A Recent Debate on Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia

The Jeddah Economic Forum, held January 17-19, 2004, was attended by top Saudi officials and businessmen, as well as international leaders such as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

For the first time, Saudi businesswomen participated in the forum in the same room with men – some of them even without the veil (Hijab). In past forums, women were only allowed to participate via closed-circuit television. Media reports on the conference featured photos of unveiled women participants, which enraged the Saudi religious establishment. [1]

During the conference, Saudi businesswoman Lubna Al-'Alian, who delivered a speech before all participants on 'The Saudi Perception Regarding Growth,' attracted special attention. In her speech, she said: "Without genuine change, it will be impossible to attain any genuine progress. If we want progress in Saudi Arabia, there is no substitute for reform." [2]

In response to Al-'Alian's speech, Nahed Taher, an economist who works for the Al-Ahli Bank in Saudi Arabia, told the French news agency AFP: "As a Saudi woman, I think we have accomplished an historic deed, thanks to you, Lubna… We women have been isolated within our homes because of discrimination, but today there is the political will to accept us in daily life… Constitutional change is necessary to strengthen the role of the women [in society], which complements the role of the men." [3]

The following are reactions to the events :

Saudi Mufti Condemns Women's Participation in the Forum

The Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abd Al-'Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, condemned the mixing of the sexes at the forum, and the media's release of photos of the unveiled Saudi businesswomen. In an official communiqué, he stated: "In recent days we have followed what took place at the economic forum that demanded condemnation on our part…"

"The mingling of men and women together is clearly forbidden. Allah said about the wives of the Prophet, the most modest and pure wives in both worlds: 'And when you ask of them something, [do so] from behind a screen. It is purer for your hearts and for their hearts' [Qur'an 33:53]. Allah required that speaking between the Prophet's wives and the Prophet's companions take place from behind a screen that separates the woman from the man. This clearly emanates from the prohibition against mingling [of the sexes], the requirement that the woman wear the veil, and the prohibition on showing her face…

"I order all those present at this forum to fear Allah and fear His wrath and His punishment toward anyone who transgresses His commandment, deviates from the path of righteousness, and causes the doors of evil to open… I unequivocally condemn this matter, clarify that this is forbidden according to Islam, and warn against its catastrophic results. My pain increases at the sight of such perverse behavior in Saudi Arabia, whose leaders strive to implement [the commandments] of Shari'a…" [4]

Saudi Columnist: This is 'Important Progress'

Columnists in the Arab media saw the women's participation in the Jeddah forum as an important accomplishment for the women of Saudi Arabia. Nasser Al-Sarami wrote in his column for the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh:

"… Lubna Al-'Alian's presentation is an important and sensitive step up in the national process [that we are undergoing] in all the sectors of growth, without exception…

"Certainly the Saudi woman is intelligent, has qualities, and has willpower and self-confidence that none can take from her. She certainly [also] is less corrupt than the men, unlike the image that some tried to draw for us. If you add to this her well-known natural diplomacy, then [we have] before us a first-rate personality. Why then don't women play a larger role [in society]?

"Lubna Al-'Alian stressed that the country must provide fertile ground for supporting investments, stopping the exhausting bureaucratic processes, facilitating the incoming and outgoing traffic to the country, and reexamining the visa and residency laws. These demands and this mature perception were voiced by the daughter of the late Suleiman Al-'Alian on the first occasion that a Saudi businesswoman spoke to an audience [of men] directly rather than by closed-circuit television – as happened recently in the closed national dialogue. This is very important progress for [Saudi Arabia's] economic and social problems. With such people, change will surely come." [5]

Kuwaiti Journalist: 'The Covert Role of Saudi Women has Begun to be Revealed'

Ahmad Al-Jarallah, editor of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, wrote in an editorial: "The covert role of the Saudi woman has begun to be revealed, and the people have begun to sense that the role of women is equal to the role of the Saudi men, in the economy, the banks, the universities, and in roles in medicine in the hospitals. This role was revealed to all in the sessions of the Jeddah forum, whose activities began two days ago and are being described as an historic precedent…

"There is no doubt that the Saudi Crown Prince, Emir Abdallah Ibn Abd Al-'Aziz, who led the extensive reform in his kingdom, followed the events at the Jeddah forum and was proud of the role of Lubna bint Suleiman Al-'Alian, Dr. Haifa Himl Al-Layl, Dr. Salwa Hazza', Dr. Thuraya Al-'Aridh, and Dr. Nahed Taher, who participated in the activities of the forum, with two of them standing on the podium at the press conference attended by a large number of Saudi, Arab, and foreign journalists. This was the Saudi woman, as she was revealed.

"These are her qualities, as revealed at the Jeddah forum: knowledge, sense, comprehension, and money. She proved that she is the total opposite of how she is described by those who oppress [women, claiming] that she is of no use at all except for bearing children and preparing food…

"The [Saudi] Crown Prince, Emir Abdallah, must have been happy and proud to see the brilliant minds of these Saudi women … academicians, and businesswomen who appeared at the Jeddah forum and radiated pride and confidence in the role of Saudi women, in their capabilities for production, and in their mental and economic capabilities. Today, we are waiting for [another] forum [planned for the city of] Al-Madina that will engage entirely in a discussion of the situation of women, on all levels, and we hope that it will be on the same level we saw [at the Jeddah forum]." [6]

London Arabic Daily: Move is Daring and Unprecedented

An editorial in the pro-Saddam London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, titled 'The Feminine Revolution in Saudi Arabia,' stated: "In these days, Saudi Arabia is experiencing severe birth pangs on all levels: political, social, and economic. It can be said that the 'kingdom of silence' – as many journalists call it – is now facing the greatest challenge in its history. [This challenge] is choosing 'openness,' emerging from the shell of 'conservatism,' and relinquishing the political and religion-based 'covenant' with the conservative clerics who are the foundation of the regime.

"The unprecedented phenomenon at the Jeddah economic forum … is considered a revolution, and is an indicator of a new stage that is fundamentally different from the stages that preceded it, which covered more than 15 centuries, at the very least.

"The daring of Lubna Al-'Alian, director-general of the 'Alian Funding Institution, in appearing unveiled before the Jeddah economic forum and speaking before the participants, men and women alike, from the podium, is an historic event that sets her on the same level as women such as Huda Sha'rawi, the pioneer of modernity in Egypt in the beginning of the previous century.

"Had Ms. [7] Al-'Alian dared to take this step a year ago, she would have been subject to blows and flogging from the [Saudi] religious police. The Jeddah economic forum itself, had it been held two years ago with women participating alongside men, and not via closed-circuit television as in the past – would have been burned down, and the women participating in it would have been charged with licentiousness and with violating religious [principles], and would perhaps have been stoned to death.

"What is clear is that such a meeting, with such female participants 'provoking' the traditional religious establishment, would not have happened had it not been for the encouragement of the ruling family or of a faction within it, and had [the ruling family] not decided to give a bill of divorcement to the traditional religious establishment, to please the liberals who demand reform and in response to American pressure on this matter…

"… What attracts attention is that the condemnation by the [Saudi] Mufti was 'moderate' and weak, which is inconsistent with the traditional tone of the institution he heads. Perhaps this condemnation was dictated from on high by the authorities, to absorb the clerics' anger and bitterness…

"What is clear is that permitting women to participate in forums, which is a reformist and liberal step, remains also a highly marginal step. True reform is political reform, expanding the circle of participation in the regime, reforming the judiciary system, attaining equality, acting justly, stopping the waste of public funds, and restoring what has already been stolen through corruption, commissions, and land gifts." [8]

Former Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Editor: Saudi Women have Regressed, Not Progressed

Former editor-in-chief of the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, downplayed the importance of the unveiled women's participation in the Jeddah forum, in his column titled 'The Missing Conference:' "I am amazed that some are thrilled by the participation of 10 Saudi women at the Jeddah business conference, because [their participation] is a minor decorative [adornment] that has dominated all the local and international interest. In my view, it is not worth describing this as even a quarter of a step forward.

"If you want to understand the meagerness of this step, you must look at the whole picture. Compare this quarter step with the thousand steps backward [by Saudi Arabia] that very same week.

"Dr. 'Ali Al-'Afis, head of the General Institute for Technology Studies, hastened to dismiss the idea of establishing a women's faculty for technology studies. Thus, the danger of being officially stripped of the right to learn half of the knowledge [that exists] today – that is, technology studies – is now hovering over three million women.

"So what is the worth of 10 businesswomen at a business conference, whose true activities and results end when the participants depart and the cleaners come in, and of which all that remains is a photo for a souvenir?…

"The truth is that a respectable and successful woman like Lubna Al-'Alian would not have reached her level without her will and the will of her family…"

"The opening of technological colleges for women is minor in a country that has [already] taken the major and difficult step [of allowing] women to study – [which happened] over three centuries ago. Therefore, the decision to reject [technological colleges for women] will adversely affect the situation of the country a century from now, economically and socially.

"With regard to the appearance of 10 women at the conference, this is no more than a decorative picture that gives them some measure of self-confidence. What is this confidence worth to the female participants, when they already have more confidence and more money than most of the male participants? And what is the value of trusting [women] and [at the same time] stripping them [of access] to institutes and jobs? What is the value of 10 women appearing while three million girls are denied real studies?" [9]

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