Position: Saudi women are less represented in Saudi Arabian business than practically anywhere else on earth because of the repressive strain of Islam that prevents women from being visible and productive in the public sphere.
Or as my friend says, "Saudi men won't let them!" I wonder if this is really the case. I think this position may be true. There is a lot of media reports that fuel this notion of the oppression of Saudi-Muslim woman and for the most part, I feel like these reports may very well be true. We all know about Saudi laws that hinder a woman's mobility. Perhaps there are laws that limit her access to education, employment, and other freedoms would make it difficult to live what we call productive lives. A woman who is relegated to the domestic sphere, in which her management tasks basically involve maintaining her home and family--this can be a limiting role. Women with entreprenurial abilities, talents, creativity--how and where do they channel their talents if they do not have access to media, resources, and opportunities to develop? I think this position has plenty of evidence, not just from an anecdotal perspective but from popular culture, media, and just the laws of Saudi Arabia.
One can imagine that Saudi women are granted certain freedoms, despite the apparent limits to their freedoms and mobility. Women may not be allowed to work outside the home, but perhaps that affords them greater time to do other things. Many spaces that are reserved for women only may permit women absolute, unrestrained freedom to do as they please without having to worry about the male gaze. This means there exists businesses and services directed only for women-only spaces, services that are left to our imagination because we do not have access to them. This might mean that women are able to exercise unbridled self-expression within single-sex spaces.
Are there any advantages to being a Saudi woman? Well, I think that if you are a religious woman, you would derive joy from being close to God's house, being surrounded by reminders of your religion. As with anything, I am sure there are tradeoffs. Give me your freedom, the Saudi government says, and I will give you your religion. I will dictate for you the manner in which you can pray, the time for which it is best for you to pray, and dictate all matters in the public sphere such that you, Woman, are excluded.
I refuse to believe however that Islam is the cause of oppression for these women. Islam, as a dinstinct way of life, never barred women from entering public spheres. The wife of the Prophet, Aiisha, was a prolific writer, and commentator on Hadith. Her scholarship is what allows many Muslims to have loving relationships with their Prophet, to know Prophet Muhammad (sws) as a husband, a father, a human being--in ways that are contrary to any other religious figure in history. Arab women used to fight in battles. They would sing, they would carry banners, they participated. Arab women have been part of a legacy of women's activism. Muslim Arab women were the first group of women as a cohort to gain rights of property ownership from the state. Muslim Arab women have been agents of change, in ways I am left to imagine.
Or as my friend says, "Saudi men won't let them!" I wonder if this is really the case. I think this position may be true. There is a lot of media reports that fuel this notion of the oppression of Saudi-Muslim woman and for the most part, I feel like these reports may very well be true. We all know about Saudi laws that hinder a woman's mobility. Perhaps there are laws that limit her access to education, employment, and other freedoms would make it difficult to live what we call productive lives. A woman who is relegated to the domestic sphere, in which her management tasks basically involve maintaining her home and family--this can be a limiting role. Women with entreprenurial abilities, talents, creativity--how and where do they channel their talents if they do not have access to media, resources, and opportunities to develop? I think this position has plenty of evidence, not just from an anecdotal perspective but from popular culture, media, and just the laws of Saudi Arabia.
One can imagine that Saudi women are granted certain freedoms, despite the apparent limits to their freedoms and mobility. Women may not be allowed to work outside the home, but perhaps that affords them greater time to do other things. Many spaces that are reserved for women only may permit women absolute, unrestrained freedom to do as they please without having to worry about the male gaze. This means there exists businesses and services directed only for women-only spaces, services that are left to our imagination because we do not have access to them. This might mean that women are able to exercise unbridled self-expression within single-sex spaces.
Are there any advantages to being a Saudi woman? Well, I think that if you are a religious woman, you would derive joy from being close to God's house, being surrounded by reminders of your religion. As with anything, I am sure there are tradeoffs. Give me your freedom, the Saudi government says, and I will give you your religion. I will dictate for you the manner in which you can pray, the time for which it is best for you to pray, and dictate all matters in the public sphere such that you, Woman, are excluded.
I refuse to believe however that Islam is the cause of oppression for these women. Islam, as a dinstinct way of life, never barred women from entering public spheres. The wife of the Prophet, Aiisha, was a prolific writer, and commentator on Hadith. Her scholarship is what allows many Muslims to have loving relationships with their Prophet, to know Prophet Muhammad (sws) as a husband, a father, a human being--in ways that are contrary to any other religious figure in history. Arab women used to fight in battles. They would sing, they would carry banners, they participated. Arab women have been part of a legacy of women's activism. Muslim Arab women were the first group of women as a cohort to gain rights of property ownership from the state. Muslim Arab women have been agents of change, in ways I am left to imagine.
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