Salma Al-Qeshairy
Al-Watan
THE MBC Group recently launched a campaign to empower Arab women and enhance their role in society. However, some social media activists have distorted the meaning of the campaign and have even created a false hashtag #be_free. The activists falsely claimed that the MBC campaign called on Saudi women to dress and act immodestly. Apparently, for some activists women’s freedom means only one thing: nudity and decadence.
Saudi women do not want this kind of freedom. They want freedom of choice and the freedom to make a decision. They want to be treated like adults and determine their own fate, and do not want to depend on anyone, be it their brothers, fathers, husbands or sons. Women want to be treated as equals. It does not make sense to make an 18-year-old son the guardian of his 35-year-old mother who is a doctor at a hospital or a college professor. This is humiliating for women.
Saudi women want the freedom to make decisions and bear the consequences of their actions. This is regardless of whether such decisions are related to choosing a life partner, pursuing higher studies or any other major decision. Men make their own decisions and do not wait for anyone to do this for them. Women want the same thing. Saudi women are patriotic and love their country. Giving Saudi women the right to make decisions will solve many of the problems women suffer. The positive consequences of such freedoms will be apparent and visible in the next generations.
Saudi women can today get educated, work, travel, have their own IDs, defend a case before a judge, run their own business, etc. But women still need to be given a lot of rights in accordance with the Shariah.
