Discrimination Women Government
Introduction
All societies has forced problem about discrimination against women and it has to be solved by the urgent measures that are not only provided by governments but also private sectors, NGOs, international community and citizens in those states as well.
The purpose of this document is to provide the comparison between the reports that was submitted by the Saudi Arabian government to the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination against Women).
Discrimination against women in terms of legal standard, politic and the way of practices insist in all part of every-day life in Saudi Arabia. These seriously affect and reveal Saudi Arabian women to risks and disadvantages.
The most important problem in the gender discrimination in Saudi Arabia is “all what controvert in Islamic laws” (Sharia religious laws). Although Saudi Arabian state’s jurisprudence is based on Hanibali schools (one of four Sunni schools) but there still are many citizens who believe in other Islamic schools such as Sunni schools, Shii schools, Ismaelis and Sufi orders.
Under Islamic laws many freedoms that is mentioned in Universal Declaration in Human Rights do not exist in Saudi Arabia, especially those for women i.e. women have to cover their face when they go out, women have to do something by herself but they have to act it via their guardian or mahram (a male relative who can’t marry with her for example father, son, grandfather or uncle).These kind of thing make women to be victims of cheating. And it also makes us to look in the way that women are treated like second-class citizens and their ability to do something is limited by laws (under influences of religious and culture). Moreover, in terms of education, work opportunity and public activity’s presentation, women have to be allowed by their guardian before do theses kind of thing.
Article 1: Definition of Discrimination Against Women
Article 2: Legal Obligations to Eliminate Discrimination
Article 3: The Full Advance and Development of Women
Article 4: Development and Acceleration of Equality between Men and Women
Article5: Gender Roles, Stereotyping and Family Education
Article 6: Trafficking Exploitation of Women
Article 7: Participation Political and Public Life
Article 8: International Representation and Participation
Article 9: Nationality
Article 10: Education
Article 11: Employment
In term of employment, government ensure that there are:
- the equality between men and women
- the prevention of discrimination on the ground of marriage or maternity
In practice, women can’t work in many fields of economic factors because there is a prohibition for women to work in mixed environment. However, some companies or economic sectors provide an area for female workers but men still have better salary and better working environment.
Job opportunity for women is limited by religious war such as they can’t work in some fields like law, engineering and architectural etc.
Article 12: Health
State guarantees that women can access to the health care services as same as men and ensures that women will have appropriate services concerning with pregnancy and children care services.
In fact, the payment for woman treatment by government is half of those they pay for man. This is one reason that women don’t want to go to hospital especially the poor. And also because of this as well that Saudi Arabian girls not allowed to play any kind of sports in school.
For maternal care, although there is good medicine for pregnancy and for after give birth women but the problem is there are not enough nurseries if compares with population growth in Saudi Arabia.
Article 13: Economic and Social Life
Saudi Arabian government ensure that there are equal rights between men and women in family benefits, financial activities, and social, cultural and sport life.
In reality, there are no sports activities for women even in school, girls are not allowed to play any kind of sports as well.
Women have no rights to drive, they have to use public transportation that provides seats for them only in the back of the bus.
Women have to wear abayas (the neck-to-ankle black rope) and cover their hairs with black cloth.
They can’t go out without the permission of their guardian.
And even in the two of the Holy Mosques there is also gender discrimination:
In Makkah’s Holy Mosques women can use only the main space surrounding the Kaaba.
In Madiana’s Holy Mosque, women are not allowed to reach the holiest part of the mosque except a small part of it and they can use it just only a few hours per day.
If woman dies her salary will be cut off without realize about her children and family that are left behind.
As well as businesswomen, they have to force with hardness in order to take loans from banks and act on her behalf in financial activities.
Article 14: Rural Women and Development
In theory, there are no differences between rural and urban women and government have plans to develop and help women in rural area such as organize a self-help groups and co-operatives in order to equal access to economic opportunities or provide health care facilities including family planning service.
But in fact, poverty is increased and it makes number of women who receives welfares from government increase as well.
Moreover, family planning service can’t help much because women have no rights to decide number of children she wants to give birth.
Article 15: Equality before the Law
Although Saudi Arabian government said that there are laws that guarantee the equality between men and women (the laws of the Kingdom and article 47 of the Basic Law of Government). Theses laws also respect in equality rights of men and women in education, employment and health care. And according to the religious laws, women also have same legal capacity as men in relation for example, ownership and management of their property etc.
But in terms of practice, her capacity is depended on men and sometime is denied especially in the criminal laws because it based on the strict Islamic precepts. In some cases women are unequally treated by the justice system itself.
For example, in November 2006, a Saudi Arabian girl who already married went out from her home for taking a photograph from her old –school male friend because according to the tradition, other men shouldn’t have photo of married women. And she was raped by 7 men. After that the court decided to punish them by imprison those men for 1-5 years and thrashed each of them 80-200 times. In contrast, the victim was also punished by imprison for 6 months and was thrashed for 90 times. The court said that she was punished because she went out without the permission of her guardian and appeared with the man who is not her relative. So, the victim, her husband and her advocate asked the Supreme Court to revise this case because she was thrashed more than some of the criminal and they also asked for the justice via Medias. On 24 November 2007, the Supreme Court decided to imprison criminals from 1-5 years to 2-9 years, thrashed the victim 200 times and also cancelled the permission licence of her lawyer and asked the ministry of justice to investigate his behaviour. The result of increase the punishment is that she uses media as a tool for fight against the juridical system.
Though government guarantee that both men and women have rights of movement of person. But in reality, women can’t drive and can sit just only in backseats of public transportation.
Article 16: Marriage and Family
Theoretically, woman has rights to choose her husband and marry with her approval. But in practice, most of marriage is arranged by her male relatives or family and sometime woman is forced to consent the marriage.
For divorce, although, the laws mention that woman has right to divorce but in reality, her husband is the one who will decide about this.
The jurisprudence mentions that man has to grant his ex-wife after divorce. In practice man grant her just until the daughter reach es8 years old and 9 years old for boy.
In theory, both father and mother have rights to regard and adopt their children. But in practice mother can’t register or name her child until the father comes in person. Or if the father dies a person who will be the guardian of children is their uncle not their mother.
Although, both men and women have rights to choose a family name but child has to use his or her father’s family name.
The law guarantees that both husband and wife can claim for the ownership, acquirement, management and control of prosperity. But in reality woman has no rights in prosperities of her husband and she will not obtain anything if she has children and her children can stay with her until 7 for girl and 9 for boy or until she remarry.
There is no legal effect for child marriage, but there still has no minimum marriage age.
Moreover, because of the expense for the marriage is very expensive and if there is a divorce, man have to grant woman. Now, Misyar, the temporarily marriage between man and woman who would like to have separately married life but they often meet each other or just only when they would like to have sex, is quite popular in Saudi Arabia because husband doesn’t need to grant his wife and he can broke up with her to marry with other woman without telling her or having her consent.
Recommendations
- Saudi Arabian government should allow NGOs to do activities and observations about women rights in Saudi Arabia.
- Government should open more opportunity for women to work in public sector. And private sector should pay and give them welfare in the same rate and quality they give to men.
- Government should allow women to study in all fields including law and political science. And should give them a rights to make decision about what they would like to learn and about the education level they would like to study without asking for opinion of their guardian.
- Justice system should be improve to make sure that it will be fair for both men and women especially in terms of investigation in some case such as rape or being adulterous etc. before make punishment to women.
- Government should allow women to drive or go out without guardian in case that there is emergency situation i.e. accident.
- Government should give rights to Saudi Arabian women married with foreigner as same as they give it to foreigner women who have Saudi Arabian husband.
- Both public and private sectors should provide good welfare for children care and should improve working environment in women working area because these will make women work more efficiently.
- Government should assign age that women can act in their behalf without guardian.
- Government should promulgate a law that against gender discrimination.
- Government should assign age of marriage (not below 18) for both men and women.
- Mother should be the guardian of her children after her husband passes away.
- In case of assigning custody of children, the court should thing about the interest of children.
- International Organization especially regional organization such as the Arab League (also called League of the Arab States) should pay attention and also play important role for solve discrimination against women, for example, setting up a Charter or a Treaty that against gender discrimination.
- Saudi Arabia should adapt their religious law about women rights in the way that is in Universal Declaration in Human Rights. In the other hand, International community should accept Islam views in terms of how they practice human rights in their country.
http://www.arunsawat.com/board/index.php?topic=2904.0;wap2
http://www.cdhr.info/Campaigns/WomensRightsBriefing
http://www.cualumni.us/article/article112.htm
We provide a professional essay writing service that thousands of our customers use as an effective way of improving their grades, improving their research and saving them lots of time.
