Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia Are Limited in Comparison To The

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are limited in comparison to the rights of women in many of its
neighbors. The World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 141
out of 144 countries for gender parity,[6]down from 134 out of 145 in 2015.[7] The United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) elected Saudi Arabia to the U.N. Commission on the
Status of Women for 2018–2022.[8] Women in Saudi Arabia constituted 13% of the country's native
workforce as of 2015.[2][3]
However, the status of women has changed in recent decades. Women were previously forbidden
from voting in all elections or being elected to any political office, but in 2011 King Abdullah let
women vote in the 2015 local elections, as well as to be appointed to the Consultative
Assembly.[9] There are more female university graduates in Saudi Arabia than male,[10] and female
literacy is estimated to be 91%, which while still lower than male literacy, is far higher than it was 40
years ago. The average age at first marriage among Saudi females is 25 years.[11][12][13]
500 conservative Saudi women attending a 2006 conference in Riyadh did not support loosening
traditional gender roles and restrictions, on the grounds that Saudi Arabia is the closest thing to an
"ideal and pure Islamic nation," and under threat from "imported Western values".[14]
Among the factors that define rights for women in Saudi Arabia are government laws,
the Hanbali and Wahhabiinterpretation of Sunni Islam, and traditional customs of the Arabian
Peninsula.[15] In 2017, King Salman ordered that women be allowed access to government services
such as education and healthcare without the need of consent of her guardian.[
This gender apartheid is well documented – even if not widely publicised – Just some of
the ways in which women are oppressed in Saudi Arabia include
 Women are generally expected to wear the full Hijab in public – with only the eyes
and hands being visible.
 There is a strict policy of sex segregation in public places – including work places
and restaurants, with facilities often being of a lesser quality than for men.
 Even though women’s literacy is high compared to some countries,
educational opportunities are heavily gendered – with women being effectively
prohibited from studying traditionally male subjects such as engineering and law –
97% of Female degrees are in education or the social sciences, which are deemed to
be suitable for women.
 Women are not allowed to travel without being accompanied by a male relative –
resulting in their Being banned from driving – Saudi Arabia is the only country in
the world to do so – which has actually led to a Facebook campaign and women
posting videos of themselves driving
 Finally, there is the possibility of being lashed and sent to jail for committing
adultery – even if the victim of a gang rape
All of this is pretty grim from the perspective of most people in the West, and serves to
illustrate numerous themes in Sociology –
Firstly, Saudi Arabia has to be one of the best examples of overt patriarchy preventing
women from having equal opportunities with men – and thus shows us the continued
relevance of Feminism globally. Of course you might take issue with this and argue that
there are some pros to Saudi society too, but from the straightforward perspective of
gender equality – women are clearly not equal with men.
Secondly, it demonstrates the limits of ‘Cultural Globalisation’ – clearly Liberal, or any
type of Feminism, hasn’t effectively penetrated the boarders of this country.
Thirdly, Saudi Arabia is a very good example of the problems of relying on the standard
statistical indicators of development – Saudi Arabia has a GNI per capita (PPP) of just
over $23 000, ranking 56th in the world, and has a correspondingly high HDI (nearly –
0.8) – also ranking 56th.
However, on the ‘Gender Equality Index’, which compares the male-female rates of
things such as political involvement, years in school, and the number of men and
women in work, Saudi Arabia drops down to 135th (or thereabouts – I may’ve lost
count!). Saudi Arabia must be the country that shows the biggest gap between its GNI/
HDI and it’s level of Gender Inequality.
I should just mention that things are on the up – women will be able to vote for the firs
time in 2015, and are much more likely to be allowed to study abroad, for example, than
in previous decades, but this relative liberalisation may not last forever, and, in any case,
by the standards of gender equality in the west, Saudi Arabia has a long way to go until it
rids itself of its gender apartheid.

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