Saudi Arabia - Seminar
Speakers Call for Greater Women Participation
Based on Islamic Model
Saudi Gazette - 19 January, 2007
The implementation of women empowerment becomes a
distant dream when the very mention of the term itself evokes strong
reaction from women themselves.
It happened at a seminar held at
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday night. Speakers,
despite their belief in the importance of women’s empowerment, disagreed
over the definition of the term “empowerment” as well as its Western
origin. A well-educated woman in the audience, who introduced herself
as the headmistress of a high school in Jeddah, begged speakers to have
mercy on Saudi society and stop promoting Western ideas that would destroy
the fabric of the Muslim family.
“Have mercy on us and think of
our homes and children who have been the victims of such calls as yours,”
she shouted. “Our children are brought up by maids and the country’s
treasure is exported abroad by expatriate drivers and you are still
calling women to leave their houses?”
Attempts by organizers to
calm her down failed.
She was only an example of thousands if not
millions of Saudi and Arab women who refuse to accept good things under
the false presumption that these have Western origin which might spoil
their culture and values.
Many speakers, however, agreed on the
fact that whatever the term “empowerment” means, it should not mean
Westernization and it should be modeled on Islamic values.
They
referred to the Holy Qur’an to justify their viewpoints, arguing that in
Islamic history women could participate politically, work freely and have
a voice in both politics and society.
“Women’s empowerment is
among the basic principles upon which the Islamic regulations were based,”
said Fatin Halawani, a professor of Islamic studies at King Abdul Aziz
University in Jeddah. “Empowerment should be carried out within this
framework with no exception,” she said.
As Saudi Arabia has based
its Constitution on the Shariah, women’s empowerment is part of the
general policy and should not be perceived as something that is invented
by the West, she argued.
Halawani said the problem in Saudi
society is that people are divided into two extreme groups: one, which
likes to keep women at home; and the other, which likes to blindly follow
the Western model of women empowerment.
She warned women against
running wild after the recently introduced idea of political empowerment.
She cited an example from a neighboring country, where women failed
because of political immaturity. Saudi women have a long way to go before
being ready to participate in politics, she said.
Nora Al-Saad, a
professor of social sciences at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, took
a different view. She encouraged women to regain the rights that Islam
granted and which were lost due to ignorance.
Women’s issues
should not be discussed in isolation from those of men, she said, adding
that both genders form what social scientists refer to as “individuals.”
“We should not focus on bits and pieces (and forget the bigger
picture),” Al-Saad added.
When issues like domestic violence are
discussed, the focus should not be placed on women as a subject of
violence or the incident itself, she said. On the contrary, the focus
should be on the surrounding political, legal and social atmosphere that
led to such violence.
Al-Saad urged Saudi women to think globally
and take advantage of whatever events take place in the world around them.
For instance, she said, though the Sept. 11 attacks brought disaster to
the Islamic world, they benefited Saudi women by throwing the spotlight on
their issues.
“Let’s take advantage of the outside pressure (on
Saudi authorities) to activate the already existing regulations,” she
said.
Reviewing the challenges of Saudi women empowerment, Al-Saad
said unemployment is a result of political, economic and monetary system.
She said Saudis should use the surplus in the budget to call for more jobs
for the youth and women. She also called for free vocational training and
the establishment of clubs for the youth, which are a must for a civilized
society.
Naila Attar, an economic consultant and a businesswoman,
talked about the economic empowerment of women in Saudi Arabia,
emphasizing that empowerment does not mean increasing women’s power of
authority.
“It means increasing women participation in various
fields, both within the family and at worksite. It means providing better
opportunities for women in decision making positions, and development of
adequate resources that lead to empowerment of women in education, health
and employment,” she explained.
She reminded women attendees of
their guaranteed right of alimony after divorce, urging them to ask for
this forgotten or lost right at the Saudi court.
She said that
these are the rights that were exercised in the time of the Prophet (peace
be upon him) and should be regained now.
She also emphasized the
potential role of women as enshrined in the Eighth Development Plan. She
called for more efforts to remove obstacles affecting women participation
in economic and development activities consistent with the Islamic values
and teachings.
She shed light on that part of the 8th plan that
gives special attention to the importance of exerting all possible efforts
to raise women’s participation rate from 10.3 percent at the beginning of
the plan to 14.2 percent by the end of the plan
period. |