Saudi Arabia and Women

There are some issues that we cannot choose in our lives. We are not able to choose our looking, gender, parents or place of birth. Close your eyes and think about for a moment. Imagine that you had no right to think, decide or what to do. You had to do what other people say. You were born in Saudi Arabia as a woman and you had no right to vote. The only equal right with men was breathing but only with a black niqap. In Saudi Arabia women had to wear black clothes. In this country, only 5 percent of workforce is women, and women cannot even work in top levels. Islamic religious polices follow and control women in their daily lives. Women cannot get in a taxi, travel or order food without a man. They have not any right to elect or be elected and the witnesses of two women are equal to a man. In case of divorce, they cannot take the guardianship of their children. Women can inherit only half of their brothers. They cannot be judges and government officers. They cannot have a bank account without their husband’s permission. If a woman does not make coffee for her husbands, it can be a reason for divorce. Thus, being a woman in Saudi Arabia is like being a ghost. Your existence does not matter. If you were raped, the only fault was yours or if you were beaten, you deserved that and if your husband cheated on you, it means that you were not an enough woman. In brief, if you were a woman in Saudi Arabia, you’d always afraid of having a daughter.