So one of the women I met last Tuesday works for a not for profit organization that helps with the empowerment of women in Saudi Arabia. Of course I was instantly interested with everything she had to say, and my husband laughed and told her well my wife would like you to help make driving for women happen. She laughed and then said something that I never even thought of...
She started talking about how the driving issue they have put on the back burner and are currently working on trying to get rid of the whole mahram permission thing happening in KSA, which is basically that a woman needs permission of her male guardian, be it her husband, her father, her son, her uncle...you get the point I'm sure..to do pretty much anything, get a job, leave the country.
She said we recently have started going backwards in that now the male guardian not only has to sign a paper granting the woman permission, but after she hands in the paper he receives a text message informing him and I guess also checking that he did indeed grant her permission.
My cousin was telling me about this a few weeks ago, and it made me sick...I mean what are we property?
Anyways..she said so think about this..when a woman tries driving who gets in trouble? Her husband, or her father, or her brother, or whatever male guardian is in charge of her..so they basically have taken away any choice...any anything really and made her completely helpless. Then she said once that is taken away..then the only person responsible for her actions is her. She said theeeen...she can go out on the road and drive...and if enough women do it at once...they really can't do much.
And I dunno it made a lot of sense...and i think my watered down explanation doesn't really do it justice...but I definitely agree that the first step would be giving back women their right to make their own decisions.
*sigh* I am sick of living in a country where I am ignored, where questions that should be directed to me are directed to my husband. where I am helpless, dependent, and thought of as the property of my husband. I've only been here four months...but it feels endless. I just want to go home, and this country is not my home.
which brings me to the next point...the guilt of feeling like somehow I've betrayed someone for like seriously hating Saudi Arabia and really all Arabs. I'm quite alright with being thought of as The American. I take it as a compliment....this country and its people disgust me. now i should say that it isn't everyone and there are nice people...but its really hard to do when you take your kid to the playground and the sand is filled with trash and broken glass everywhere and he nearly gets poked in the eye with glass when he trips into the sand. and to make matters worse to hear that that playground is cleaned daily every morning, when going there it looks like its been years since it has ever been cleaned.
She started talking about how the driving issue they have put on the back burner and are currently working on trying to get rid of the whole mahram permission thing happening in KSA, which is basically that a woman needs permission of her male guardian, be it her husband, her father, her son, her uncle...you get the point I'm sure..to do pretty much anything, get a job, leave the country.
She said we recently have started going backwards in that now the male guardian not only has to sign a paper granting the woman permission, but after she hands in the paper he receives a text message informing him and I guess also checking that he did indeed grant her permission.
My cousin was telling me about this a few weeks ago, and it made me sick...I mean what are we property?
Anyways..she said so think about this..when a woman tries driving who gets in trouble? Her husband, or her father, or her brother, or whatever male guardian is in charge of her..so they basically have taken away any choice...any anything really and made her completely helpless. Then she said once that is taken away..then the only person responsible for her actions is her. She said theeeen...she can go out on the road and drive...and if enough women do it at once...they really can't do much.
And I dunno it made a lot of sense...and i think my watered down explanation doesn't really do it justice...but I definitely agree that the first step would be giving back women their right to make their own decisions.
*sigh* I am sick of living in a country where I am ignored, where questions that should be directed to me are directed to my husband. where I am helpless, dependent, and thought of as the property of my husband. I've only been here four months...but it feels endless. I just want to go home, and this country is not my home.
which brings me to the next point...the guilt of feeling like somehow I've betrayed someone for like seriously hating Saudi Arabia and really all Arabs. I'm quite alright with being thought of as The American. I take it as a compliment....this country and its people disgust me. now i should say that it isn't everyone and there are nice people...but its really hard to do when you take your kid to the playground and the sand is filled with trash and broken glass everywhere and he nearly gets poked in the eye with glass when he trips into the sand. and to make matters worse to hear that that playground is cleaned daily every morning, when going there it looks like its been years since it has ever been cleaned.
