Gender Apartheid
by Mona EltahawyNEW YORK — Once upon a time, in a country called South Africa the color of your skin determined where you lived, what jobs you were allowed, and whether you could vote or not.
Decent countries around the world fought the evil of racial apartheid by turning South Africa into a pariah state. They barred it from global events such as the Olympics. Businesses and universities boycotted South Africa, decimating its economy and adding to the isolation of the white-minority government, which finally repealed apartheid laws in 1991.
Today in a country called Saudi Arabia it is gender rather than racial apartheid that is the evil but the international community watches quietly and does nothing.
Saudi women cannot vote, cannot drive, cannot be treated in a hospital or travel without the written permission of a male guardian, cannot study the same things men do, and are barred from certain professions. Saudi women are denied many of the same rights that “Blacks” and “Coloreds” were denied in apartheid South Africa and yet the kingdom still belongs to the very same international community that kicked Pretoria out of its club.
She rightly points out that, aside from the oil reason, Saudi Arabia has been enabled by the collapse of any alternative ideology in the Arab world, with the Saudis having bought the silence (or enthusiastic support) of most other Arab regimes. As they say, RTWT.
To understand the heinous double standards at play, look no further than the case of a 19-year-old Saudi woman who was gang-raped last year.
Despite being abducted and raped by seven men, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced her to 90 lashes because she was in a car with an unrelated man before she was abducted. Saudi Arabia’s ultra-orthodox interpretation of Islamic law preaches a strict segregation of the sexes.
The young woman had the temerity to appeal — and publicize her story in the media. And so, earlier this month, the court increased her punishment to <i>200 lashes and six months in jail</i>. Her lawyer, a prominent human rights defender, was suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing.
And the actual abductors and rapists? They got between two and nine years in jail. A rape conviction in the kingdom usually carries the death penalty, but the court said it did not impose it due to the “lack of witnesses” and the “absence of confessions.”
Farida Deif, a researcher at Human Rights Watch women’s rights division, who interviewed the young woman and her lawyer extensively, told me that one of the rapists had filmed the assault with his mobile phone but the judges refused to allow the clip as evidence.
Compare that to the use of such mobile phone footage to convict two police officers in Egypt on November 5, on charges of torturing and sodomizing a bus driver.
A few governments here and there have condemned the Saudi court’s behavior but you can be sure that Saudi Arabia will be there at the next Olympics — even though it bars women from the national team — and the world will continue to fete the kingdom’s representatives without a word of chastisement.
Just by agreeing to attend next week’s Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis Saudi Arabia merited headline news.
The easy explanation of the world’s apathy to the plight of Saudi women is that the kingdom sits on the world’s largest oil reserves. True.
The more difficult explanation — and the one that too many avoid — is that the Saudis have succeeded in pulling a fast one on the world by claiming their religion is the reason they treat women so badly.
I am a Muslim who is constantly wondering how it is that I worship the same God as the Saudis. Islam may have been born in Mecca — in what is today Saudi Arabia — but the warped interpretation of my religion prevalent in that country is like a perverse attempt to undo any good that Muslims believe was revealed in Prophet Mohammed’s message in 7th century Arabia.
What kind of God would punish a woman for rape? That is a question that Muslims must ask of Saudi Arabia because unless it is we who challenge the determinedly anti-women teachings of Islam in Saudi Arabia, that kingdom will always get a free pass.
It is easy to dismantle the Saudi clerical claim that it is Islam that justifies their outrageous treatment of girls and women. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, a place where women enjoy rights a Saudi woman could only dream of, where they recite the verses of the Quran on television for all to see and hear. In Saudi Arabia, a woman’s voice is considered sinful.
Saudi Arabia’s neighbors — Egypt, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates — are all Muslim-majority countries: Women drive, vote, are judges, and hold ministerial portfolios.
The international community must not forget the many brave Saudis such as the gang-rape victim, her lawyer, and the activists who continue to question this oppression by their government and clerics. Their courage deserves the same kind of support the world offered anti-apartheid activists in South Africa.
Nor should the victims of Saudi atrocities be forgotten: In 2002, 15 schoolgirls died when officers of the morality police would not let them out of their burning school building — and barred firefighters from saving them — because the girls weren’t wearing the headscarve and the black cloak that all women must wear in public.
How many more girls must die and women suffer rape before the international community names this gender apartheid and condemns it appropriately?
Mona Eltahawy is an award-winning New York-based journalist and commentator, and an international lecturer on Arab and Muslim issues.
Copyright ©2007 Mona Eltahawy / Agence Global
Excellent! It’s ridiculous to see how some Westerners suddenly cry cultural sensitivity when it comes to Saudi.
It’s only fair to point out, though, that men don’t have significant political rights in Saudi either.
Great article.
Unfortunately any condemnation of Saudi’s ridiculous practices comes, more often than not, in the form of bigoted attacks on Islam.
It is the fact that Saudi Arabia has “… succeeded in pulling a fast one on the world by claiming their religion is the reason they treat women so badly”, that little opposition is heard from other Muslim nations for fear of the Saudi atrocities, such as the recent rape case, being framed as ‘Islamic’ atrocities rather than the actions of an oppressive government (and the male population it rules) who has used its perverted interpretation of Islam to justify its chauvinistic practices and secure its grip on power.
The same tactics are at play when the Saudi’s deny that democracy is compatible with Islam.
Noor Hammad
Hang on a moment. I seem to recall that in South Africa significant numbers of blacks resorted to guerrilla war in pursuit of justice. Not many blacks openly supported the status quo. In the end, only Saudi women will liberate Saudi women. If they don’t have the will, no one else can do it for them. So far too few of them seem willing to take the slightest risk. Mona’s parallel just doesn’t work. Sorry.
Quote:”Decent countries around the world fought the evil of racial apartheid by turning South Africa into a pariah state. They barred it from global events such as the Olympics. Businesses and universities boycotted South Africa, decimating its economy and adding to the isolation of the white-minority government, which finally repealed apartheid laws in 1991.” End quote.
It is all true, but the writer of this article forgot that there is one big difference between South Africa and Saudi Arabia – oil.
South Africa doesn’t have it (they have uranium though, and did business with it with France and Israel and maybe other countries, but Uranium isnt worth as much as oil because not everybody needs it)
Oil have become the blessing and the curse of Saudi Arabia and whole arab world. There is no way any Western country will ever support Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, as long as they need oil.
About Women rights in Saudi Arbia – it’s not just women rights that aren’t there, its the whole “box” of what is called “human rights”.
If you steal in Saudi Arabia, your hand will be cut off. If you raped, and the authorities doesn’t like it, you will get emasculated. (if I’m not mistaken)
And of cours there is a big difference in the law between a Royalty or someone importaned that committed a crime, and someone who is not so important.
So when talking about Women rights in Saudi Arabia it’s important in my view to see it from a wider look.
All in all, without Israel, the holy places (the whole Holy Land, Medina and Mecca) and oil – the west will never have cared about the Middle East as it is, it will simply look at it as another Africa.
But I want to think that 9/11 changed it all.
There is no such thing as an international community, which is nothing but a normative framework for the the economic interets of the hegemonial powers. As for the international community austricating Britoria, well, that very same community is supporting Israel, and turned a blind eye to the destruction of Iraq and to overthrowing its legitmate government.
Besides Saudi women should speak for themsellves. Water always reaches its own level, the Saudi society will change autonmously when the internal forces og change have gathered enmough moementum and manifest itself in a political environment and socio-cultural contexts that call for that change.
[…] practices (only one manifestation of its backwards ideology) have been tolerated far too long, notes The Arabist, from Egypt, who links to an op-ed about the situation of women in the Kingdom. Share […]
[…] Mona al-Tahawy on Saudi Arabia, Treatment of Women at The Arabist (tags: Saudi Arabia Women Human Rights Violation Arabist Middle East Rape Justice) […]
Sphinx seems blame the victim. In the case of S. Africa, and for that matter, slavery in the US, the victims of oppression only were successful because of other’s help. In many instances, such as the Chinese revolution where over-seas Chinese provided aid, outside help or pressure is needed.
As an international community we can boycott and bluster all we want, but personally I suggest a better response is prayer.
Gender apartheid will continue in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere until the people themselves recognize it is wrong and that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Right now, there are a lot of folks in Saudi wondering what the problem is. The girl broke the rules of the prevailing religion and she was punished, first by a pack of animals and then my an equally viscious court system. Things are as they should be, right? Khalas.
Remember, race apartheid in South Africa was “only” in effect from 1948-1994 and it hadn’t been codified by religion. In fact one of the most outspoken groups against apartheid was The South African Council of Churches (SACC). Gender apartheid in Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has been around since the 7th century and IS the religion as practiced in KSA. I seriously doubt a SACC equivalent will step up and take a stand as they would literally be biting the hand that feeds them.
It is really surprising article. I remember one of my colleague who is a 50 years old muslim from india, telling me women should not give freedom and should not educate more. That time i took it as a jock. but now i clearly see the idea coming from. In my opinion Islam teaches more of a material aspect like health issue(don't mix with dogs, do not eat pig meat, and many more), but this any common man can tell. What lack islam at foremost is spirituality. This i never see with anyone unfortunately. If any one teaches silence prayer it is a good charity
hi.
What kind of stupid people will defend Islam, knowing that the Arabians basically invented it – the Saudis ARE Islam. Doh.
Saudi oppression on its citizens specialy on it's women will only stop when the USA tells them to do so or else! Where Has Hill Clinton, the champion of FEMINIST rights been? She is so absent we never heard a condemnation of the Saudi practices from her? SHE IS our SECRETARY OF STATE for gods sake! Why she only speaks about how criminal and undemocratic the state of IRAN is. How about Saudi Arabia? Journalists should engage her on these issues but they do not. Why not? SAUDI ARABIA IS THE MOST UNDEMOCRATIC AND CRIMINAL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. I better be careful because they are so rich and powerful they could do away with me for simply stating these facts! Beware myself!