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BACKGROUND

WHERE IS SAUDI ARABIA?

Approx. 7,800KM

POLITICS OF SAUDI ARABIA

...which isn't so good. maybe one of the worst.

CORRUPTION INDEX OF SAUDI ARABIA

(TERRIBLE)

HUMAN RIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

FEMINISM IN SAUDI ARABIA

WOMAN'S VOICE IN SAUDI ARABIA

Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman has spent much of the past year courting world leaders, business magnates and journalists to rebrand the kingdom. The effort has collided with assorted difficult realities. “Driving day” was supposed to be a clean PR win. Saudi Arabia’s long-standing ban on female drivers was lifted on June 24. For decades, the prohibition against female drivers in Saudi Arabia has been held up as evidence by critics that Saudi women were among the world’s most repressed.

On Driving day, there were carefully selected spokes-women and photo-ready driving classes. Nowhere was there a mention of the activists who had spent the past three decades campaigning for women’s right. Does the lifting of the driving ban signify a genuine turning point, or is it merely a symbolic bone thrown to silence his critics, leaving more fundamental issues for women unaddressed?

Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030, ben Salman has presided over a 5% increase in women’s employment in the past year. A generation of women is set to reap the benefits of reforms. Not only will having women behind the wheel improve participation in the workforce, it will help the economy. The lifting of the ban could add as much as $90 billion to economic output by 2030.

Other reforms will open up new avenues for women too. When bin Salman announced in April that movie theaters and concert venues would be able to operate, most people saw it as an opportunity for entertainment in a country. Cinematographer Rawan Nmangani has gained recognition for her work as director of photography for the film.

Last year, bin Salman announced that the feared muttawas would be stripped of their powers to arrest. Muttawas still have the right to be in public gatherings-but the fear is gone. Soon, they became meaningless. Now women are sporting colored abayas that are more fashion statement than modest coverings. They hope to abandon abayas altogether in the future.

Human rights in Saudi Arabia are intended to be based on the Hanbali Islamic religious laws under absolute rule of the Saudi royal family. The strict regime ruling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights.

On June 24, 2018, women gained the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman lifted the ban due to his 2030 Vision to have women ascend ranks in the workforce. Women 18 and older are able to now apply for a driver’s license, and driving lessons are offered by instructors that can even be women who obtained their license abroad.  

Dress code is a strict part of the Islamic law, and women have traditionally been restricted against wearing makeup or clothes that show off their beauty. Instead, they have to wear some kind of opaque cloak to cover their body which does not prevent them from being harassed on the daily by religious police for being too “revealing”or wearing too much makeup.  

Competing freely in sports has been a struggle for women in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, Saudi Arabia proposed hosting the Olympics but without any women. When Saudi Arabia sent women to the Olympics in London in 2012, two of the women were labeled as “prostitutes,” had to cover their hair and be accompanied by a guardian. However, in September 2017, the national stadium in Saudi Arabia welcomed female spectators, but they were assigned their own section in the typically male-only venue.

4.  Freedom of expression, association and assembly is a problem in Saudi Arabia as well. Authorities still continue to harass writers, online commentators, activists or anyone who express their views against government policies.

The decision by a crown prince who calls himself a reformer to detain activists calling for reform raises a question for a generation of young Saudi women whose future lies in the balance.

CROWN PRINCE - a male heir to a throne.

DETAIN - keep (someone) from proceeding (VERB)

ACTIVISTS - a person who campaigns to bring about political or social change.

The sight of a woman even in the passenger seat can prompt a certain type of young man to weave erratically around the object of his attention at high speeds, or peel out with tires shrieking to gain attention.

PASSENGER - a traveler on a public or private conveyance other than the driver

WEAVE -

ERRATICALLY - IRREGULAR

The ban on driving was one of the most significant barriers to women’s employment, says Ghaida al-Mutairi, a 29-year-old event manager at GloWorks, a consultancy that focuses on solving female unemployment in Saudi Arabia.

SIGNIFICANT - sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy. (ADJ)

BARRIER - a fence or other obstacle that prevents movement or access.

CONSULTANCY - professional practice that gives expert advice within a particular field, especially business.

Now that women are being given a chance, they are poised to take the lead, says Nasreenah, 29, an entrepreneur who used her savings from a day job as a financial auditor to open a clothing boutique.

POISE - graceful and elegant bearing in a person. / Equibrilium

ENTERPRENEUR - a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses

SAVINGS - an economy of or reduction in money, time, or another resource.

AUDITOR - a person who conducts an audit - an official inspection of an individual's or organization's accounts

The crown prince’s pronouncement didn’t get rid of muttawas entirely — they still have the right to be in public gatherings, and are allowed to lecture on appropriate behavior — but the fear is gone, says Nasreenah.

PRONOUNCEMENT - a formal or authoritative announcement or declaration.

MUTTAWAS - Members of the religious police (Word based on Saudi Arabian)

GATHERINGS - an assembly or meeting, especially a social or festive one or one held for a specific purpose.

IN SOME DEVELOPED COUNTRIES,

FEMINISM WENT TOO FAR

some listeners will agree... :)

BUT THERE ARE SOME COUNTRIES

DO THIS KIND OF THING :(

INDIVIDUAL CONCLUSION

SHIN SEUNG HYUN: We definitely need more feminists and human right activists in Saudi Arabia. This will be important for protecting citizens.

Kim Ha Yeon: Discrimination in any form should not be tolerated. Even if it remains as a regulation in the culture, it is right to change if it causes discrimination. Ending that discrimination will require the efforts of everyone in the society, not just one person.