Women may now be allowed to vote in Saudi Arabia, but they have not yet been granted the privilege of attending a women’s rights summit.
In 2012, the Saudi Arabia University of Qassam held one of the biggest women’s rights conferences in the Arab world. The event, which focused around the topic of “Women in Society,” was intended to be held annually at the University. The aim was to set a benchmark for tolerance and progress in the region; impressively, delegates and speakers from more than fifteen countries showed up.
While the conference might sound picturesque, there was one major absurdity: absolutely no women attended the event.
Such is largely a result of Saudi Arabia’s twisted interpretation of Sharia Law. Because it is not acceptable for women and men to share the same lecture space, the conference – about women’s rights and equality – was conducted without the advice or presence of a single female.
Even though women were allowed to vote for the first time last year, they still are banned from a number of activities and have few privileges (compared to women in Western countries). For example, Saudi women cannot drive, swim, compete in sports, wear make-up which might accentuate their beauty, or open a bank account.
The photo below is of the of the conference in 2012.
Credit: (c) Wikistrike
While there were two women cited in attendance last year, it is still a far cry from the type of audience a women’s rights summit should attract.
The irony is obvious though there is little one can do but call out the hypocrisy.
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I don’t know what can be done for women who are actually slaves. Women who can be beaten and even killed for resisting.
Looks like a fag convention to me but what do I know I am just a woman.
We seem to have forgotten what a recent achievement the equality of women in the West is. Voting rights are not even 100 years old. In the 60s there was still strict segregation of women and men in churches. The upheaval of WWII brought women in the industry as a workforce and afterwards the clock could not be turned back again. Higher education for women did not become common until the 80s. All this tells us that enourmous changes are possible within a short period of time! We have to support the women in Muslim countries and point at the injustice and inequality again and again. And we must set good examples, which we unfortunately don’t do very often. Do we seem happy and is our life-style attractive?? What do we need to change?