Saudi Inequality

Aidah al-Nassar is a 37 year-old woman living in Medina, Saudi Arabia. She is married and has two children. Her husband is a businessman and works in the city, while Aidah has to stay at home and take care of the children. The family’s life is governed by Sunni Islam.
In the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum released a ranking for gender parity from 136 countries. Saudi Arabia placed in the 127th place. Certain steps have been taken to fix gender inequality, yet many laws and traditions, including religious interpretation, still prohibit women from the rights they would have in other countries. Following is a section of a response from Aidah to what she has to say about the issue.
First, I would like to address the causes for the gender inequality in my country. Many people would believe that the Islamic religion is the sole factor for the many prohibitions placed on women. However, I tell you that is not the only factor. Even here, in Saudi Arabia, there exists a saying: “It’s the culture, not the religion.” Therefore, many of the laws come from the government and the traditional customs of the Arabian Peninsula. What outrages me the most is the fact that most of the gender laws that are in place are merely interpretations of the Sharia, or Islamic law. In my country, the Shaira is interpreted according to a Sunni form called Wahhabism, or the way of the righteous predecessor. Judges, or shall I say men, are left with discretionary power to exercise in favor of tribal traditions
On the upside, there have been some improvements in recent years. For example, in 2011 King Abdullah announced that women could finally take part in voting and running for office in the 2015 elections. More women are receiving a proper education. In fact, more of the university graduates in Saudi Arabia are woman than men. Having excellent qualifications, they are still not treated fairly in the workplace and gender separation is a prevailing problem.
This leads to the fact that nothing can mask the traditional and culture disadvantages we, as women, experience everyday. I have two children and a household to take care of, and yet I am not allowed to drive a car. Think of the many errands a mother in the Americas performs and how important it is to drive oneself to the store. But even if I were to walk to the market, I still need a male chaperone called a mahram, or a male relative. Our freedom of movement is severely restricted because of traditional beliefs in a patriarchal system of the past that should have long ago been abandoned.

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It is time now, that all the women in Saudi Arabia stand up and speak out against the problems gender inequality. We have suffered too long, and such an issue should most definitely not exist in the modern world we live in. The time has come to make a change, not to the religion, but to interpretation and custom. Equality for all!