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Abstract
Accessibility and the quality of education available to Saudi women have improved rapidly in the past two decades, resulting in an increase in the number of educated women. This progress in the field of women's education has had a considerable impact on their socio-political and economic condition. A section of society, however, continues to demand greater rights for women. The Kingdom has tried to respond to these demands, but has been constrained due to fear of backlash from conservative sections. In this context, the issue of women's rights has emerged as an important challenge to the stability of the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia needs to evolve a nuanced response to the problem; otherwise it could prove to be the precursor to a major crisis.
Notes
1 See Al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia (2002), pp. 268–270.
2 Formal education for girls began during the reign of King Faisal (r. 1964–75). Education for girls/women had previously not been allowed, although some upper-class families used to employ the services of private teachers and religious scholars to provide education for their daughters. However, primary-level religious education was available for girls in kuttabs (centres of education run by individual scholars with small groups of students).
3 Al-Yassini, Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1985), p. 111.
4 The role of Queen Iffat in promoting the start of formal education for girls has been noted in a number of studies on the Kingdom. For example, see Kéchichian, Faysal: Saudi Arabia's King for all Seasons (2008).
5 Prokop, “Saudi Arabia: The Politics of Education”, International Affairs 79 (2003), pp. 77–89.
6 Bahgat, “Education in the Gulf Monarchies: Retrospect and Prospect”, International Review of Education 45 (1999), pp. 127–36. The GCC states were witness to political turmoil in the 1990s, particularly due to the after-effects of the Kuwait crisis. For details, refer to Dekmejian, “The Liberal Impulse in Saudi Arabia”, The Middle East Journal 57 (2003), pp. 400–13.
7 Al Rawaf; Saad; and Simmons, “The Education for Women in Saudi Arabia”, Comparative Education 27 (1991), pp. 287–95.
8 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Education, General Department of Information Technology, Information Department, “Annual Statistical Work Programme” (2010).
9 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “Higher Education Statistics, 1980–81” (2012).
10 Ibid.
11 See, for example, Jamal, Girl's Education Between Present Developments and Future Risks (1988); Doumato, “Women and Work in Saudi Arabia: How Flexible Are Islamic Margins?”, The Middle East Journal 5 (1999), pp. 568–83; Zaidan, Education and Participation of Women in Development (2000).
12 Bahgat, “Education in the Gulf Monarchies”, pp. 133–5.
13 For details, refer to Prokop, “Saudi Arabia: The Politics of Education”.
14 Al-Eisa, Educational Reform in Saudi Arabia: Between Lack of Political Vision, Religious-Cultural Apprehensions and Incompetence of Educational Administration (2009), pp. 60–3.
15 Prokop, “Saudi Arabia: The Politics of Education”, p. 78.
16 Hamdan, “Women and Education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and Achievements”, International Education Journal 6 (2005), pp. 42–64.
17 Khashoggi, “An Insight into Education Reform in Saudi Arabia”, Saudi-US Relations Information Service, 15 Aug. 2006.
18 The programmes include teachers’ training, curriculum development, improvement of school environment, inclusion of sports and physical education in the curriculum, etc. For details, see www.tatweer.edu.sa.
19 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Education, “Education Policy of Kingdom Saudi Arabia” (2006).
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Economy and Planning, “Ninth Development Plan, 2010–2014” (2010).
23 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Education, “Budget Allocation for Boys and Girls, 2009–10” (2011).
24 Prokop, “Saudi Arabia: The Politics of Education”, p. 78.
25 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Education, “Annual Statistical Work Programme”.
26 Ibid.
27 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Economy and Planning and United Nations Development Programme, “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: National Millennium Development Goals Report” (2009).
28 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “National Report” (2009).
29 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “Women in Saudi Higher Education: Initiatives and Achievements” (2010).
30 Raphaeli, “Demands for Reform in Saudi Arabia”, Middle East Studies 41 (2005), pp. 517–32.
31 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “Women in Saudi Higher Education: Initiatives and Achievements”.
32 Al-Aryani, “Modi Al-Khalaf Appointed Saudi Assistant Attaché for Culture in US”, Saudi Gazette, 8 Sept. 2012.
33 AlMunajjed, “Women's Education in Saudi Arabia: The Way Forward” (2009), p. 6.
34 Ajbaili, “Saudi Arabia Opens Largest Women's University in the World”, Al ʿArabiyya, 15 May 2011.
35 The impact of this flagship institution on changing or advancing women's education in the Kingdom is difficult to assess at this stage since it is only five years old.
36 This was more of a symbolic step and may not have any major direct impact on the condition of Saudi women as their number in the university is still very small. However, it should go a long way in providing a window of opportunity for women to be part of the process of modernisation of higher education.
37 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “King ʿAbdullah Scholarships Program”, 18 Apr. 2011.
38 The scholarship programme was extended for a third term before the second term had ended, mainly in the wake of the Arab Spring and fears of unrest among the educated youth.
39 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “Extension of King ʿAbdullah Scholarship Programme to Study Abroad for a Third Term” [in Arabic], 11 Feb. 2013.
40 Ibid.
41 Bashraheel, “Scholarship Student: Big Dreams, Slow Change”, Saudi Gazette, 11 Mar. 2013; Lebaron and Hausheer, “America Must Do More to Welcome Saudi Scholarship Students”, US News & World Report, 1 Mar. 2013.
42 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education, “National Report”.
43 AlMunajjed, “Women Employment in Saudi Arabia: A Major Challenge” (2010), p. 8.
44 Le Renard, “Only for Women: Women, the State, and Reform in Saudi Arabia”, The Middle East Journal 62 (2008), pp. 610–29.
45 Anon., “Employment for Women Necessary to Strengthen Saudi Economy”, AME Info, 23 Feb. 2012.
46 Anon., “Coming to Saudi Arabia: The World's First Women-Only City”, The Week, 15 Aug. 2012.
47 AlMunajjed, “Women Employment in Saudi Arabia”, p. 7.
48 For further details, see the Hadaf website www.hrdf.org.sa.
49 AlMunajjed, “Women's Education in Saudi Arabia”, p. 1.
50 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Economy and Planning and United Nations Development Programme, “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, p. 47.
51 Walker, “The Right to Health in Saudi Arabia”, University of Aberdeen website (2009).
52 Montagu, “Civil Society and Voluntary Sector in Saudi Arabia”, The Middle East Journal 64 (2010), pp. 67–83.
53 Fatany, “Women's Rights in Kingdom”, Arab News, 22 July 2008.
54 Al-Mukhtar, “Empowering Women: Kingdom Leads the Way”, Arab News, 15 May 2012.
55 Dubai School of Govt, Arab Social Media Report 1.1 (2011).
56 Numerous blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter handles both in Arabic and English are dedicated to women's issues and are run by women, who have actively engaged in discussion and debate on problems faced by Saudi women, their rights and so on. See, for example, http://omaimanajjar.wordpress.com, http://theeternalphilosopher.blogspot.com, http://susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com, http://saudirevelations.wordpress.com, http://saudiwoman.me, etc.
57 For further reading, see Baki, “Gender-Segregated Education in Saudi Arabia: Its Impact on Social Norms and the Saudi Labor Market”, Education Policy Analysis Archives 12.28 (2004), p. 3.
58 Anon., “Saudi Students Flock to US Universities”, Gulf News, 19 Aug. 2012.
59 It is commonly referred to as Wahhabiyya/Wahhabism outside the Kingdom, but within the Kingdom people prefer to call it Salafiyya/Salafism. The issue has been discussed in some detail by Al-Rasheed, Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation (2007), pp. 2–6.
60 Al-Mufadhali, “Hai'a Chief: Kaust an ‘Extraordinary Move and Huge Accomplishment’”, Saudi Gazette, 14 Oct. 2009.
61 For a detailed reading, see Marines, The Relationship Between the Ulama and the Government in the Contemporary Saudi Arabian Kingdom: An Interdependent Relationship? (2001).
62 See Al-Rasheed, Contesting the Saudi State, pp. 15–16, 132–3.