A Dream Come True 2

Before, during and after dinner, I’m given plenty of opportunities to find out something about the life of Saudi women. When going out and even in the house, due to certain degrees of relationships, the women of this family come in all stages of dress: from hejab to jackets below the midriff without head covering, each after their façon. Most of the women don’t want to say goodbye to their Abaya; it is too easy just to throw over the cloak before leaving the house without worrying about the condition or fashion of the clothes underneath. Add to this that light skin is considered beautiful and a sign of good lineage; the Hejab protects their skin from harmful sun rays. How they cope with the summer heat remains a mystery to me.
In this well to do family most of the women are educated, some have lived and studied abroad. The ones I talked to were independent thinkers, mostly working women, unless they had small children. They are happy to be able to drive, practically, or at least in theory. Two of them said that the broad permissions they had received from their husbands to move freely meant their lives had not been impacted by the guardianship system, whereby a man of the family, be it the father, husband, brother or even son can make decisions affecting marriage, issuance of a passport, study and even freedom of movement. This even extends to giving permission for a woman to be released from prison when incarcerated! This system also makes it difficult for a woman to seek justice in domestic violence and rape as well as child custody cases. The guardianship system has recently been relieved and is currently under further review, as the limitations imposed on women’s free movement contradicts the Crown Prince’s intention to increase the number of women in the workforce from around 20% to 40% by 2030.Read more