The Concerns of the Saudi Women
Fahda bint Saud bin Abdul Aziz — Al-Hayat

The Arab Muslim women in general and Saudi in particular have never in their modern and old history come under the spotlight at the internal and external levels. Nor have their rights been a major cause for concern as is the case now – to the extent that they appear as the sole pivot for the nation’s renaissance in its current crisis. This concerted intense campaign calls for optimism should this be the reason behind it!

Indeed, many women rights-related issues need to be reconsidered and this gentle creature must regain her standing. About to lose this divine particularity, women are undergoing a superficial transformation – from altered physical features to loss of internal balance.

Women’s human rights were violated prior to Islam but with its ascent, women regained all their rights and were introduced to their obligations, which helped restore social balance for human beings to live in “eternal” happiness.

As a result, women gained power – though not a supernatural one – while men cemented their strength with their respect for women’s privacy. In other words, both men and women preserved their natural disposition, which drew them closer to each other and helped them enrich the Muslim civilization in poetry, literature, and diverse sciences. In the meantime, the natural roles within the family were respected, and this nucleus was preserved over generations, even at the gloomiest moments. During the century-long wars and colonialism era, as the structure and concepts of the Arab Muslim society were substantially altered, the family system, on the other hand, remained until recently a source of pride and honor. Over the years, the family laws have represented and identified all social codes. When duties and obligations were equitably assigned among family members, society suffered from less psychological and social problems – as had been the case of the Saudi society which emerged from the tribal system and drew the socioeconomic relations among its members. The Saudi generations were at that time known to be productive, living off their own hand-made goods, whether clothes or food. Women, productive as they were, formed an integral part of this system and the cornerstone of the family and tribe. Fully aware of their rights within this framework that guaranteed them protection, respect, and care from cradle to grave, they were only concerned with sheltering, feeding, and clothing all tribe members. In parallel, society provided them, mainly the divorced, widow, and the elderly, with a guardian’s protection, for it was shameful to abandon tribe members, whether men or women.

Fahda bint Saud, daughter of Saudi Arabia’s second king, Saud, has this thoughtful essay published in the Lebanese paper, Al-Hayat.

She discusses how Saudi attitudes toward women developed (and diverged) from pre-Islamic to Islamic to a mixture of tribal and Islamic values over time. She notes that they are changing again as the country is forced to confront modernity. Definitely worth reading the whole thing.