Make no mistake: this is an issue of Islam, not a Saudi issue. The type of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia is Wahhabi Islam. That is not an extreme form of Islam - on the contrary, it is a pure form of Islam, and its practitioners are following the tenets of Islam in a devout manner, like the Hasidic Jews following Jewish law.
We have to come to terms with Islam. It cannot be ignored as it was for many centuries because Muslims, by and large, stayed within the Islamic world. But now millions of Muslims want to live in the non-Muslim world, and they are moving in ever-greater numbers, so we can no longer ignore the religion as something of a foreign curiosity. It is high time for non-Muslims to become as educated as possible about Islam. That way we can recognize the potential consequences.
2
Congratulations, Saudi Arabia, you finally managed to make it to the 19th century.
Here's to hoping you make it to the 21st century before it turns into the 22d century.
2
The brilliance, courage and determination of Saudi women is inspiring.
12
I agree with new law and i just think that no one is allow to tell another person that their lives depend on them just because of their gender
9
I enjoyed reading their responses to the changes in Saudi Arabia, even though some of them are saddening. Moreover, witnessing those constant changes for Saudi women is great and heart-warming.
12
I have followed the news and developments regarding Saudi Arabian women in recent years, and am struck by their courage and astute intelligence.
The world can and will benefit from their growing involvement and visibility in Saudi Arabia and the greater culture. Please continue reporting and give them as great a voice as possible in the Times.
16
BIG deal! Now woman in Saudi Arabia can do what other women have been doing forever in other parts of the world. The real freedom will come when a single man is stopped ruling by decree and the total rejection of a religion/cult that give him that power with the help of brutal force. There is nothing to be impressed about except that the monarchy was about to fall flat on its face if it did not change. It's a good start.
8
@JG Yes, other women have had these rights - but not Saudi Arabian women, so yes, it is a BIG deal for them. Change has to come step by step, particularly in a country that is not a democracy. Not that the US democracy protects us all that well either at times.
11
These women are being overly optimistic that their lives will change overnight. Men are not going to give up their control so easily. They will retain control with the family budget. Yes, the women have a right to travel but they won't get the money from their guardians to do so.
9
@S.L. Everyone in Saudi receives a basic income from the state. If they allow women to keep that income and give them the right to work it will provide a measure of independence.
8
@S.L. Many women in Saudi Arabia work even now. They can earn their own money.
4
It’s a start, a baby step in the right direction. But as with other nations that give a passing acceptance of modern realities, what will the government do with families, communities that punish women trying to exercise these new freedoms? Custom, a legal system that provides no real protection from old ideas, will make this an uphill battle.
Dare I make a shocking, extreme suggestion for a next step; outlaw those degrading, mind destroying, black head-to-toe coverings seen in the accompanying photo. Women seeing the world through a narrow slit. So that men will not be....enticed...? Do you not understand that most of the rest of the world, is laughing at this extreme version of any religious writing from the chasm of centuries. But the women. They are not laughing.
29
oh forgodssakes, it's about time. Any country or entity that treats women as in any way inferior is itself an inferior country or entity.
23
While any improvement is welcome, this is just eye candy that does nothing to really free women or compensate for their dictator's myriad violations of human rights nor its violation of the UN Charter in Yemen, nor its war crimes in Yemen (bombing schools and hospitals)
16
It's pretty shocking to think that in this country women didn't get the right to vote till 1920. And hopefully a woman will get elected in 2020 - showing how things change.
Looks like Saudi Arabia will be undergoing similar changes, they have been held back for so long - but who can do that when they are watching all the American shows on their smartphones?
10
Thank you NYT for this informative and insightful article. It gives hope that even the most backward and ultra-conservative societies are capable of adapting to the times and initiating progressive reforms which benefit oppressed portions of their population. In a world where up is now down, truth is "fake news", religious and other anti-democratic extremists are gaining ground at alarming rates and human rights are being rolled back or simply ignored by the very government agencies responsible for enforcing them.... the knowledge that this trend is being reversed by the most unlikely of countries, is truly important to bring to the attention of those who are on the verge of losing hope. In the immortal words of Hue: Resistance is NOT futile!!
10
Saudis can follow Ataturk who in 1923 pioneered sweeping social and cultural reforms. Muslim women in the Ottoman Empire had to wear a veil. Things changed dramatically in the progressive Turkish Republic to such a degree that Ataturk's adopted daughter Sahiba Gokcen became the very first female fighter pilot in the world. There is an airport named after her in Istanbul.
Turkey arguably accomplished the greatest women's liberation at a nation-state level. I am Turkish and my grandmother would literally weep because she witnessed it firsthand when women who were to be wed at the age of 15 (or earlier) instead became doctors and lawyers and had a life for themselves.
Things changed after the rise of the Soviets. Starting from 1940's the U.S. pumped Islam into the Middle East as the antidote of communism. Turkish government and our right-wing-oriented army also enjoyed this anti-leftist formula. Educational standards started to be loosened as early as 1940s and Islamists were placed at critical government positions and this trend continues to this very day.
Afghanistan and Iran were once all secular and following Ataturk's legacy. Sadly, not anymore...
But do Westerners want to export modernity which flourishes at center-left environments? Would you want 300 million highly educated Middle Eastern people to compete with you economically or discuss if bathing naked is a sin because angels could see us?
100 years later Ataturk is still so right that even the Saudis need him.
32
Sounds like even a welcome change can be stressful for some. Freedom, normal freedom, the right to come and go as one wishes, to travel,to study--these are big changes that for some will take getting used to. I hope to see women effecting more changes in Saudi Arabia.
http://www.thecriticalmom.blogspot.com
9
Reading some of these stories are heartbreaking and I am glad that they are finally getting an opportunity to break free and possibly realize their dreams.
Unfortunately, if you try to come to the U.S. for college or for any other reason for that matter, as long as Trump is in power, you may be deported before you even leave the airport for no apparent reason other than the fact that you are a "brown" person coming from a Middle Eastern country.
17
The old system of male guardianship had denied humanity to more than half the humanity in Saudi Arabia. I am so glad that now mothers, life partners, sisters and daughters are free of a life of dependence on their male blood relatives. It is a Great Leap Forward not just for Saudi women but Saudi men as well.
20
This is obvously long over-due.
The manner in which women have been treated in Saudi Arabia - as property - is reprehensible.
When I was in college, I had a friend from Saudi Arabia. He had a female friend (maybe a wife - I don't recall their exact relationship, maybe I never knew), whom I met once.
I stil recall her hostility towards the American government, and her belief that the Saudi government did no wrong (my friend was not as adamant).
I always wondered how a woman who had SEEN freedom for women, could possibly support what is, essentially, slavery for women.
13
@Ed Women are half of the human population -- not a minority group and not an interest group. They do not all want one thing. With freedom, comes responsibility. Some women want to be taken care of more than they want freedom -- look at all of the women around Trump, all the women who voted for Trump. They want a strong man who protects them, they want someone else to make the hard choices, to work hard to support them. Then, they have the freedom to do what they want as long as the man who protects them stays happy. Certainly, I would never make that bargain. But many women would, and do. It's not a question of women's interests against men's interests. It's a question of values and ideology -- values of freedom and equality held by both women and men vs. values of tradition and protection held by both women and men. The values of equality and freedom will not win just because they are "modern". Fascism was modern, the Soviet State was modern, Iran is modern and Saudi is modern. It's not a question of modernity -- it's a question of values. If we don't continue to fight for our own values here, modernity will not save us.
5
I dearly hope, for the women of Saudi Arabia, that the changes are real and lasting. Society suffers if women are not able to give a full contribution. We should all honor and protect each other without laws that restrict the ability of adults to move about, study, work, and care for children.
19
Although I am happy for the Saudi women and this small acknowledgement of rights for them. However, Saudi Arabia still has one foot in the 10th century and another planted in the 19th.
18