Dr. Fowziya Al-Bakr
Al-Jazirah
IN a royal decree a little more than a month ago, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has stated that women are not required to obtain the consent of a male guardian to receive various services unless there is a legitimate Shariah reason.
The importance of this historic decree manifests itself in its precise provisions, which address most of the problems faced by women in this age of national transformation.
As gender roles are socially determined, we can understand why an ordinary citizen cannot imagine women in roles other than what is prescribed by the politicians and religious scholars. At the same time those new roles are socially and culturally convincing. This means the dominant social system is the one that determines roles for both genders.
At a time when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May took to the world stage, Saudi women still have to get the permission of their husbands or male guardians to travel abroad or even to leave their schools or workplaces an hour early or to obtain official identification documents such as a passport.
Gender equality as defined in the UNESCO report of 2000 does not mean men and women are equal in all matters. It means the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of individuals shall not be determined by gender alone. It also means the establishment of justice in dealing with the needs and requirements of both men and women.
This definition stresses the need for policies to combat discrimination against women wherever they are. The royal decree asserts the need to review procedures followed by various departments when dealing with women’s matters and to restrict the condition of obtaining a male guardian’s permission to complete procedures.
If such permission is indeed required for any government service, the legal basis for that requirement must be presented to the authorities within three months of the issuance of this royal decree.
The decree calls for a comprehensive civic movement to educate the public on women’s rights, whether approved by the Shariah or the government. The decree instructs all government departments that extend services to women to publicize their conditions, requirements and guidelines on their official websites.
The royal decree went beyond that and emphasized the need to educate the public on all international charters and agreements signed by Saudi Arabia to protect women’s rights and prevent discrimination against women by holding special awareness campaigns with the support of the media and educational institutions.
Saudi women are on the threshold of a new era where they will enjoy equal rights and duties like men and will be treated as normal human beings.
Women of my country must remember April 18, 2017, (Rajab 21, 1438 AH), the day when King Salman by a royal decree put an end to all forms of discrimination against them in any governmental or private institutions or forums by instructing them to review existing procedures in matters related to their affairs, to inform the supreme authorities about any form of discrimination they encounter in any of the institutions within 90 days from that date.
Is there anything more joyful for Saudi women than this historic decision? Before enacting the new law, the supreme authorities have instructed all government departments to prepare the ground for its implementation by publishing instructions on their websites and raising public awareness on women’s rights. This is a big victory for women of this great country. We were waiting for this day for quite long.
The impact of this royal decision will not be limited to the Kingdom’s boundaries as the King urged the authorities in public and private sectors to raise awareness on international charters and agreements that do not violate the Shariah. This is a big joy for the women of this country thanks to King Salman and his young team of deputies. May Allah protect our beloved nation and strengthen its leadership.
