(Image retrieved from BBC NEWS)
On June 24, 2018, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ended its countries status as the last on earth to prohibit women from taking to the wheel (Fattah, 2018). I live in the U.S. and shamefully was not even aware this was such a thing in a faraway country. Then, I found myself internalizing the celebration! I have read Sheryl Sandberg’s book titled Lean In, and as a result view women in the workforce through a completely different (and wiser) lens. The so-called invisible women of Saudi are said to control as much as 40 percent of private wealth now, and despite the bans they have had to deal with, cosmopolitan female Saudis slowly forge ahead (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014). Let’s just say, I was overjoyed for the women (and men) behind Saudi’s women’s rights activist groups, and social media supporters all over the world for having slowly but surely conquered this big movement in history for females in Saudi Arabia.
To my dismay, I then stumbled upon further details that depicted the “why” behind this lifted ban – to help boost PR and overall economy for their country. Over the years, diminishing oil prices have left Saudi Arabia in an economic downward spiral. Oil, as many know is the main source of income for the country and by not expanding further away from the reliance on oil, they could be in serious economic trouble which always leads to even more disaster.
So, while I am still happy for the women of Saudi to have earned the right to drive and the additional benefits yet to come from this, lifting the driving ban is a strategic component of Crown Prince’s “Saudi Arabia Vision 2030” plan, not because woman leaned in.
This vision is built around three main themes which set out specific objectives that are to be achieved by the year of 2030 (Saudi Vision 20130, n.d.).
- A vibrant society: urbanism, culture and entertainment, sports, Umrah, UNESCO heritage sites, life expectancy (Saudi Vision 2030, n.d.).
- A thriving economy: Employment, women in the workforce, international competitiveness, Public Investment Fund, Foreign direct investment, private sector, non-oil exports (Saudi Vision 2030, n.d.).
- An ambitious nation: Non-oil revenues, government effectiveness, and e-government, household savings and income, non-profits and volunteering (Saudi Vision 20130, n.d.).
With advanced education, Saudi women have begun to enter the business world, and though women today make up over half of university enrollment, they number only a fraction of the workforce (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014). It’s time for the country to leverage these great women for the skills learned and help drive their country’s economy forward. “Lifting the ban on driving is likely to increase the number of women seeking jobs, boosting the size of the workforce and lifting overall incomes and output,” according to Ziad Daoud, Dubai-based chief Middle East economist for Bloomberg Economics (Fattah, 2018). Whether it’s the keys to the kingdom via fighting for equal rights or not, significant changes are looking up for the girls and women in a country seeking to make change for the good of all its people. “But it’ll take time before these gains are realized as the economy adapts to absorbing the growing number of women seeking work.” (Fattah, 2018).
References
Fattah, Z. (2018). Saudi Arabia’s $90 Billion reason to allow women to drive. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-24/saudi-women-driving-is-seen-better-for-economy-than-aramco-ipo
Moran, R. T., Ph.D., Abramson, N. R., Ph.D., & Moran, S. V., MA. (2014). Managing cultural differences (Nineth ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Saudi Vision 2030. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 6, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Vision_2030
Yaakoubi, A.E. (2018). Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-arrests/saudi-arabia-arrests-two-more-womens-rights-activists-rights-group-idUSKBN1KM564
dxf139 says
met5356 (Apologies, I do not have your full name). Great questions, and thanks for engaging in the discussion “Keys to the Kingdom”. I have been able to locate the “what is needed” physically and/or verbally as it relates to females getting the permissions they need to drive. This information comes from an online New York Times article. It states, “The rulers have announced that Saudi women will not need a guardian to apply for driver’s education or receive a driver’s license. But that is one of the rare exceptions where men have no role over women’s lives.” (Coker, 2018). I can also summarize base on what I learned across multiple online sources, that the situations really can differ from one family to another. Take this NY Times article for example. The female in this storyline has support from her family to be a single mother with not one, but two marriage’s, two divorces under her belt and she lives alone (Croker, 2018). Lastly, I myself am not in Saudia Arabia, so I’m unable to answer your questions related to what I’m seeing.
Have a great day, and thanks again for your engagement of the discussion.
References
Croker, M. (2018). Saudi women can drive, but here’s the real roadblock. The New York Times. Retrieved form https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-driving.html
met5356 says
As I was reading and learning about Saudi Arabia today, I understood one piece to say that while women received the right to drive a few months ago, they still require permission from their male guardians to exercise that right and actually get behind the wheel (Brightside, 2018). Is this correct as per your experience there? How does the permission work – is there a permission slip, a required signature, or just a verbal approval? Since women are not permitted to leave the house without permission, is there separate permission for driving as well, or is this a single-permissible thing? Are you seeing a lot of female drivers? Is there support for women to actually experience this more independent facet of life?
Reference
BrightSide (2018, June 11). Youtube.com 11 Prohibitions for Saudi Arabian Women that are Hard to Believe. Retrieved October 7, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPwPmaBh0Qo
Dana Ward says
I was SO surprised to learn that women hold up to 40% of wealth in Saudi Arabia. I remember when this was first discussed in the news, but didn’t realize the existence of (or make any connections to) ulterior motives. It really forces people into a place of cognitive dissonance – on the one hand, we want to celebrate the perceived and very real progress for females in the region. On the other hand, it feels like a cheap win when considering the driving factors. I will continue to err on the side of celebration. Regardless of they ‘why’, this is a big step in providing equality and potentially shifting some mindsets relating to the rights of women. Thank you for bringing this to light!