Some Observations Concerning Women in Saudi Arabia

 

One might object to this blog post: what does a white, older man have to say about women in Saudi Arabia? I would like to disagree. Of course, I cannot competently discuss the position of women in Saudi Arabian society here, nor is it my place to make judgments. But I can observe, and I have observed some things and heard others. I want to report on these. Progress regarding women's rights in Saudi Arabia has been noticeable since 2017, but there is still much room for development. 2017 was also the year of a fatwa stating that women have only a quarter of the brainpower of men. This can be read, for example, in a BBC article [1]. Overall, Wikipedia has a very comprehensive article on women's rights in Saudi Arabia, which could also be used for information [2].

Most women continue to wear the black abaya and niqab [3]. But you do see blue, gray, lightly patterned, and burgundy abayas, borders, and gray or brown stripes on the black abaya, but black is clearly the dominant color. You rarely see women dressed in Western clothing, or rather, you do see this clothing under the abaya; for example, women wear jeans under the abaya. The edges of the black abaya are often embellished with floral patterns. Instead of a niqab, they wear a black face mask. Women are more frequently seen traveling in pairs or groups of three.

As a group, we had a very interesting conversation with a female driver/shuttle bus driver; the translator was the German tour guide, who had studied Arabic and ethnology and earned his doctorate about a related topic. The young woman has ten brothers and five sisters. She is ten years younger than her oldest sister, with whom she lives. She is 29 years old. The older sister had originally wanted to study but was then married off. The legal situation was different back then; she had no right to appeal. Then, however, a change in the father's attitude seems to have occurred, and the other daughters were allowed to object to a marriage. However, he has since passed away, and the eldest brother is now responsible for the unmarried sisters. She is very pleased with the change in the law. The older sister wasn't so happy about the marriage, but she eventually resigned herself to her fate. The marriage wasn't bad, although she wasn't truly happy. She has seven children. Her husband has since died in a car accident. The father had a total of three wives. Many of the children were completely unaware of the second marriage, or even that two of their siblings weren't from the first and third wives. They were so well integrated that no one questioned who the siblings' mother was. The father's second marriage ended in divorce. In total, 16 children grew up from his marriages with three women, one of whom contributed only two children.

That evening, she wore a dark burgundy abaya and a niqab. She herself would break with tradition, but the women in the family insisted on it. She wouldn't, however, forgo the hijab and abaya, which she sees as required by her religion and which she observes. When I asked if much had changed, she confirmed that it had. I had pointed out that the time between women being able to get a driver's license and drive a car and them working as shuttle drivers was quite short. Since I had noticed quite a few women in the tourism sector, I inquired further. She explained that there were actually fewer women working in tourism because families, and especially the men, believed it involved too much contact with the opposite sex. She reported that many more women were already working in banking or hospitals. Furthermore, many sectors were giving preference to female employees, although one may suspect that altruistic motives weren't the only factor. International travel was permitted, but it had to be work-related. And she herself had already been to Egypt and Jordan.

The husband has to provide for his wive(s) and children, but if the wife or our unmarried driver earns money it belongs to her. I wonder how long this will be that case. She maintains an own car, drives around and doesn't care if her female neighbors question this practice.

Looking back on the trip, particularly with regard to the women, I must admit that my perspective was limited. Medina is a special case, as it's packed with pilgrims, and the same is true for Jeddah. In smaller towns, women were almost exclusively seen wearing black abayas and niqabs. Riyadh showed the greatest variety. Western-dressed women were seen in cars; many wore hijabs but no longer niqabs. And I remember one very young woman on the streets who wore an abaya, but her face and hair were uncovered.

 

Links and Annotations:
[1] Georgina Rannard & Muhammad Shukri / BBC News: Women have 'quarter of brain' says Saudi cleric.
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41361123
Quote: Women "don't deserve to drive because they only have a quarter of a brain.”
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia
[3] Glossary:
Abaya (عباية) – Outer garment worn by women over their normal clothing outside the home
Niqab (نقاب) – Face veil
Hijab (حجاب) – Headscarf covering the hair, neck, and often the shoulders
More on Niqab: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niqab

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