By Alaa Labani
Makkah
Economic problems and crises leave a society no option but to transform and change. Both women and men should participate in the workforce and play equal roles in improving the economy. To do that, both men and women should be provided with the necessary resources.
Unfortunately, Saudi female participation in the labor market is low while the unemployment rate among women is high due to unavailability of jobs for them in the private and public sectors.
The current economic conditions in the Kingdom should be utilized to increase women participation in the workforce, as this would have a positive impact on the gross domestic product and social welfare, especially for women who are the sole breadwinners of their families.
There is no doubt that this would also decrease the financial burden on these women. It should be admitted that the real freedom and strength of women lie in their financial independence. A financially independent woman would be able to support herself and control her life better.
Some people seem to be unable to understand these facts. I saw a Muslim scholar on TV opposing women working in hospitals and certain businesses for fear of intermingling. There is a large number of scholars and college professors in our country who have called on the government to give women money and spare them from working in jobs where they would be mixing with men.
However, despite this fierce opposition against women working, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development continues to work hard to create more job opportunities for women. Women could not work as cashiers and salespersons 10 years ago as a large portion of society was against it. This situation has changed with more people accepting women working in supermarkets and clothes shops.
It is sad to see some women who hold the same negative viewpoints about women working. They believe that women working is evil and a cause for sedition and corruption. Those women criticize women working for the simple reason that they do not want their husbands to interact with a saleswoman or a female cashier. This is all based on jealousy. However, their viewpoint is completely wrong and does not make any sense. I say to these women that there are good and bad people everywhere.
If we really want to empower women, we should create job opportunities for them in all sectors, not only in the health and education sectors. We have a large number of women working in these two sectors. This is the only way we will be able to reduce female unemployment. We already have a large number of men working in the public sector while women have been ignored. There is no way that the ministries of education and health can absorb the large number of female graduates.
