http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=55401&d=1&m=12&y=2004
Wednesday, 1, December, 2004 (19, Shawwal, 1425)
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Why Women's Voting Is Complicated
Raid Qusti, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Many Saudi females were not happy with my last article regarding
the reasons I believed why it was difficult for Saudi women to vote.
To begin with, we need to look at our country as a whole and weigh
the reality of things. We should look at it rationally and not emotionally.
One of the comments made by a Saudi female, responding to my last
article, is that we do not need separate ballot centers for men or women so
that sinful mixing could not occur. Instead we could have different voting
hours for men and women. Women could come, for example, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
And men could come from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. That way there would be no mixing.
Good suggestion.
But employing Saudi women to answer queries from Saudi women is not
easy, especially in remote areas. Then of course the problem still exists of
finding women who are willing to work in village or small towns. If the women
are willing then they would need male escorts to stay with them there, in
addition of course to finding male drivers since women are not allowed to drive
here.
Hypothetically, let's say all these were resolved. That is, the
municipality had given itself enough time to set up everything, even employed
women to assigned areas, and everything was set to go. Continuing the
hypothesis further, let's say that some Saudi women who registered their names
and later nominated themselves as candidates actually won and had become
official members of the municipality council. In other words, these women are
now officials.
The hypothetical scenario ends here. One big problem remains. Fact:
Saudi Arabia is a male dominated society. Fact two: Saudi Arabia is a
segregated society in every aspect.
If a single woman won and became a member of the municipality
council that would mean the government would have to construct a separate
building for her. Whether she is one female, two, or ten, Saudi law forbids men
and women to work in the same establishment.
The chances of any institution, government building or private
company having men and women working together are dire. The place would be most
likely be raided by religious police and would be shut down. The employees
would be thrown behind bars and the managers interrogated. Hospitals in Saudi
Arabia are the only places where men and women work together and there are many
calls from conservatives for segregated hospitals.
We are not the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, or even Egypt.
Our society is entirely different. Complete segregation of male and females in
all aspects of our life is part of our culture, whether we like it or not.
The other factor we have to bear in mind is the conservative nature
of Saudi Arabia. Saudi women do not appear in public, be it in the media or in
public life. And when they participate in events it is segregated with women
only allowed to attend. No cameras allowed.
Open all of our 11 Saudi dailies from cover to cover and you will
not find a single photo of a Saudi woman. I believe that most Saudi females
would not run for office, and restrictions from their families and social
taboos would stop her from appearing before a camera and present her agenda.
Getting a Saudi female to actually appear on television for a short interview
and state her full name - even if she has her face covered - is an endless
endeavor. Most would reject it. Both for personal reasons, because she does not
want to appear in public, or for cultural reasons; that her husband or family
would prevent her from doing so.
Social restrictions forbid women to appear in public. We, Saudi
men, are not the ones who have come up with this culture. In fact, the majority
of Saudi women want that. Whoever thinks that the majority of Saudi women want
mixing and want to appear in the media or in the public eye is naïve or a fool,
or both.
Those who have been following the Arab News will know that the
council of ministers had called for more rights for women and had asked
ministries to employ women by creating separate female departments. Other
businessmen have suggested we create "female industrial cities" exclusively for
women.
It has been almost seven months since the council passed this law,
but we are yet to hear what actions have been taken. The reason? It's not an
easy process that can be done overnight.
I think Saudi women have more important things to concentrate on
for the present. One of them is to insist their names be heard in public.
Currently, the social norm is that uttering a female's name in public is taboo.
That is why all Saudi wedding cards that are distributed to male guests say,
"We would like to invite you to the marriage of the young man so and so to the
daughter of so and so". Her name is never mentioned. Her name being mentioned
to men is a taboo.
Saudi women know that. Yet that custom exists. Wouldn't fighting
for her own name to be heard be better at this stage?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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