conservative families in Saudi Arabia have led to women losing their rights in society and their roles in its development, experts said during the second session of Khadija Bint Khowailed Forum 2010, “The Reality of Women Participation in the National Development.” Changing the concept of women's roles in Saudi society will come with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education and many other sectors including religious associations, the media and the ministries of Labor, Higher Education, experts said at the event. Those efforts will increase awareness of the women's rights in the society and in women themselves. Organizations should emphasize men and women sharing the role of national development because they are equally important parts of the community; the community will fail if this is ignored, said Ibrahim Al Belaihi, a member of Shoura Council. “The community that bases its development on men only is like bird that flies with one wing or a person that walks with one leg,” he said. Dr. Aziza Al Manea, a Sociology professor at King Saud University, called for cooperative committees to improve women's situations in Saudi Arabia through studies and discussions to find solutions. “Education is a powerful element in affecting people's ideas,” Dr. Al-Manea said. “Education must overcome its recent flaws to achieve the requirements of development in society, define the needs in the labor field by providing more majors in universities for female students and opening training institutions for those who don't want to go on in their academic studies.” It is critical that those in the education field ensure that there is a moderate approach, Dr. Al-Manea said. “To find satisfying results, educators and education officials must protect the students from extreme opinions towards women, purify the curricula from negative images and stress the importance of women in the development of the society with significant examples of successful women in history and in recent times, she said. According to Al-Belaihi, education in the Kingdom has been a driving force in adversely affecting women's situations and their inclination to fight for their rights. “The education of girls started 50 years ago and a lot of money has been spent on it, but it became a closed circle rather than something that creates productive achievement,” he said. Education led women to believe that their only career choices were in education and teaching, which resulted in their being disregarded and ignored in the broader society, he added. Dr. Tariq Al-Habib, a consultant psychiatrist at King Saud University, said psychological factors are the main reason Saudi women have not calling for their rights in the Kingdom. Families, which play significant roles for women, should empower and push them to be effective in the society, said Dr. Al-Habib, who added that whenever people are raised in healthy circumstances, they will believe that women can lead and work effectively. Family interaction is the best way to provide new generations with belief in the importance of women's roles in our society, he said. “The interacting family always encourages their members to be involved in the decisions and the most wise person, male or female, can control the family,” said Dr. Al-Habib. “The dominating family depends on one male setting rules and demands, even if they have no abilities.” Dominating families produce individuals who follow traditions and believe stereotypes rather than accepting change or the opinions of others, he added. Even geography can be a psychological factor in a lack of mutual understanding, Dr. Al-Habib said. Some people fear change because they are accustomed to living in desert or mountainous areas and they usually do not accept the other, he said.
