Saudi Arabia: Steps Toward Women's Rights?

By Stephen McInerney,
Director of Advocacy, Project on Middle East Democracy

The royal family in Saudi Arabia has long been decried as one of the world's most repressive regimes. In Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, released earlier this month, the House of Saud maintained its ranking as one of the seventeen most repressive governments in the world. Perhaps most infamous is the particular lack of rights for the half of the Saudi citizens who are female. When King Abdullah ascended to the throne following the death of his half-brother King Fahd in 2005, many had high hopes that his rule would bring reform and greater freedom to Saudi Arabia, and to women in particular. But the reforms of the first couple of years of King Abdullah's rule were markedly underwhelming, and the area of women's rights was essentially ignored.

However, the past two weeks has quietly seen a flurry of small steps toward greater rights for women in the kingdom. Last Monday, January 21, it was reported that the Saudi government had ruled to permit women to stay in hotels without the presence of a male guardian, effective immediately. On the same day, government officials also confirmed that a decision had been reached to remove the ban on women drivers, with a decree to that effect to be issued before the end of 2008. Lifting the ban on driving would be a move of great symbolic value, as Saudi Arabia is the only country to prohibit women behind the steering wheel, and this fact is the most often cited example to demonstrate the oppression of Saudi women. Also, on Tuesday, January 29, it was revealed that the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has approved the establishment of the first women's rights organization in the kingdom, to be known as Ansar al-Mar'ah (patrons/supporters of women).

In addition, last Friday, the first-ever women's soccer game was played in a large stadium in Dammam between teams of two Saudi universities, with the stands full of female fans and the score reported in local newspapers. Within a few days, it was announced that the Saudi government will establish women's sport clubs in the country. This is a far cry from the recent past of soccer in Saudi Arabia - just last year a professional men's game was interrupted by the official on the field so that security personnel could remove the one female in attendance - a 12-year-old girl enjoying the game with her family.

Although there have been some reports of complaints by local residents and the governor of the Eastern province over last week's game, it seems that opposition has been milder than in the past, perhaps encouraging the government to move forward with women's sport clubs.

Why Now?

This string of announcements does follow a period of intensified scrutiny and key interactions with the West, as well as some increasingly bold internal demands for reform. In December, the sentencing of a 19-year old rape victim to 200 lashes and six months in prison for being alone in a car with a man who was not her relative sparked international outrage. Following widespread condemnation, including the introduction of three bills in the U.S. Congress demanding that all charges against the victim be dropped, King Abdullah announced his decision to pardon the girl.

In UN meetings that followed in Geneva in January, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women challenged the Saudi delegation on numerous aspects of gender inequality in the kingdom. In response to concerns raised in these meetings, the UN has
now announced that the UN special rapporteur on violence against women will visit Saudi Arabia from February 4 to 13 and give a series of reports on the findings of her visit to the UN Human Rights Council.

January also saw President Bush pay a visit to the kingdom during his eight-day visit to the Middle East. On January 14, as Bush arrived in Riyadh, the State Department officially notified Congress of a controversial agreement to sell 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) advanced missile systems to Saudi Arabia. The sale had been delayed in the fall by strong opposition within Congress, which considerably raised the profile of numerous concerns with regard to the Saudi regime including its fostering of extremism, its destabilizing ties to insurgent groups in Iraq, and the repression of its own people.

Conclusions

In short, the Saudi regime deserves credit for these apparent openings in terms of women's rights. Given the timing, the moves appear to be at least partly the result of constructive pressure from the international community including the United States. Needless to say, the Saudi regime still has a very long path to tread in terms of women's rights and equality, but hopefully these measures signal the beginning of a long period of steady progress, rather than merely an isolated burst of activity. The recent moves can also be taken as encouraging evidence that international diplomatic pressure can yield results.

But it is critical that such pressure on the Saudi regime not abate once the long-awaited arms deal is finalized in February and a few positive steps have been taken. It is also essential that recently announced measures such as the lifting of the driving ban be carried out as planned - authoritarian Arab regimes have become increasingly adept at timing announcements of reform to relieve international pressure, then failing to carry out the steps as promised once the outside attention has diminished. If those conditions are met, and the recent moves turn out to be merely the beginning of women's rights reform in Saudi Arabia, then the steps taken in January 2008 will have been very important indeed.