Introduction
In the last century women worldwide have taken great strides in the Women Suffrage Movement. This progressive movement has given women the opportunity to have their voice heard and their ideas projected through voting. As of 2011 however, there are still 3 countries that still currently deny their women the right to vote one of which being Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a country that has been immensely impacted by strict gender segregation laws sanctioned by the absolute monarchy. For a while it seemed as if Saudi Arabia was not moving in a progressive direction in terms of the Women Suffrage Movement. In Saudi Arabia women not having the right to vote is only one of the many inequalities that plague women in this country.
At the height of the Arab Springs movement conflict began to boil over into Saudi Arabia causing the women in this country to realize that this was their opportunity to radically speak up against the injustices they faced, one of the major issues at the forefront of their concerns being their right to drive. In response to this outcry King Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia, granted women the right to vote in 2015 and to become members of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia also referred to as the Shura Council. This caused the rest of the world to ponder his intentions in doing so. In this paper I will be exploring if in fact this really is a giant leap forward towards women’s rights or merely a gimmick for the monarchy to keep power in the increasing volatile Middle East or, both. In an effort to answer this question I will be discussing the public opinion of King Abdullah’s decision , the recent Arab springs movement in Saudi Arabia and the case of Manal al-Shariff , which led to the w...
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The Islamic Revolution of 1979 placed an ideological wedge that created an increasingly pervasive rift in gender equality that is now only gradually being successfully challenged and correct upon.
Women’s rights in the Middle East are being restricted, therefore there are many different reactions. Some people were in favor of women having equal rights while there are some who are against women to have the same rights. Since before times, many countries in the Middle East have been taking women for granted and minimized their rights by telling them they can't do something or selling them as if they were prized. When women were treated as prizes it was a practice in Afghanistan called Ba’ad that used women as the compensation, for example a story of a girl named Sakina. She was a consolation prize so that her brother could marry a woman and the Jirga system told her she had to marry a 80 year old guy when she was like 18. This tells me
... and threats of violence against her. Fighting an unjust system is hard enough, but women’s emancipation is still on the wrong side of popular opinion in the still deeply conservative kingdom. And though progress has been made; the first female Saudi athletes at the 2012 Olympics and the promise of Women to participate in 2015 municipal elections, the progress is slow.
Before the 1700 and 1800s women in some of areas had the right to vote. They also had the right to inherit properties. Because back then the world did mostly farming, men and women shared the work. Also the men shared in child care.
The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is set in Afghanistan. It covers about a 50 year time period from the 1950’s to the mid 2000’s. Hosseini uses allusions to actual Afghani events to depict the ever changing liberties that the women of Afghanistan endure with the lack of stability in Afghanistan’s government.
Trofin, Liliana and Madalina Tomescu. “Women’s Rights in the Middle East”. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice Vol. 2(1). 1948-9137 (2010): 152-157.
Middle Eastern women need to stand up for their rights and get educated to reverse the notion that they are servants and properties of their men. Furthermore, they need to rise up to their potentials and prove beyond doubt that they are equal to men. This practice would lead the path for future generations to follow and protect the inalienable rights of women. Finally, these women need to break the cycle of oppression by addressing these deeply rooted beliefs, gaining the tools to fight back, and joining forces to make lifelong changes.
How has the pre-existing gender division of labor and gendered state policies affected Saudi Arabia’s women workers in their demand for equal opportunities and fair treatment? What are some of the factors involved in disempowering migrant workers in host countries and what happens when these workers start asking for their rights?
The Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 created a lasting affect on the societal role of women through modern day Iran. Women in Iran before the revolution were not entirely treated equal to men, but despite some cultural perceptions of women being inferior to men, they had made progress to become socially equal under the Shah. Several misconceptions and theories have been published and studied to show the inequality of women versus men because of Islam. However, contrasting theories have also been made to show that inequality has little to do with the religion, but instead with the forceful nature upon which it was implemented in the revolution. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the Islamic and political history of Iran and its social implications over Iranian women.
Would you believe me if I said: “Some countries have just started stepping forward to allow women to vote,?” Well, that is the reality of Saudi Arabia. On December 12, 2015, women were allowed to vote for the First time in an election! Can you imagine not being able to voice your opinion about the place you live in for being a certain gender? In Canada our human rights are protected inside the Charter of Rights and Freedom, it ensures, everyone is treated fairly, however, in Saudi Arabia, the government follows the “Quran” and bases its laws from it.Human rights in canada are more protected than saudi arabia because in canada women are treated like people, allowing them to do things men do too. Things like driving on their own, traveling on their own and everyone is allowed to express their opinions.
The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.
Women's suffrage refers to the right of women to participate in democratic processes through voting on the same basis as men. In the medieval and early modern periods in Europe, the right to vote was typically severely limited for all people by factors such as age, ownership of property, and gender. The development of the modern democratic state has been characterized internationally by the erosion of these various limitations following periods of collective struggle. Women's suffrage has been achieved as part of this process of modernization at different times in different national contexts, although very few nations granted women the right to vote in elections before the twentieth century (Freedman, pp. 63).
In oil rich Middle Eastern countries, the role of women in social and political spheres is greatly reduced. This is for a number of reasons that ultimately diminish the need for women to work outside of the home and lower participation.
In summary, Saudi Arabia is a conservative country and the debate about should women drive has shown us that people are at the edge of changing. Women have every right to drive and the government should take some serious steps to make that happen. It should allow them to drive while satisfying both sides because each side has valid points, and the only way this is going to work is new laws that assure women can safely drive.
“Women’s human security rights in the Arab world: on nobody's agenda.” 50.50 Inclusive Democracy, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.