Ignorance, lack of awareness about their rights and lack of appreciation by society are why Saudi women are in their current situation.
This was emphasized by Al-Jowhara Al-Angari, vice chairman of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) on Saturday night at a meeting organized by the Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Center at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
Basmah Omair, the center director, introduced Al-Angari and requested that all mobiles be placed on silent mode.
Al-Angari’s wide-ranging discussion covered most aspects concerning women and she exhorted them to take an active role in making a difference. “When a door is locked, it is not going to open on its own. You’ve got to bang on it, on and on for it to open,” said Al-Angari. “Women are afflicted with ignorance. We can’t claim our rights unless we know them.”
Al-Angari said that women in Islam have legal, social, political and civil rights. Islamic tolerance should not be confused with social norms and traditions. Women in early Islam were recognized as individuals with rights and voices and they acted accordingly. She illustrated this with examples from Islamic history. Citing that history, she questioned where, in comparison, women are today.
“Women pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him). During the Al-Hudaybiya Treaty, the Prophet asked his wife Umm Salamah for advice which he later took,” added Al-Angari. “Asma bint Abu Bakr (daughter of one of the Prophet’s companions) carried food and water on foot alone to the Prophet and her father when they took refuge in Thawr Cave, outside Makkah,” she cited as another example of women’s initiative during the Prophet’s time.
She urged the almost 600 women present to know their rights and ask for them.
As Al-Angari continued with the discussion, more women – one or two with their children – continued to join the session. As she spoke, every now and then “Bless her” or “May Allah give her life” could be heard among those seated. The discussion drew women from all levels of society.
In the middle of the discussion, a couple of mobiles rang and Basmah Omair repeated her request that all mobiles be put on silent mode. At this point in one of the front rows, an elderly woman whose mobile was disturbing the meeting fumbled briefly with the phone before asking those around her to silence her ringing mobile. A mother continuously rocked her infant to keep her quiet throughout the session in order to benefit from the discussion. Women sitting beside her were seen to help her in her attempt to keep the child quiet.
All the women heard Al-Angari mention how Saudi women’s contributions and merits were further reinforced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s inclusion of women in delegations during his state visits. The king continuously meets with Saudi women from different fields to discuss various issues. This is nothing new as far as Muslims are concerned. During Umar ibn Al-Khattab’s reign in 634 AH, Muslim women took the lead in different ways. He appointed Samra bint Nuhayk Al-Asadiyya as a market inspector in Makkah and Ash-Shifa bint Abdullah as an administrator of the market in Madinah. Later, Ash-Shifa was appointed as the head of health and safety in Basra, Iraq.
In comparison, the current status of Saudi women is far behind the times. But the situation of women and the discrimination they endure worldwide is much the same. “One in four women in the world suffers from physical abuse. One in three women is illiterate and one in two women suffers from poverty,” said Al-Angari. “Women are not paid the same as men for doing the same job in different parts of the world.”
While Saudi women are paid the same as men – this is a law – they cannot be released from prison without a legal male guardian despite a Saudi law which states otherwise. “The law says that it is prohibited to delay the procedure of releasing the prisoners,” Al-Angari said, adding that a prisoner – man or woman – must be released immediately after completing their sentence.
Al-Angari went on to mention other forms of discrimination Saudi women are subjected to.
Inheritance laws are not applicable to Saudi women married to non-Saudi men and their non-Saudi children. Her family, excluding her husband and children, inherits her assets. Additionally, Saudi women cannot donate their organs after death without the consent of legal guardians.
Another major problem is that regulations and laws pertaining to women are not implemented.
For example, Al-Angari said, according to Saudi law, a 45-year-old woman can travel without the presence or the consent of a legal male guardian. Not only is this not implemented, it is not even publicly known. “The reason why women are so ignorant of their rights is because they are not taught their rights in schools,” said Al-Angari.
Aside from the lack of implementation and knowledge of the laws, she attributed problem areas to some of the regulations themselves. “33.60 percent of the civil status issues that we receive in NSHR show that there is a deficiency in some regulations,” Al-Angari explained.
“A mother of four girls went to her husband who was in jail for drug abuse and possession. She wanted his consent so she could get a job. The husband refused. She then went to the judge, filing for ‘khula’ (divorce by redemption). The judge ordered that she return the dowry,” said Al-Angari, wondering aloud how the woman could get the money for the “khula” when, in the first place, she was in search of a job because she had no money.
During the discussion, one woman raised the issue of men using the family card to buy shares and conduct business projects in the name of their wives without the wives’ knowledge. To that, Al-Angari said: “A civil family code should be established and handed to every woman when her identification card is issued in order to inform her of her rights. This is a system implemented in many Arab countries.”
When a woman touched upon the issue of many holding premium accounts in banks, Basmah Omair responded that for a woman to invest, she must appoint a male representative who has power of attorney. Unfortunately, there are many cases when the power of attorney is abused; hence many women prefer to keep their money in their bank accounts. She then emphasized that the Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Center provided legal assistance for women investors in drawing up a specified power of attorney which does not give absolute power to the representative.
Another woman said that she had many friends formerly married to educated and open-minded men. However, their husbands deprived the women of their children – custody and visitation rights – after divorce. “Islamically, this isn’t correct,” she said and then quoted a verse from the Qur’an: “No soul shall have imposed upon it a duty but to the extent of its capacity; neither shall a mother be made to suffer harm on account of her child, nor a father on account of his child, and a similar duty (devolves) on the (father’s) heir.”
Throughout the meeting, Al-Angari emphasized the responsibility and obligation women have to themselves and each other. The meeting ended with many women asking that men also be educated about women’s rights.
-- Hassna’a Mokhtar, Laura Bashraheel & Somayya Jabarti, Arab News
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