As a Saudi woman

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As a Saudi woman myself, I’d say, yes, I’m very happy!

It is true that women in Saudi Arabia had limited rights in the past. However, this has completely changed as Saudi Arabia gave women their full legal rights as part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.

In fact, women are now leading the way in education, science, interprenuareship and innovation in Saudi Arabia. This is because 57% of university graduates are women and the country has adopted nationwide policies that empower and enable women in all sectors.

Here are some of prominent Saudi women:

I would like to start by stating that I do not speak for the entire population of women residing in Saudi Arabia – that’s estimated to be about 1.5 million people, 30% of which are immigrants.

I can however speak on my behalf, and how it’s been for me. Just so you know, I’ve lived in Saudi Arabia for since I was around 2 months old, however I wasn’t born here, I was raised here. My parents are doctors (they are both Pakistani), and I’ve never gone to a Government-run Saudi School (I wouldn’t be allowed to even if I wanted to – they are only for Saudis).

Socialization and Activities – Let’s debunk this common phrase -“Mixing between genders is not allowed in Saudi Arabia”.

Basic human necessary interaction is pretty everyday and normal. How else would we get things done? I don’t always have my dad, or brother with me to to tell a taxi driver where I want to go (I wish I could drive), or answer the door and pay the pizza delivery guy, or yell at the idiot who keeps writing ‘WASH ME’ on our dirty, unused car (because I can’t drive), or ask for directions to Zara in a mall.

That said, outside of compounds and my school, it’s quite difficult to meet and make friends with boys my age or men in general. You can’t exactly have long conversations with guys (unless you’re super careful and make sure the religious patrollers or security guards aren’t there because then you’ll get in trouble). Guys aren’t even allowed to enter some malls (if they’re not with their families, and it’s just a bunch of guys).

Also, most gyms are only for men. Except for gyms in compounds which usually have female and male timings. Compounds also usually have sports clubs (football, basketball, badminton, tennis) for boys and men only and rarely for girls, and almost NEVER for women. That said, they do offer a lot of Yoga and Zumba classes only for women.

Retail – It’s insane how much women and little girls are sexualized in Saudi Arabia, just not in the traditional way. Women cover up SO MUCH here, basically everyone wears niqab (guys cover up a lot too, don’t get me wrong). The basis behind it is that men will take you seriously and treat you like a human if they don’t see you as a sexual object.

I find it abhorrent and sexist that this country doesn’t have even the slightest bit of courage and trust have in men to believe that they can control their actions enough to have a serious conversation with a woman who doesn’t look like a black sack with two eyes.

There are NO female changing rooms, not even for little girls. You can imagine how many times I’ve had to return clothes that are the wrong size.

On another note, the customer service here is the worst in any country I’ve ever visited. Also, men aren’t allowed to be salesclerks for makeup (don’t ask me why, because I don’t know), lingerie or work in women’s salons. Guys aren’t even allowed to ENTER salons (because women don’t wear abayas or hijabs in there – imagine trying to get a haircut with your headscarf on!). Women who work in retail (where men can come into the shop) have to wear niqab, that is a religious covering that only shows your eyes and most of the time you’re hands.

Education – More women receive secondary- and tertiary-education than men (“Global Gender Gap Index 2015”. World Economic Forum. 2015.). I have received all of my kindergarten, primary and secondary schooling (which I am still in) from international private schools in Saudi Arabia which are based on the Cambridge Curriculum.

I currently go to a segregated school (we have a boy’s section and a girl’s section and no males whatsoever, including teachers, are allowed in the girl’s section, while female teachers are allowed to teach the guys). In our school, the girls on average get better grades in school term exams, while the boys generally do higher in board exams (IGCSE and A-level). Also only 2 out of the 11 students who achieved the ‘Top in the World’ Cambridge learner awards in last year’s October/November session were female (11 KSA students among world toppers in Cambridge exams).

This comes down to male teachers often being more likely to have been trained and specialized in the teaching of the Cambridge curricula of their specific subjects, while our teachers are usually not; and plain old biology (the smartest people are men, and men tend to be more interested in things versus people).

All of my teachers are non-Saudi, and have received all their education from outside the KSA, and have come here because their husbands found employment here. My math teacher has a degree in Civil Engineering, my Physics teacher has a degree in Quantum Physics, my Chemistry teacher was a Pharmacist, and I have had Biology teachers who are Pharmacists and Biological/Medical lab technicians. These women can’t gain jobs in their respective fields in Saudi Arabia, and so resort to teaching high schoolers.

Though it is incredibly empowering to go to school everyday, and be taught by highly educated women, I cant help but wonder how they can be happy to have studied so hard for so long, only to be unable to do the jobs they strived for, while their husbands (who are often trained in the same field) do so.

Don’t get me wrong, the quality of education here is pretty great (at least in my school) and most other international schools.

Once my good friend, Laura (not her real name) and I were bored and not paying any serious attention in math class. Laura gave herself fake bangs by pulling the ends of her half bun over her forehead, and I loudly exclaimed that she looked like Ariana Grande.

My teacher was explaining Lenz’s Theroem. I stopped her and asked jokingly to waste as much time as possible, “Ms, we’ve learnt about Newton’s laws, Hooke’s law, Rutherford’s model, the Geiger-Muller tube, Thomson’s ratio, Le Chatelier’s Principle, the Haber Process, Hess’s law, the Bronsted- Lowry theory, Boltzmann distribution, the Sankey Diagram, James Watt’s unit, Young’s modulus and double-slit experiment, Coulomb’s force, Van der Wall’s force, Van der Graff’s generator, the idiots who thought up conventional current, Volta’s voltage, Kirchoff’s laws, Ohm’s law, the Doppler effect, Melde’s experiment, Becquerel’s unit, Avogadro’s constant, Michaelis-Menten constant, and the only woman we’ve come across in our textbooks is Rosalind Franklin who died before she could receive a Nobel Prize, so three dudes got it instead. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN ABOUT THE WOMEN?”. All the other girls banged their desks with their hands in appreciation (this is how we applaud in class, don’t ask me why). My Math teacher calmly replied, “If you all paid a little more attention, then maybe you would’ve made a few helpful contributions to the math and science communities other than Laura’s Ariana Grande.”

Needless to say, she was right. The attitude towards learning, at least in my school, is VERY relaxed compared to other schools. This is totally different compared to the amount of stress my classmates in the boy’s section face. Girls are WAY less driven than guys here. In my entire class of over 30 girls, only 3 have mothers who work as not just a housewife – there’s a middle school teacher, a salon-owner, and my mom’s a doctor. But, everyone’s dad works (mostly as business managers, entrepreneurs, engineers or doctors).

Laura once even exclaimed disapprovingly to me, ‘You’re going to work after school?!’. That was in middle school, recently she told me her worries of not being able to get into a good university because she never took school seriously, and so has low grades and zero board qualifications. The reason she was worried about not getting into a good university? It would lower her chances of getting a great husband….Can you believe it?

We also don’t have ANY school teams or clubs …AT ALL (except for the super expensive schools)! We and most other schools are VERY education-based. I will say, though, the Girl’s Section hosts and attends a lot more debates, speech competitions and MUNs. Also, the girl’s section has never gone to an MUN without winning at least three awards (including at least one ‘Best Delegate’ award per MUN), while the guy’s have yet to produce even one.

Driving – Women are not allowed to drive here. Period. It is tolerated in rural areas and deserts but STRICTLY FORBIDDEN in cities and towns. If a women is caught driving, then her mehram (husband/ dad / brother/ uncle) has to sign saying she won’t ever drive again. What happens after that is that you and your mehram get called awful names as a result of public scrutiny, that I dare not repeat out of fear of God and my mama. WE AREN’T EVEN ALLOWED TO RIDE BIKES UNLESS THERE’S A DUDE WITH US AND IT’S AT A PARK! I’ve even seen a girl get yelled at for ROLLERBLADING. But we can go on bumper cars…

Freedom of Expression – I’m not going to say anything, just look at the Freedom of press and communication section of Human rights in Saudi Arabia – Wikipedia

I once raised this problem in a video chat with another school in front of my English teacher. The very next day, I got called out of class to the basketball court (that we’re not allowed to use) and my English teacher was there with my Saudi classmate. Basically, the girl was upset and yelled at me for displaying the freedom of speech crisis here.

When I pointed out the the various examples of people who had gotten in trouble with the Saudi Government for either their ‘controversial’ work or public outcry, she responded with, ‘Only if something offends the Saudi Government, is it not allowed’.

I replied with, ‘That is exactly what denying the freedom of expression is (dumbass), and even sexually suggestive or anti-Islamic posts have been the basis of criminalization’ .

She responded with, ‘You aren’t allowed to say that we don’t have freedom of speech because it’ll give Saudi Arabia a bad image!’. Oh – the irony. Then she demanded an apology because she was offended. Legit, that was the basis of her demand. Needless to say that wuss will never receive an apology. I’ve been slandered for being Pakistani in this country for as long as I can remember, and I take that criticsm, BECAUSE IT’S TRUE. Sure Pakistan’s got a few great things going for it, I love going there. However, I’m able to love something and see the faults in it – I’m not five!

In regards to clothing, all girls at around the age of 11, start wearing an abaya, anywhere at all in Saudi. That’s probably the farthest you can push it. In most places, it starts at a MUCH younger age. What you can and can’t wear really depends on where you are. If you’re at home/ in a compound/ somewhere guys aren’t allowed inside (eg. salon), you can wear whatever really. If you’re in public, then it depends on where in KSA you live. If you live in Riyadh (the capital) then men will legit stare at you like you’re an alien if you don’t have a hijab (headscarf) on (I know this from personal experience). If you live in the Eastern Province or Jeddah, then you can even get away with an open abaya (so your clothes show). If you’re in Medina or Makkah (religious cities), I bet men would faint if they saw just a strand of hair or some ankles.

Freedom of Information – A lot of sites are blocked, so far the only sites I’ve come across that are blocked are sites that might give you a virus ormusic videos that have naked people in them (eg. Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke).