Tea time with the Princess

The women of the royal family in Saudi Arabia have recently been gaining quite a lot of the media’s attention. One of the more prominent women in the royal family, Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz has recently written an article for BBC about the issue on women driving in Saudi Arabia. For most women it would be an obvious response of allowing women to drive as soon as possible; However, Princess Basma had informed BBC that allowing women to drive at this point in time would not be in their best interest.

“Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz tells the BBC there are many changes she would like to see in Saudi Arabia - but that now is not the time for women to be allowed to drive.”

She also states that eventually it would be a priority for women to drive for it is essential to the well being of Saudi Arabia.

She states that “In particular, the constitution should protect every citizen's basic human rights regardless of their sex, status or sect. Everyone should be equal before the law”

The issues she talks about that need to be changed before women should be allowed to drive are: the constitution, divorce laws, the educational system, reform of social services, and the role of a mahram (a women‘s  chaperone). Most people have accepted her ideas with peace, stating that she addresses very good points.

Her first concern was that the constitution needs to have a background that holds certain guidelines in regards to precedence in court, because at this point in time the courts are run based off of each judge’s personal opinion on the matter.

A very good point that has been negatively effected Saudi women is the divorce laws. She points out that these laws have been preying on Saudi women since the foundation of Saudi Arabia, giving them no leeway, in some parts of Saudi Arabia,  to divorce unless they obtain an “eye witness” of her husband abusing their marriage. And since Saudis regard marriage as a private matter and all the houses are extra private with gates around them, it is hard for women to be able to prove the issue in court. In spite of that, many commentators have discussed that she is basing her article off of her own personal views as opposed to the ultimate good of Saudi Arabia. She is a divorced woman, and although the divorce laws are strict in some areas of Saudi Arabia, other areas are generally fair, and it might not be an issue that needs to take priority over driving in Saudi Arabia.

The changes that she feels need to take place in the educational system is probably the most controversial over the rest. She might have been brought up in a system that restricted women due to “religious” concerns,  most of Saudi Arabia has enhanced their educational guidelines to eradicate the majority of inequalities between men and women. Some schools may be seen as completely conservative and limiting, be that as it may, her opinions are viewed as extremely liberal. She even goes as far as to say that there is a need to limit the teaching of religion in schools. People are unhappy with her opinions on the matter because the country is brought up on the basis of Islam so why would they limit the teaching of the core of their country. That being said, there is a need for change in the hiring process for better qualifications in religion teachers, but eliminating religion completely might cause an uproar. She does, however,  state:

“I would like to see religious teaching limited to the Koran and the Sunna (the way the Prophet lived).”

Another controversial issue that she discusses is the one for reform of social services. She writes about the cruelty towards women and their fear of standing up for themselves. Contrary to popular belief this abusive relationship is not prominent in Saudi Arabia and is found in every country in the world - it does seem to be in the news more often than any other country. In saying that, there is never an excuse to be abusive in any relationship and there is a need to change is worldwide- not just in Saudi Arabia.

The last issue she addresses is the role of a woman’s chaperone. This needs to change and is currently a hot topic in Saudi Arabia, nevertheless in order for this to change, the mindset of the citizens need to change first. The reason this was instated is for the safety of women in Saudi Arabia, and it should not be nullified until Saudi Arabia has a better system to ensure a woman’s safety.

Although there is a group of people that agree with her article there was also a lot of anger geared towards the article, the princess does bring up many points that should be undertaken and considered. On the other hand, when someone gives an opinion on a matter and that does not affect them directly, people tend not to take them seriously. And the princess does not nor plans to ever live in Saudi Arabia.