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The Discrimination of Women in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has felt increasing pressure from many international organizations to reform its laws and policies against women (Dief, 2008). The concern for many international organizations is that Saudi Arabia’s laws and policies towards women are immoral and discriminatory because of their status as “second-class citizens” (Dief, 2008). In fact, both the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Amnesty International listed Saudi Arabia as one of the worst countries for women to reside in the world (Ward, 2008). They criticized Saudi Arabia because of their patriarchal system which includes: an inequitable legal system, separate institutions for women, unequal opportunities for property and jobs, and restrictions on women that significantly reduce their freedom of movement (Dief, 2008). In response, the Saudi royal family and its conservative supporters have argued that the kingdom’s laws are based on their constitution; the Holy Qur’an; which guides the Islamic tradition called Sharia (Dief, 2008). Sharia is the way Muslims should live or the "path" they must follow and it has been the basis of Saudi law for more than 1400 years (Dief, 2008). Also, the Saudi royal family often adds that other nations have no right to interfere in its legal system because they have a completely different culture (Dief, 2008). They argue that other more powerful nations are forcing westernized ideologies onto Saudi Arabia, even though their culture is completely different (Dief, 2008). In other words, the royal family of Saudi Arabia believes Western nations are being culturally imperialistic towards them (Dief, 2008).

Looking at both sides of the debate, I will argue that Saudi Arabian society is extremely discriminatory against women and should be changed. My argument will be supported by showing Saudi Arabia’s various discriminatory policies to refute the claims mentioned by the Saudi royal family in the previous paragraph...