the country. Women can work as lawyers, sit on executive boards, chase entrepreneurial business goals, work in STEM fields, and vote for their local council and run for candidacy themselves. On the flip side, women still cannot be judges, or be legally independent without male guardians by law. Saudi women are subject to strict abaya dress codes, and are dictated by segregation of the sexes that is extensively monitored by the national vice squad. As of 2015, only 15% of women are employed. Saudi Arabia is home to more highly-qualified housewives than anywhere else in the world (Mittelstaedt and Shafy, 2015). Perhaps the crossfire between conservatism and modernism can be saved by social media.

Demographics from the article point out that, first, three out of four Saudi Arabians are under the age of thirty. Second, this demographic in Saudi Arabia spend more time on YouTube and Twitter than anywhere else in the world in proportion to the population. Taking over the online space makes sense, considering public entertainment is restricted, the cinema is banned, and local television mostly consists of religious shows.