MissLibrarian
Fantastic post. Allow me to pitch in my humble opinion, if I may.TL;DR reply below
"*munches humble pie* I must say I am sorry for my little, er, outburst and I realise it poorly explained my actual position on this subject."
I very much prefer someone to vent vigorously to maintain his/her collected mind later on than to keep calm and gradually loses it to asinine rhetorics. However, I do hope that's a good pie all the same.
"I realise that Saudi Arabia is, politically speaking, in a very difficult place trying to establish new political ideals concerning reform especially concerning the role of women in their society while also facing growing extremist and violent protestations and trying to maintain a cultural identity steeped in a very rich and varied history."
From a normal observation, this is absolutely spot on. My opinion is honestly is very different though, KSA strikes me as heading towards a different route, a very different route in the future. With Nayef in charge at least. To be honest, Al Saud are apathetic and realize they live on borrowed time more than ever. 20 years ago, a Saudi would thank Al Saud for being their loyal citizen; now, Al Saud would thank (and they do) thecitizens for remaining in charge.
"There can be little doubt of major advances for women's rights in the country, many occurring now in this ever-changing crazy world, for example women's literacy increasing to approx. 75% nationwide compared to only 2% in the 1970s. The fact that women are allowed to seek employment on their own merits now following the 2008 repeal of the law requiring her Male Guardian to speak for her (although, I must admit, I am inclined to think that culturally a man's opinion is probably still required whenever a women applies for work)."
Indeed the HDI in this country is advancing as is with most developing nations. The terrible literacy rate of old days is not all that exclusive to women though. You just... you don't want to know how it was like back then, so I would beg you not to use anything before Abdullah's ascendance. All I'll say is that they are Abolition of Literacy institutes almost everywhere, one in the housing project I'm living too, so that says something! Women are always facing challenges with employment as it is with our constantly separative society. Regardless of what you read in the news, if the woman is not a teacher, she will probably face many hurdles along the road. However, this is entirely dependant on the family, and not the society, the society just endorses the family's prevention (usually). For example, my sister is working her way onto becoming a dentist and another took a trip to Denmark for this new metro they're building, it was infact my mother that disowned them and fought them. Whereas my father was passively supportive, so you can see how mistaken some are about the system here...
"The fact that women have been promised at least some sort of limited franchise in the upcoming 2015 elections is also a promising sign for such an 'extreme' (in the loosest possible sense) society - though again I must admit I am wary of this promise, and will eagerly await to see if it comes to fruition."
That council barely plays a role as is... I would seriously not give it much weight on anything. I highly doubt women entering unless they're strict Wahabists. I'm also interested to see if they'll go with it. If the king doesn't survive, you might as well toss it away.
"However women cannot be judges, cannot enter law enforcement, is there a woman on the CPVPV? Like hell there is. Women make up less than 15% of the Saudi workforce compared to around 40% in Kuwait and Malaysia."
Law... I'm no lawyer, so I'm not familiar with the reasoning behind such a thing. Do note we live in a Sharia mixed society, so it's very different from Common Law in Britain. As for the workforce, you have to understand that this is not entirely the government's fault. I'll be honest here, we have a lot of dependant women, I wouldn't say lazy, as this is a mutual exchange. Many women opt to depend on a strong male to live an easy family life of love and relaxation. However, to make you feel happy, I am pleased to say they are implementing a process of "feminization" that would make all feminine stores (which are MANY) run by willing Saudi females and working immigrants.
"On the plus side women have been able to apply for their own ID cards as of 2010 (previously they would be listed on their father's or husband's card) but these have been vehemently protested against by the Ulema and conservative Saudis who dislike the fact it has to show her face without coverings."
"And don't even get me started on Sharia Law, Namus and Honor Killings."
I was planning on only making one post, so I really, really, don't want to talk about either of these. Also, Namus? Namus is mosquito in Saudi Arabia...
"It might seem that I read only one article and have a rant about because I am 'not aware' of the complete picture in Saudi Arabia but, believe me, any opinions I have on this subject are based on genuine observations and extensive reading into the subject as much as any other strong opinion I might have on any subject that's 'closer to home', shall we say."
If it was anything but genuine, I would not have replied. I understand your concern, and I thank you for channeling it here and appreciate the opportunity to pitch in on it from a Saudi observation.
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