Saudi Women...Yes We Can! Inshallah...

Our trip to Saudi Arabia has been a good opportunity to challenge misperceptions about this country and its people: particularly the subject of women and women’s rights. Among our group this has been a reoccurring subject of discussion and debate. Having had the opportunity to speak with many women here, I think Saudi women have approached this subject from an interesting perspective.

Obviously there are major and significant challenges ahead for Saudi women but many of them seem hopeful for the future and have focused their priorities on some key issues they hope to see changes in.

While women’s inability to drive is always brought up by foreigners, Saudi students we talked to made it clear—this was not a priority for women in the country. Rather the key issue was focused largely on having even greater access to education, gaining more employment opportunities, and equal pay.

The desire to get an education and have more access to employment in ALL sectors is critical for women here. Women have actively sought to further their education and even go into sectors such as medicine and banking that are very male dominated. A trip to the King Abdul Aziz University Hospital gave a good illustration of that: six out of the ten medical students we met were women and they were all in their residency programs about to enter their specializations. They were very vocal about their views, particularly as it pertained to their role in the country and were determined to forge a path for themselves within Saudi society.

I felt that this determination and ambition was echoed by all the women students at each university we went to. I think many of the women we spoke to recognize that change will not happen over night or all at once. Their focus on education and employment is their way of bringing about change little by little.

Throughout this trip, we may not have gained a holistic view of all Saudi women and the challenges they face, however this perspective was one that students we met with clearly wanted us to share with our peers.