Muhammad Abalkhail Al-Jazirah newspaper THE social and economic status of Saudi women is being hotly debated these days. Some of the issues being discussed include women's rights as business owners, family members and as working members of society participating in the country's economy. Oddly enough, it is the men who are debating the issue of women's role as they are the ultimate decision-makers. For hundreds of years, women have been blamed for man's mistakes and desires. She was the one who enticed Adam to disobey God as mentioned in the religious texts. She was the one who caused the Great Fire of Rome enraging Emperor Nero. She is portrayed as a witch and dissolute being in most of the old civilizations. Yet, despite being tormented at the hands of women, she is his life's pleasure. He does not want to get rid of her but wants to control her such that she becomes his chained pleasure. Men and women have their own, unique biological traits that suit the gender role each one is playing. Men have always relied on their physical strength to dominate women and, as a reaction, women have developed an ability that is equivalent to what man possesses and that is her heightened mental capability. This is precisely why women perform better in situations where strategy is required. ?Throughout history, man has always gotten what he wanted while a woman's wishes were only fulfilled pending man's approval. In most civilizations, male dominance over women reached unbelievable levels. In India, a wife would commit sati by jumping into her husband's blazing funeral pyre to express her virtuousness and loyalty to him. In Japan, women were deprived of inheritance and were considered property of their husbands. In China, they used to purchase their wives. Once sold to her husband, a woman's relationship with her family was cut off forever. In the Middle East and societies of the three divine religions, women were in no better position than in other civilizations. Women were thought of as machines that produced offspring. The children belonged to the father and were considered his and only his offspring. However, it is in Islam alone that a woman has been given financial rights. Despite this, men continue to control women by exploiting and interpreting religious texts in their favor. Since men do not trust women, they attempt to imprison them at home and justify their behavior by saying it is to protect them from other men. This so-called concern that exists only in men is also known as tradition. Traditions like this limit women's movement and freedom. She cannot be seen by other men so she must either stay at home or wear a veil when in public. In this day and age, there is a global shift in thinking when it comes to relations between men and women. This progressive thinking supports giving women more rights and freedoms. Many societies embrace such changes wholeheartedly while others view them with skepticism as men worry they will lose their control over women and women will begin to rule over them. Therefore, those who oppose such changes resort to religious texts and interpretations that help them maintain the status quo. They silence the change movement by branding it as “Western” or against national interests. This resistance to change intensifies every time women are given back one of their usurped rights. This is what happened when the state decided to educate girls. The same thing also happened when the state decided to help them find jobs and allow women to participate in drawing up the political and socioeconomic policies of the country. In brief, a man who resists granting women their legitimate rights and justifies this as due to fear of women losing self-respect and their morals, has primitive beliefs. He has an impression that relations between the sexes are, by default, lustful in nature and that only complete segregation of the sexes will prevent sin. I tell this man, as of today, you will gain nothing from holding such views because the world is changing for the better and this country is a part of the world.
