Gender Segregation In Afghanistan And Saudi Arabia
Women’s Oppression and Cultural Practices in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia
Discuss about the Women Rights Without A Movement.
The segregation of the genders has been the culture in the nations of Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia since long. The Saudi Arabian women had no rights to take an action or take any decision that pertained to their lives without the permission from their male counterparts. All the women in the country had a male guardian in the form of a brother, cousin, father, grandfather or an uncle who had been responsible for all the issues that pertained to the women. The society of the country was responsible for the decisions that involved the life that the girl had to spend in the future. The male guardians of the concerned girl had a strong say in the facts that dealt with the vital aspects in the life of a girl like her life partner, the place and time for seeking medical treatment. The female members of the society were not even permitted to attend the proceedings of the court. The B&B “Two Face s of Power” state that the politicians seem to view power as the opportunity that might assist in the decision-making abilities of the concerned citizen. In Afghanistan, the women were like slaves. They were not permitted to walk out of their house without a man with them. They could not be educated or be employed. They were treated like non-valuable goods. Women were even given out as a pay for a dispute. However, these restrictions were not in the government laws but were their cultural practices. These segregation practices occurred in all public and private sectors of the country (Alhazmi and Nyland, 2013). Girls could not attend school together with their brothers, women were banned from driving, and they could not interact with men who they were not related to and could not vote nor vie for any position in the government. These practices had been the main agenda in debates of international advocates who termed the practices as backwardness. Consequently, detrimental effects had been evidenced in this nation. As asserted by Baki (2004), the gender segregated education system fails to prepare the students for global economy. The Saudi students always experience transitional challenge when studying in western schools and find it difficult to adapt in a mixed group (Alhazmi and Nyland, 2013). In employments, the Saudi society had a negative attitude towards women nurses (Mebrouk, 2008). They consider nursing as not the right profession for women since the nurses were not allowed to offer the services to male gender. The power imbalance between men and women in Saudi Arabia has put women in a position where their rights have been violated (Al Alhreth, and Al Dighrir, 2015). As evident through secret media reports, the women were resistant to the restrictions but had no power to air their views. International human right and through women activism have been working to stop these segregations and to fight for gender equalities in Saudi Arabia. Through campaigns by women activist, the Saudis women can now enjoy major gains that they never enjoyed before. Currently women can drive around Saudi Arabia freely. In 2015 they acquired the right to vote. They currently have a right to vote and vie for governmental positions. Not only campaigns that have led to the realization of these rights for women in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan but there are other factors that led to women’s suffrage without movement.
Power Imbalance and its Effects on Women’s Rights
Though not documented in the law of the Saudi Arabia, women were not allowed to vote nor express their interest in any leadership position. However, during the reign of late King Abdullah in 2015, the Saudi Arabia government decreed the women electoral suffrage. The women were permitted to participate in municipal elections and also to vie for the available position. This decree by the government indicated positive developments towards women’s freedom. Though few women registered for voting in that year, quite a significant number were interested in the municipal positions. This decree indicated change in political stand on the strict laws on women. The low turnout for registration of women was attributed to fear of the unknown. Media reports indicate that most women were not permitted by their male guardians to participate in the elections. In 2009, the Afghanistan government together with the women activists conducted campaigns to educate women on the importance of voting. This led to increase in the number of women registered for voting. These political changes play a big role in freedom to women. And through other international supports, it is expected that these two nations will appreciate gender equality and give women a chance to participate in building the nations. Bachrach and Baratz (1962) opine that the centralized nature of the power tends to bring about a suppression on the minority communities in the concerned country, in this case the women in these states who have been suffering due to the oppressive nature of the men in these societies. The authors base their article on the fact that the power in the various scenarios of that might feature in the given country might affect the variety of the residents in the country. The power factors that are existent in the society might play a huge role in the lives of the residents of the country. The women of the concerned countries in discussion, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, are reported to have to suffer in huge measures due to the fact that they have to be dependent on their concerned male counterparts in order to make decisions on the various matters that deal with the major decisions in their life like the choice of a suitable life partner or the freedom to choose the time and place for availing the medical treatments (Theweek.co.uk., 2018). The women in Afghanistan were prohibited by the Taliban to leave their houses without the presence of a male member beside them thereby making it too difficult for the women of the country to carry on with their daily chores or take part in any social event on their own. The Taliban prohibited women to move out of their houses without a male figure with them. Women could not seek treatment from a male doctor, they could not even show of an inch of their skin. The overthrowing of this power by the US troops changed women lives. They build schools and health center for women to seek treatment, thereby allowing them the freedom of movement.
The Role of Media in Highlighting Women’s Plight
During this time that women went through harsh treatments in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia media reported this news worldwide. The Aljazeera, CNN and BBC displayed some of the mistreatment the women faced. This propelled the international human rights and the activist to intervene. Through the news reported by media the US was convinced that much worse was happening in these countries (Stabile and Kumar, 2005). Setting in of US troops into these countries led to change in the way of life of the women. As according to Macdonald (2006), the images that were shown in media and a movie that was directed by Theo Van Gogh in February 2003 provoke negative reactions from other nations and this enhanced the intervention to redeem the woman from bondage. The media coverage of the events and the political conditions in the concerned countries of Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia had helped in the showcasing of the actual conditions faced by the concerned members of the society existent within the country. The role of the media in the matters that pertained to the showcasing of the plight of the female members of the society had resulted in the intervention of the international human rights activists who had come forward to ensure that the female members of the society are allowed the right to make decisions and participate in the electoral procedures that are followed by the various members of the society (Theweek.co.uk., 2018). Media still showed images of women from Saudi Arabia enjoying the freedom of driving. This acted as motivation to women in the country and helped in bringing about the changes that were necessary in the empowerment of the female members of the society and helping them in gaining the rights to put forth their opinion in the matters that deal with the decision of the governmental bodies in the country.
The gender segregation in these two countries resulted to many women not engaging in certain types of jobs. The harsh treatments and restriction to education, made many women incompetents for top jobs in the country. The cultural practices also prohibited women working in places like banks and other places where they had easy access to men. This discouraged many women and they ended up not valuing education and employment. However, after the government eased the law. The media covered such bitter stories that women went through. The media also covered the life stories of the successful women in the country. As stated by McBride and Wibben (2012), the women in the rural and other places could see such stories and be encouraged. This therefore increased the percentage of the ladies employed within the country. The media coverage has also encouraged women to venture into businesses. Though, with little entrepreneurial skills they are in a position to run their business well. This proves that women interest of development was initially unattended to (Zamberi, 2011). Media coverage on the overthrowing of the Taliban power by the US troop also developed a sense of security to the women and the nation at large (Barnard ,2014).
Social Limitations Placed on Women
The women in Saudi Arabia did not have the rights that would have allowed them to step out of the house without the presence of a male member by their side. The laws of the country did not allow the female nationals to drive and also restricted their free movement within the territory. The female members of the society were not allowed to take part in the matters that pertained to the decision making regarding the governmental bodies that are existent within the country (Le Renard, 2014). However, the concerned female members have demonstrated a huge struggle in the matter of gaining the rights to freedom and decision making for the concerned governmental bodies of the state. The women of Afghanistan had also faced similar conditions during the Taliban rule in the country. The women had to face severe conditions due to the terror that was spread by the Taliban group. The women had to lead the lives of slaves in the country due to the declaration of the fact that they should not be leaving their houses without the accompaniment of a male member of the family (Dyvik, 2014). The women in Afghanistan also faced medical issues due to the fact that they were not allowed to be diagnosed by any male doctor. This might have led to the conditions when their health was severely affected due to the lack of treatment which might have resulted from the lack of the available female doctors (Kabeer & Khan, 2014).
The Saudi Arabian women were also forbidden from the participation in the games and other sport activities that are arranged on an international platform. The female participants from Saudi Arabia had to follow the customs of covering their head and had to be accompanied by the male members if they wished to participate in the various sport events that were organized on an international platform. The world had the first ever Saudi Arabian female participant in the London Olympics in the year 2012 (Theweek.co.uk., 2018). The women in Afghanistan had various other struggles that were a part of their lives. The female members of the society were disallowed from attending the schools and other educational institutions. The female members of the country were even barred from attending the elections as well as participating in the political discussions or the political activities that took place within the concerned state (Theweek.co.uk., 2018).
Educational Limitations for Women
After achieving the right to vote, the International human right and women activist are now working to words the culture practice of guardianship. This will free the women and give them an opportunity to make their own decisions and this will enable them to acquire freedom of movement within their countries and also internationally.
Thus, from the above discussion it might be pointed out that the women in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan have been facing a huge curbing in their freedom due to the over dominance of the male members of the concerned societies. The women are not granted the positions of decision making within the concerned societies. The paper might safely conclude that the women must be granted decisive rights in order to bring about an overall improvement in the concerned society. The non-decisive nature of the women within the society might lead to the deterioration of the concerned society since women are known to be the first teachers of their own children. Thus, the women should be granted the various decisive rights within the society that might deal with the decision of the improvement of the concerned society or state in discussion.
References
Al Alhareth, Y., Al Alhareth, Y., & Al Dighrir, I. (2015). Review of women and society in Saudi Arabia. American Journal of Educational Research, 3(2), 121-125.
Alhazmi, A., & Nyland, B. (2013). The Saudi Arabian international student experience: From a gender-segregated society to studying in a mixed-gender environment. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43(3), 346-365.
Bachrach, P., &Baratz, M. S. (1962). Two Faces of Power:the American Political Science Review, 56(4),947-952.
Baki, R. (2004). Gender-Segregated Education in Saudi Arabia: Its Impact on Social Norms and the Saudi Labor Market. education policy analysis archives, 12(28), n28.
Barnard, M. C. (2014). Positive Political Outcomes From Feminist Islam in Afghanistan: Identifying Development Program Features that Raise the Status of Women.
Dyvik, S. L. (2014). Women as ‘Practitioners’ and ‘Targets’ GENDER AND COUNTERINSURGENCY IN AFGHANISTAN. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 16(3), 410-429.
Kabeer, N., & Khan, A. (2014). Cultural values or universal rights? women’s narratives of compliance and contestation in urban Afghanistan. Feminist Economics, 20(3), 1-24.
Le Renard, A. (2014). A society of young women: opportunities of place, power, and reform in Saudi Arabia. Stanford University Press.
Macdonald, M. (2006). Muslim women and the veil: Problems of image and voice in media representations. Feminist Media Studies, 6(1), 7-23.
McBride, K., &Wibben, A. T. (2012). The gendering of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development, 3(2), 199-215.
Mebrouk, J. (2008). Perception of nursing care: views of Saudi Arabian female nurses. Contemporary Nurse, 28(1-2), 149-161.
Stabile, C. A., & Kumar, D. (2005). Unveiling imperialism: media, gender and the war on Afghanistan. Media, Culture & Society, 27(5), 765-782.
Theweek.co.uk. (2018). Six things women in Saudi Arabia cannot do. The Week UK. Retrieved 1 May 2018, from https://www.theweek.co.uk/60339/things-women-cant-do-in-saudi-arabia
Theweek.co.uk. (2018). Women’s rights in Afghanistan: the turbulent fight for equality. The Week UK. Retrieved 1 May 2018, from https://www.theweek.co.uk/64107/womens-rights-in-afghanistan-the-turbulent-fight-for-equality
Zamberi Ahmad, S. (2011). Evidence of the characteristics of women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An empirical investigation. International journal of gender and entrepreneurship, 3(2), 123-143.