For years now, the Saudi newspapers and websites have been filled with divergent and contradictory opinions in regard to women's issues and everything related to their rights and obligations to the point where they became the rope in a tug of war. Among the famous fatwas related to women and recently circulated by the Saudis, among others, is the one regarding the suckling of the adult by Sheikh Abdul Mohsen al-Obeikan, in which women were neither asked for their opinion nor engaged in the discussion over their right to refuse this practice. Prior to this, there was a fatwa preventing women from receiving primary education by Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Barrak, preceded by Dr. Muhammad al-Nujeimi's banning of gender mixing that was followed by his fatwa allowing gender mixing with older women as a "lesser sin" against the backdrop of his dispute with Kuwaiti activist Aisha al-Rashid. Before that, the courts' hallways witnessed the recognition, but not the codification, of the marriage of minors, despite the presence of a clear fatwa by Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen regarding the codification of the age that a female should have reached before getting married based on the actions of Omar, may Allah be pleased with him. It is certain that this action, these intellectual changes, the controversy and the divergence of ideas - although "displeasing" to some - are a healthy phenomenon in a "green" society, which until recently did not know the meaning of deep disputes, lacked the culture of dialogue and had never tried verbal and media disagreements on a wide scale in the absence of dynamic or non-dynamic civil society institutions. However, does the continuation of the controversies, the discrepancies and the walk on a tightrope sometimes serve a Kingdom, half the population of which is young, before reaching final decisions in regard to issues of dispute which some perceive as being a commodity and others as being essential? There is no doubt that any action carrying multiple ideas will enrich the Saudi march with new knowledge, despite the existence of frigid opinions lacking leniency and modern rhetoric. This calls for combining these transformations with systematic monitoring and the ratification of clear and binding laws in regard to all the issues affecting people's lives, such as the feminization of women's stores, the overcoming of the mixing dialectics and the accusations of "illegal mingling" as well as the overcoming of any ideas trying to take society back to an era similar to the one in which "girls infanticide" was committed. It is necessary to exit that stage and find solutions and decisions that would draw up the roadmap for a handling based on women's needs firstly and the non-exclusion of half the community secondly, far from the insistence on the peals, and the respect of those with "vague" principles or the promoters of prohibitions who do not wish to make life easier on the people or understand the requirements of this day and age. A short while ago, a few women - who were apparently driven by extremists to promote obsolete ideas - attempted to hinder social reform and halt any developmental projects aiming at creating jobs for women. Indeed, the latter attacked Deputy Minister of Education Noura al-Fayez and Deputy Minister of Labor Abdul Wahed al-Hamid, accusing the former of serving a secular plan aiming to undermine the purity of young women against the backdrop of the permission given to female teachers to educate primary school students, and the latter against the backdrop of statements in which he revealed that his ministry received threats and accusations to ban women from working in the markets. In Saudi Arabia, there is a "crisis" called women, considering that a certain faction cannot perceive their role and presence beyond the limits of the bed, the kitchen and the service of the children, despite the presence of prominent and outstanding Saudi women working as scientists, researchers, doctors and journalists, not only on the local level but also on the Arab and international levels. The talk about women is oscillating between and controlled by two intellectually-opposed sides, while the centrist side is "absent" or "excluded" from these discussions. This is perhaps due to the lack of a wish to engage in such intellectual disputes, as the majority in it accepts the ratified legislations and goes along with them without making any comments. Whenever a new issue related to women arises, one can smell the whiff of a crisis, especially when talk is renewed about women's driving, gender mixing and women's selling of underwear to women. In all the latter cases, the justification is that women should not be exposed to the fangs of human wolves or be alienated. For example, why such stringency in regard to women's driving of cars, despite the fact that it is not part of the fundamentals of religion? Why is such a decision not perceived positively as it would solve the problems of widows, divorced women, teachers and families with limited income, all of whom previously faced predicaments and blackmail at the hands of foreign drivers? It would be enough to ask the police about the extent of these problems and difficulties faced by many Saudi families. Why insist on unawareness toward the living conditions and needs of the people and rely on the "obstacle of pretexts," as though there was nothing in the Islamic jurisprudence allowing the removal of the pretexts? By reasonable and logically looking at the situation, would it not be better for women to go alone in their cars instead of being accompanied by a foreign driver? Some may believe that the headline of the article and the description of Saudi women as being a "crisis" is a mistake. However, it is the reality we will not recognize while upholding disputes and disagreements in which each side thinks it is surpassing the other. In the meantime, women are the victims, unless they are able to express themselves and demand their rights in full.
