by B. R. GOWANI
German poster for International Women’s Day, March 8th, 1914; English translation: “Give Us Women’s Suffrage. Women’s Day, March 8, 1914. Until now, prejudice and reactionary attitudes have denied full civic rights to women, who as workers, mothers, and citizens wholly fulfill their duty, who must pay their taxes to the state as well as the municipality. Fighting for this natural human right must be the firm, unwavering intention of every woman, every female worker. In this, no pause for rest, no respite is allowed. Come all, you women and girls, to the 9th public women’s assembly on Sunday, March 8, 1914, at 3pm.” [1] IMAGE & TEXT/Wikipedia
The first time Women’s Day was observed was in 1909. Now it is celebrated all over the world to highlight women’s achievements and to draw attention to the areas where women are still trying to gain equality. The theme for the 2014 International Women’s Day is:
Women have made progress in many fields but majority of the women, including those of the Western world, have a long way to go. But the case of the Saudi women is unique: theirs is the only country in the world which doesn’t permit women to drive.
The Saudi girls/women wanting to work, obtain ID card, to perform “certain surgeries,” to “leave the university campus during study hours,” or travel abroad are required to have permission from father, husband, brother, or son. An added insult to women (with the introduction of SMS) was that the Passport Department started notifying male guardians of the women traveling abroad through text messaging. Since January 14, 2014, SMS notifications have stopped due to change in law, but the women wanting to travel still need permission from male guardians.
A country with one of the highest per capita income, $25,700 for the year 2013, with one of the most super rich households (it’s another matter that 20% of the people live in abject poverty), with the second largest proven oil reserves in the world has some of the most regressive laws. And they greatly affect women.
In keeping with the Sharia and thus restricting women to a few fields, the 2006 Saudi labor code stipulated that
Two recent gains for Saudi women is the inclusion of 30 women in the Shura Council or Saudi Consultative Council. It’s the first time in Kingdom’s history that women will be part of the Shura Council. The second one is the appointment of Soumayya Jabarti as the editor-in-chief of the Saudi Gazette.
Brave Saudi women are trying hard to gain rights which their male counterparts already have.
Saudi women’s rights activist Wajeha al-Huwaider drove her car six year ago. Last year she wrote the following:
“On Women’s Day, March 8, 2008, I drove my car and made a video clip to support the driving campaign which was released on YouTube. That video clip ensured that the driving campaign became known around the world. I thought at the time that it would be a matter of a few months before the KSA authorities let women drive cars.”
But her dream of women driving cars in Saudi Arabia still remains unfulfilled. Instead, in September 2013, Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan advised women against driving because it could affect their ovaries. If there was an iota of a truth in what Saleh says then he himself wouldn’t be with us today to talk such crap, because the Arabs from the Saudi Arabian region would have ceased to exist long ago for a simple reason: Saudi women ride camels too and that ride can’t be very pleasant for the survival of the ovaries.
In September 2011, Shaima Jastaniya was sentenced to ten lashes with whip for driving a car. Saudi King’s nephew and the largest individual shareholder of Citigroup, billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal criticized the Saudi court:
“This was a barbaric and inhuman decision to lash a Saudi lady for driving.”
And his wife Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel thinks,
“You don’t need a revolution to fix things. You can fix them if you have the channels and you create institutions where people can voice their opinions to the government.”
No one in power likes revolution because that can affect their lifestyle immensely. So they preach and try to introduce small changes in the Kingdom. And they’re not worried about how these medieval laws and attitude plays havoc in the life of others. In the first week of February 2014, a female student died after an heart attack at Riyadh University because male paramedics were prevented from entering the women’s only campus to offer medical help to the student.
The week after the tragic death of the student, Sheikh Qays al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Ulema (Muslim scholars), had the nerve to say the following:
“Women are becoming negligent in consulting doctors without a mahram (male guardian), and this is prohibited.”
In a show of defiance, on October 26, 2013, dozens of women drove their cars. But the law is still there and the women can’t drive.
PHOTO/Al Jazeera
The United States, the world custodian of democracy, human rights, women’s rights, free speech, and what not stays silent when it’s Saudi Arabia.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com