Every time there are attempts to give women their full freedom, some members of the public object and begin talking about the negative consequences of treating women as competent individuals. They say that if women were permitted to drive cars, they would go astray and engage in illicit relations or get harassed by men. If women were permitted to travel without a guardian's consent, they would run away. All these fears are baseless. If they were true, why do Saudi women who study abroad not elope or permanently stay in the countries where they study? I have not heard of a Saudi woman who has done that. Today we have many Saudi women who lead successful careers as lawyers, journalists, etc. They have become successful despite the difficulties imposed by our social traditions. In 2012, Saudi women were appointed members of the Shoura Council and were allowed to stand for office and vote in municipal council elections in 2015 - both are great achievements. Despite the government's efforts to empower women socially and politically, some people continue to treat women in the same old traditional way. Strangely enough, some women, especially certain Dawah activists and even educated ones, act like men and send out messages through the media calling for not empowering women because the West is behind this conspiracy of empowering women. What is shocking to me is that some of those women have lived and studied in Western countries and have even sent their daughters abroad to study. A large number of Western women have written about the obstacles facing Saudi women which have prevented them from being empowered. They have written books and analyzed this issue thoroughly. The capabilities of Arab women to be effective partners and help men build a society have been doubted for dozens of years by Arabs and Orientalists. However, while Saudi women continue to prove that they are capable, despite the hurdles of social traditions, of achieving great things, they have not yet been successful in eliminating the social obstacles in their way. At the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), women worked hand in hand with men and they built society together. Women were treated as fully competent individuals. But when society started to treat women as minors and invented laws to imprison them instead of investing in their capabilities, the real role of women in society was disrupted. I hope women will be able to regain their status and be productive members of society.
