Introduction
The Middle East is a unique region of the world with diverse cultures, which attracts millions of tourists and researchers eager to explore it. However, many critical social issues arise there due to different deep-rooted traditions. One of the most severe problems in the Middle East is women’s rights violations, as it affects half of the region’s population. Millions of women face direct discrimination, endure domestic violence, and fear speaking publicly about their problems.
The situation is especially alarming in one of the wealthiest and most developed countries – Saudi Arabia. Women’s rights are flagrantly violated, and gender equality is rarely acknowledged in the country. Indeed, it is crucial to understand the importance of women’s rights, see the connections between the past, the present, the local, and the global, and realize how political and media discourse represents the social issue to eliminate it.
The Importance of Women’s Rights
The begin with, it is essential to recognize the significance of women’s rights in the modern world. Undoubtedly, each female should be able to earn money, own property, receive a high-quality education, vote, and hold public office. In the Western world, millions of people still protest against the violations of women’s rights and gender inequality, even if it may seem that females are equal to males in the United States, Europe, or Australia at first sight. However, these people clearly understand that even minor income differences affect all aspects of their lives, ranging from politics to culture. Besides, they believe that everyone should stick to human rights and speak up when they are violated to lead their communities and countries to prosperity.
Unfortunately, the situation in the Middle East and particularly in Saudi Arabia is more alarming. For example, Saudi Arabia is ranked 146 out of 153 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report (301). It means that the gap between Saudi women and men is one of the largest in the world. While individuals from the Western world protest against sexist comments of political leaders on social media and the number of women in the top management of large corporations, Saudi females are concerned about other problems.
For example, they must dress modestly and avoid interactions with unrelated males not to be disregarded or arrested. According to researchers, “Gender inequalities are a greater challenge in Muslim Countries, with few exceptions, than the rest of the world” (Sardar et al. 69). Thus, it is challenging to eliminate the social issue in Saudi Arabia, where gender inequalities are strongly felt.
The reasons for the country’s alarming situation are clear – the government’s decisions and social attitudes. Firstly, the controversial male guardianship system that allows men to control women is a severe problem. For example, employers can demand female candidates to present their guardians’ agreement or reject them because of their gender. Hence, only 24.6% of females are labor force participants, 16.4% of them are legislators, senior officials, and managers, and 0% are in ministerial positions (Global Gender Gap Report 302). Secondly, many citizens of the country consider men superior to women because of their religion and deep-seated traditions, which they highly appreciate. Many people do not want to modernize, supposing it to be sinful and continuing to stick to outdated rules in the modern world. Therefore, many women still suffer from restrictions and injustice.
Moreover, only a small number of Saudi women publicly oppose the male guardianship system or social attitudes and speak up about the violations of their rights. “Muslim women have to fight a deeply unbalanced gender configuration that places them in a secondary position to men” (Sardar et al. 70). Saudi females cannot openly protest or speak up about the violations of women’s rights without the fear of being arrested, detained, or even killed, as the government decisions and social attitudes restrict them. Fortunately, after visiting different countries and seeing the world through the Internet, many progressive men in Saudi Arabia allow women to make their own decisions. However, reforms and shifts in public opinion are essential to make the social issue of the violations of women’s rights less alarming.
The Connections between the Present, the Past, the Local, and the Global
The world is rapidly progressing, and the situation in Saudi Arabia appears to be improving, as the country has started to become more open. It is essential to recognize the changes that have taken place in the last years to determine the prospects of gender equality in the country. Besides, Saudi Arabia is no longer an isolated country, and it creates new opportunities for the campaign for women’s rights. Therefore, the social issue in Saudi Arabia will attract more and more attention soon, both locally and globally.
Without any doubt, the government takes action to improve gender equality, as it fully understands that the violations of women’s rights negatively affect the economy. For example, many females who have a great desire and can work must stay home and lose their capacity. Besides, the country’s tourism industry has considerable potential due to its natural wonders and unique culture. Still, tourists fear to travel to Saudi Arabia because of its strict rules. In 2017 and 2018, Saudi females got new rights such as voting in municipal elections, competing in Olympic sports, obtaining a driver’s license, and attending football matches and stadiums (Sardar et al. 69). It is a significant step forward, though it is clear that the authorities should also put an end to the male guardianship system, which restricts millions of females.
What is more, society in Saudi Arabia is becoming more open to the world because of the Internet. While the government policies aim to alter the system, the Internet transforms social attitudes. A Saudi woman wants more freedom when she looks at the pictures of smiling people at the beach somewhere in California on Facebook or Twitter. She may also doubt whether it is fair to make her dress a burqa in 40-degree weather when women from the Western world can wear short floral dresses. Further, many of their husbands, brothers, and sons change their perspective over women’s rights and allow them to act according to their preferences.
In general, women have gotten more rights in the last years because of government actions. The Internet also makes a positive impact on the public opinion of what is right and what is wrong for Saudi women. However, the guardianship system still exists, and numerous females suffer from oppression and injustice. All the recent reforms in Saudi Arabia are only the first steps to gender equality, but they create a basis for further improvements.
The Representation in Mainstream Political and Media Discourse
Unfortunately, Saudi women are often misrepresented in mainstream political and media discourse. Most Westerners rarely directly interact with them or lack knowledge of the culture of the Middle East. Hence, they form their perspective of Saudi women based on political and media discussions on conservative Islam, human rights abuse in the Middle East, terrorism, and oppressed women. However, they do not often hear the voices of Saudi females and ignore their points of view over their rights and position in society.
First, media discourse on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia is full of stereotypes. Journalists usually lack the understanding of the Middle Eastern culture and concentrate on the depiction of negative news, which is more likely to impress people. Rochelle states that Muslim women are more likely to appear in the media if they live in societies where their rights are disrespected (489).
Therefore, numerous Westerners regard any veiled female as abused and helpless and get used to the thought that it is normal to oppress them in their societies. Moreover, Rochelle believes that both the imagined link between Muslims and terrorism and their cultural threat makes an extremely negative impact on the perception of women from the Middle East and their rights (489). It results in a negative attitude toward Saudi females and males; hence, many Westerners perceive them as ‘others.’
Second, such misleading representation also influences the actions of political leaders in the Western World. Despite, most of them eagerly supporting Saudi women and the recent reforms in the country in public, their decisions are based not on assisting the campaign for gender equality but on earning the approval of their voters. However, as mentioned before, most voters negatively perceive people from the Middle East and are more concerned about reforms in their own countries.
“Exposure to media stereotypes of Muslims as violent increases Americans’ support for public policies that harm Muslims, such as military action abroad and civil restrictions at home” (Rochelle 491). Hence, the misleading representation of Muslim women and the focus on the negative harm of the elimination of gender inequalities in Saudi Arabia. People need to pay more attention to Muslim bloggers who are less subjective and challenge the stereotypes over Middle Eastern societies.
My Perspective on the Effects of the Issue
Women’s rights violations and extreme gender inequalities in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia have numerous adverse consequences. They affect not only females but also each citizen, including Westerners who live and work there. Without any doubt, Muslim women suffer the most, especially if their families are abusive. However, the issue is so severe that it influences all aspects of life, such as the economy or education.
Saudi women have to stick to the rules, which may be unreasonable and follow their make relatives’ orders. Further, Saudi men are educated to consider females to be inferior and make decisions instead of them. It is a grave violation of human rights, and any individual should not endure it. According to the Global Gender Gap Report and Gender Inequality Index, the situation in Saudi Arabia is improving, but millions of individuals still suffer from gender inequalities (Global Gender Gap Report 301; Sardar 69). Unfortunately, only a small number of Saudi women can fulfill their potential, make their dreams come true, and achieve some goals. Moreover, many of them endure severe restrictions, oppression, abuse, and fear of speaking up for themselves. Most Saudi men, even if they are against gender inequalities, continue to violate women’s rights and be passive in eliminating the issue because of social attitudes.
Besides, expatriates in Saudi Arabia experience the problem as well. They avoid going out in public due to strict rules in Saudi Arabia. They think they can be insulted or arrested for the behaviors that are considered standard in the Western world, such as kissing or dressing scantily. “Just as stories about crime shape public opinion of African Americans, stories about gender inequality may shape public opinion of Muslims and the War on Terror” (Terman 500). Expatriates may also avoid interacting with Saudi women and men because of different stereotypes; thus, they do not assimilate into a new culture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the social issue of women’s rights violations is of extreme importance in the Middle East and particularly in Saudi Arabia, where deep-rooted traditions influence everything ranging from culture to the economy. Millions of women suffer from different restrictions or even abuse, though they cannot speak up publicly about their problems or protest like Westerners. Both the male guardianship system and social attitudes do not let them fulfill their potential and achieve goals.
Fortunately, the first steps have been taken for the last years, and data suggests that the situation is improving. However, there is still much to accomplish to stop severe violations of human rights in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the representation of gender inequalities in political and media discourse is often misleading; thus, westerners often do not fully understand the problem or even ignore it. However, Saudi Arabia is transforming now, and the future of the campaign for women’s rights and gender equality is promising.
References
Global Gender Gap Report. World Economic Forum, 2020, Web.
Sardar, Ziauddin, et al. Muslim Societies in Postnormal Times: Foresights for Trends, Emerging Issues and Scenarios. International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2019.
Terman, Rochelle. “Islamophobia and Media Portrayals of Muslim Women: A Computational Text Analysis of US News Coverage.” International Studies Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 3, 2017, pp. 489–502.