Women in Saudi Arabia are not treated equally as men, in fact, there is a big difference between what men can do and what women can do. There are many examples of gender inequality in Saudi Arabia - women do not have the right to travel, citizenship, right to divorce, female infanticide, access to education, custody rights and much more.

In Saudi Arabia today, women are practically controlled by mens, physically, and mentally. They do not have the freedom of speech, for example voting. Also, women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive, they must hire drivers or ask a male relative to drive them. It wastes a lot of time to take the taxi and if the male is sick, letting women drive can save lives. Letting women drive is giving them dignity and to save lives and time.

Case Study of Driving

In 1990, driving started to be a controversial issue in Saudi Arabia. There was 47 women that got into 14 cars and they drove in the main street of Riyadh. They were stopped and suspended from work for 2 years and was expressed by disapproval for years in social circles and religious sermons.

There are traditional clothing requirements for both men and women, but it is very rare that men would be punished or treated violently if they didn’t wear the clothing that is required. Women, however, must wear the traditional abaya, burqa, nigab, and hijab everyday.

Case Study of Violence towards Women and Clothing Requirements

Men threw acids to the faces of two women for not covering their faces- from this, we can see that there is a very strict clothing requirement for women and we can see that women are treated violently.

Solutions

An independent body can be created for women to be composed to discuss ways to help women live, work, and to speak their opinions as fully as mens can. The government of Saudi Arabia can create a system for gender equality like the eoc gender equality system in Hong Kong and Sweden. The heforshe campaign the United Nations have created can also help with this issue.

This situation is very serious and there are implications for the ability for women to work and take care of their self and their families. Women in Saudi Arabia should be able to make their own decision about their body, their actions and their speech. “Gender inequality is not a women’s issue, it is a human issue. It affects us all.”

Please end gender inequality in Saudi Arabia, and let women be treated as equally as men!