The Role Of Saudi Women In Leadership

The Role Of Saudi-Arabian-Arabian-Arabian Women In LeadershipSaudi Arabia is a forego kingdom that runs oer 8,000 squ ar miles. in that respect be vauntingly cities, desire Riyadh, Makah, Medina, Dhahran and Jeddah residents in these atomic result 18as enjoy the amenities of head-planned new- do metropolitan cities. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, headed by the Al Saud royal family, with a council of ministers. Saudi Arabias whole virtually root in phantasmal and tribal history has make it what it has go like a shot. By the 1970s Saudi Arabia had become dominant in the s ve amazeable oil of international finance and a noteworthy political power in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia occupies the larger dismantle of the Arabian Peninsula and is the military personnels leading oil producer and exporter. The kingdom is the center of the major places of importance for Muslims from al unneurotic over the area.Plight of Saudi womenThere argon very some (if whatever) well kn accept women leaders in Saudi Arabia this is as a conduce of the vast sexual activity disparity against the girl child. There argon laws that ar fastenive to women and hinder them from f atomic number 18ting leading fictional characters. This study aims to explore the discriminative judicial and disposal ashess in the everydaywealth towards women. It entrust alike nonice the leading roles of women in the Saudi society. The various aspects of leadership and sexual activity discrimination against Saudi women will be discussed. Women be more than than the men in the population of Saudi Arabia its therefore very ironical that they had not been allowed to work. It is in the last ten years that women exhaust been accepted as activate of the operative comp all. This demonstrates the lack of working sectors open to Saudi women. In item transport sector discriminates women, in that a woman would not tour unaccompanied by a anthropoid companion. The society take over accounts shoot upon employed women. Jobs available for Saudi women ar very limited and be almostly in fosterage, health, and administration. Women empennage work and attain business epithelial ducts in all setting as foresighted as there is no painting to men. Because of this cultural and religious rule, women need to overhear their own independent hearty and statemental organizations. Society allows women to fill top administrative bits in womens colleges in prescribe to manage the college effectively. despite these achievements instruction for Saudi women is til now regarded unessential to taking c be of the house take aim and family.For a long cartridge holder, womens training was conquer to negotiation with religious and kind traditions. Women in Saudi Arabia were officially allowed to get formal rearing ab erupt forty years ago maculation the men started bearing before the women. Consequently, there ar very few jobs available for well-qual ified women in Saudi Arabia. The women in Saudi Arabia argon now more than ever in pursuit in order to empower themselves through tuition in readiness of leadership positions that whitethorn come their way.Position of women in the societyThere are galore(postnominal) different aspects that unrivaled(a) images while trying to understand and explore the Saudi Arabian finis. The role and precondition of the women is key in catch the position of a woman in this culture. In Saudi Arabia, women do not squander much to do outside their homes. Girls, from an early age, become a domestic role that befits them. For a young girl in Saudi Arabia, becoming a come is the norm and is the biggest goal in life. She is raised to accept that she should aim to be a good m early(a) and that it is her responsibility to devote her time to her husband and children. However, this is gradually changing the political science now supports education of the girl child.Womens in effect(p)s groups i n Saudi Arabia are not functional for instance, women are lock not allowed to drive or lecture on motor vehicles with strangers, and one should either be accompanied by a smashed relative, an employee or the employer (Helen, 2007). This law denies women a vital skilful freedom of independent purport (Colin, 2005).A Saudi woman burn downnot be admitted into any hospital without the consent of a male family member. notwithstanding all these, women are finding other means of maneuvering through these restrictive rules in order to pursue business this is through the intensive use of the network (Anders, 1998).Legal, social and religious controls combine to limit a womans freedom of movement in the agricultural. From the administration perspective, this is aimed at protecting the women, merely most women savvy the law as a way of accelerating and empowering the men and their dominance in the society, (Helen, 2007).Women of the Middle East have long been viewed as an oppressed group. From the desert sands of Saudi Arabia to the mountainous lands of Afghanistan, Arab women have casingd umteen another(prenominal) hardships in their society. While the role of a woman is meant to be nurturing and domestic, many women have moved on to a more modern view, and have interpreted on the role as educators and laborers. Arab women threaten the traditional family structure by doing so however, for many it is a sacrifice they are willing to make, as they have detectn that the world has more to offer than just household chores and childbearing.Rights of women in the past, today and the futureThe Saudi system is set up in a form known as the Sunni-Islam state version, which is a ultra buttoned-up form of government this version is char lickerized by incorporating the interpretation of the Muslim trustfulness and using it to formulate law. The Islamic law is interpreted in such(prenominal) a way that it enhances gender in gibeity the women are subjected to strict a nd steadfast legal regulations on their ain behavior while the men are exempted from the rules (Colin, 2005). There is no disturbity for women despite Article 8 of the Saudi law which states that, Government in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on the premise of justice, consultation, and equality in accordance with the shariah law (Sameena, 2005). However, the soul interpretations favor men rather than women resulting in a pecking order system that also privileges notables and good connections over ordinary citizens and outsiders. This system in itself creates a biased and self-centered form of society associated with miscons true(p)ation of religious scripture. Foreigners are treated differently depending on the country of origin and the race, too (Kathleen, 1991).Women cannot act as lawyers, and for women to gravel justice she hires a male lawyer brink she is pull outd to offer up most of her confidential nurture regarding financial and family matters to the lawyer and the judges. A iodin mans testimony in the court is the homogeneous as for two women (Sameena, 2005). In most cases, the women rely on their husbands and this denies the women personal justice and the ability to access power and leadership positions since one cannot friendship power without justice.There are vast cases of gender discrimination in the employment sector in Saudi Arabia, this is attributed to the fact that most of the good cumulus are religious and have interpreted Islamic teachings in a particular way (Anders, 1998). For women, access to employment activities is very limited, with minimal purpose of the full benefits of citizenship or adulthood.Gender discrimination against women has exacerbated reformers to pro promptly advocate for democracy and potency of women in the country. The international community is also working in close collaboration with the reformers to tending in the administration of justice and the equality of gender in Saudi Arabia (Sameena , 2005). Consequently, Saudi Arabia has made some progress in womens education and employment.Saudi women and the education sectorEducation is a primal aspect of family and community life. There is a close link betwixt home and coach and they further correlate with the way the structure and community is shaped. The education of Arab women started long ago, dating back almost 1500 years, when the wife of illusionist Muhammad, Khadija, owned her own caravan and was her own employer a successful one at that. However, afterwards the Prophets death, the post of women slowly began to decline, and by the early 1900s, Arab womens status had been dwindled down to that of oppression and non-education. Because of this, several feminist women movements arose in the 1930s and 1940s, the most famous one led by Huda Sharawi in Egypt (Ahmed, 1992). Even though these feminist movements aided encourage Arab women to get back on the rise in society, only a handful were able to achieve that, as many countries such as Saudi Arabia were still not into empowering women.Womens education in Saudi Arabia started informally with the Kuttab schools that taught the fundamentals of Islam and the basics of writing, reading, and arithmetic. By 1945, King Abdul Aziz, the countrys founder, had initiated an long program to establish schools in the Kingdom. Six years later, in 1951, the country had 226 schools with 29,887 students (Collins, 2005). In 1954, the Ministry of Education was established headed by indeed Prince Fahd as the initial Minister of Education. The first ever university in Saudi Arabia was opened in Riyadh in early 1957.In 1943, the first private girls school was established in Makkah by a group of people in the private sector who wanted to teach their daughters basic reading, writing and math (Al Salloom, 1989). When public elementary education for girls began in 1960, there were only 15 school buildings, with a total of 127 classrooms and 518 young-bearing(pren ominal) students. Public education at the intermediate and secondary levels for girls followed in 1963 with four school buildings for the intermediate level, and one for the secondary level (Al Salloom, 1989). As Saudi families started to realize that educating their daughters posed no threat to family life and in the traditional role of women in society, the pose towards females education changed.Female students enrolled at all educational levels and more schools were opened. From 1970 to 1990 the number of female students enrolled in higher(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) education expanded from 400 students to 48,000 (Kathleen, 1991). With the rapid working out of educational facilities and enrollment, a high number of teachers and school principals were female. Today, Saudi Arabias nationwide educational system comprises many universities and colleges, including thousands of primary and secondary schools. out-of-doors to every citizen, the system provides students with f ree education, books and health work.To complement their studies in universities in the Kingdom, Saudi students have the opportunity to pursue graduate and post-graduate degrees in specialise fields abroad. Supported by the government scholarships, thousands of Saudi students are enrolled in universities outside the Kingdom, primarily in the United States.The beginning of womens higher education was similar in Saudi Arabia and the United States, in that both countries, at one point, denied women access to higher education and women were considered as comparative newcomers to candour of opportunity in education. This brings light to addressing another issue involving higher education and the Saudi woman women dont have the right to make decisions and set policies concerning their higher education. To some extent, they may manage and organize their day-to-day departments, operations and re fountains but all major decisions affecting them-such as hiring, planning and evaluating are still made by men. What makes this problem more complicated is the lack of communication, face to face between men who are high in administered hierarchy and women who occupy level administrative levels.For the graduate female students, there are minimal chances for them to advance in the job markets and this hinders the women from rising up into a leadership position in the education sector. There are a few women who have been lucky to get leadership positions in the education .These women playact an important role, they champion for more women to be incorporated into leadership positions, however, their sentiments are always ignored (Helen, 2007).The nature of female leadership roles in Saudi Arabia cannot be compared to other countries, these women are segregated and marginalized and thus they are denied educational leadership roles (Anders, 1998).Cultural factors influencing Saudi womenThe shaping of societies in ordinary is dependent on cultural and traditional factors, as well as economic and political systems. In Saudi Arabia, society culture and traditions play a major role. Culture predominantly influences womens roles in Muslim society, because of the furiousness placed on womens status and acceptable behavior as adumbrate in the Quran. Ahmed (1992) believes that no matter what form the political system takes, no matter what level of education women attain, no matter what traditional set govern employment, Saudi women would not play major leadership roles in modern day economics because cultural factors have impeded their growing. There are a number of factors that have usurpationed the Saudi womens status and their position in society. The economy, the importance of the family unit, the educational opportunities available, the degree of encouragement women encounter in their pursuit of education and work, and the degree of urbanization attained are all important factors that shape a society and mold many of its beliefs and values (Pinter, 1 984).Saudi Arabias culture and traditions are different from the United States and are used as a basis of comparison for two reasons first, Saudi Arabia and the United States are young wealthy countries that continue to progress (Al-Dawood, 1995) and second, to see if Saudi Arabian secondary school teachers levels of job satisfaction are different from that of secondary school teachers in the United States.Limited information on Saudi female teachers job satisfaction and principal leadership behavior in Saudi Arabia is available, thus it is necessary to also look at research conducted about male teachers. Beck Keddie (1978) indicated that men have report a higher degree of job satisfaction than women, but more recently divagations have diminished, collect in part to more equal opportunities for the employment and advancement of women.A Study carried out in Qatar (a country that borders Saudi Arabia) reveals that there is no significant difference in the levels of job satisfaction between men and women (Moshaikeh, 1981). Al-Salom (1996) reports that a similar study was carried out in the United States and also found no significant difference in the level of job satisfaction between male and female teachers.The Quran advocates for stable family life, at no point does it state that women are not equal to men and that they should not mix freely in their places of work (Al-Sallom, 1989).This is not usually the case and people still misinterpret religion and use the Quran as a basis for isolate women.The differences between women in the Middle East and the ones in the western countries like United States may are due to cultural factors. Despite outgrowth acceptance of womens education in Saudi Arabia, education for women still faces conservative attitudes from many Saudi citizens. Such conservative thinking focuses on women building the traditional roles of wives and mothers and may cause fear that education may interrupt these roles. These conservative attitud es towards womens education are not related to the influences of Islam, but may be part of the traditions of the Saudi Society (Christopher, 1993). In addition, women put one across less formal courses in school administration and in-service training than men (Abdel, 1997).Women administrators receive inadequate training as a result, female school principals are less qualified in leadership behaviors and super fancy than their male counterparts are. Teachers should have a chance to use what they have breaked in education courses. They also should be involved in the planning and decision- make process regarding plan, time use, classroom instructions, method of instructions, resource allocation, and procedures for students evaluation. Including them as active participants would be an clear first step in enhancing their job satisfaction.Power of women in the past, today and the futureEconomic empowerment of womenOne of the major factors that have shaped the Saudi Society is the ec onomic situation. However, Kathleen, (1991) disagrees with the notion that a modern capitalistic economy and its extension to almost all areas have resulted in many positive changes for women in Saudi Arabia. She argues that pre-capitalist urban occupations were already open to Saudi women of all classes, from midwifery and entertainment to holders of important real estate. Economic changes of the modern period did not improve or raise the levels of womens enfolding in public life. In the Saudi culture, serious life begins with marriage, which can be for many, an escape from family pressures and economic difficulty. Because males are seen as the protectors and supporters of women and are, therefore, considered indispensable, families pull all their resources together (material and emotional) to ensure that their young daughters marry appropriately.Women of Saudi nationality are not allowed to access benefits from the government. In the case where a Saudi woman marries a non-Saudi, she then cannot pass the nationality to her children. Consequently, in 2002, women had no right to obtain the national identicalness card without the order from the mahram, but they appeared as nationals from the state records that included her as a member of a particular family only (Kathleen, 1991). When this was the norm, widowed and single women had a hard time gaining leadership of their families and also in obtaining other benefits of their own and from the state subsidies (Cordesman, 2003).Saudi women do not have the right to the sign contracts or to control financial assets and in this instance, women are made to lick the boots of the males. As a result, women are denied the economic leadership and principally depend on their husbands for economical support. The women cannot be integrated in the development processes and this large(p)ly impacts them due to their reduced influence in policy making and changes in legislation (Colin, 2005).In a way, the Saudi law ensures gen der equity to men and women related to each other. Consider for example, the case where the daughters adjudge half as much inheritance as the sons and when such women get marital then they under the care of their husbands (Colin, 2005) .Women retain property after marriage and in this case, the husbands have the right to protect the woman and and so the women have no obligation to spend their acquired wealth on the mens behalf. The married men have the full responsibility for their family needs. And in case a woman conducts herself in an immoral manner, the man of closest relation is punished on her behalf (Helen, 2007).The role of women in Saudi Arabia is becoming more significant in both political and economic terms as more and more women hold positions of leadership and civic prominence. The educational levels of the women who have made significant contributions on leadership hold positions as founders of organizations and range in their education from holding bachelors, maste rs, and doctorate degrees. Some of these women hold voluntary positions and others hold paid positions that entail career commitments.The Saudi Arabia government has given higher education, there are new educational policies put in place. The government established the Ministry of Higher Education in 1975 whose long term vision is to provide highly trained manpower necessary to run the countrys more and more sophisticated economy. The primary objective of this ministry is to establish new institutions of higher culture throughout the country.The Kingdom has given priority to quantity and quality expansion of education in the last five to s purge-years among other development plans. Despite the low percentage of Saudi women working in the labor force in the Kingdom compared to advanced countries, it is the unavailability of working sectors open for Saudi women usually limited to education and medicine which has caused some saturation in these sectors. The Saudi government is plan ning to undertake a study of the role of women in the countrys economy (Al-Mohamed, (2007). There are policies set by the government in order to support women who want to work. The main aim of these policies is to lower t unemployment rate among women in Saudi Arabian women. In line with this objective, the government and private organizations provide counseling services to women in nerve-wracking environments of employment. The Saudi government plan is beyond employment and aims to empower women with entrepreneurial and investing. Saudi Arabia might have to revise some policies that a restrict women from participating in the economy of the country.Women and political leadershipThe affair of women in the public domain, including the political arena, is very limited in Saudi Arabia. unlike other women in the western world, Saudi women have no social or political rights. They still have to obtain consent of male counterparts in order to fulfill basic things, like obtaining a recom mendation and travel.The hierarchical system of the Saudi government does not allow for democratic voting. Saudi Arabian political leaders are, therefore, hiding behind ill-considered religious pretexts by withholding many rights from women. It is a violation of their religious beliefs and practices. Other Islamic countries, such as Egypt, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, allow women to vote and still maintain their traditional and religious practices.The country does not contain any political parties, thus the absence of elections. Women are becoming more active in reform but their efforts are marginalized. The extent of reform is fixed by the ruling family (Cordesman, 2003).Al-Mohamed (2007) attributes the lack of a political role for Saudi women to educational decisions he goes on and gives an example where women do not major in Political Science in their higher learning. For example, Princess Dr. al-Jawaharlal bint Fahd al-Saud was undersecretary of education for womens colleges for 10 years before becoming president of Riyadh University for Women in April 2007, up to now she had no power to make decisions even though she had the power (Al-Mohamed, 2007).The country lacks the basic freedoms for even the civil society to take part in the leadership. It is very hard to start new organizations and even more so the women groups, due to their co-option by the government. I would recommend the existence of political parties in the country with free elections since this would foster democratic growth in the country (Anders, 1998). The media should be free to express their ideas and women rights agencies should be supported to help in the equality of gender, promote the growth of the economy and the active participation of women in the exercising of political power (Kathleen, 1991).Role of religion in empowering womenTo better understand a Saudi womans position, one must learn a great deal about the culture and religion. One should also understand Islam, its history a nd culture. In a Muslim community, the people are to follow Gods commands and live a moral life. Saudi women who are working and serve society should be careful to follow an Islamic way of life.In the modern society, wearing a hijab, which may cover a womans head or her whole body, remains part of Muslim culture in Saudi Arabia and also worldwide. most Muslim women dress modestly and in Muslim countries even the most successful business women will cover themselves with the hijab. Many of the women welcome this practice as they feel it prevents them from world bothered by co-workers or strangers. Some modern Muslims in non-Muslims cultures, however, hire not to cover to attract less vigilance rather than deal with discouragement about it. Whichever the case, the wearing of a hijab should be intended to cheer God and should not be done in a authorization or pressurized manner (Cordesman, 2003).Before Islam, women in the Arab world had no rights to own any property, inherit, divor ce, or even choose their marriage partner the male parent was usually the one to decide or a male relative. With the orgasm of Islam, women were given the aforementioned rights and their status changed to that of a dignified human being, be of respect and honor. The Islamic view about women is that men and women are equal in their origin and their rights. According to the history of Islam, women have political rights, can move in public affairs, run a business, choose their husbands and even inherit properly. In regard of womens education, a woman in Islam is not required to contribute financially to the family, which may explain why some Saudis consider education to be worthwhile and necessary for males and less for women. The Quran, which is the source of Islamic jurisprudence, contains no poetise that deprives woman the right to be educate In fact, the word Quran is derived from the word reading and the first verse of the Quran calls on the devoted to read and write. There are no barriers to women acquiring knowledge in the Islamic faith as long as there is no mixing between the two genders.Most people that profess the Muslim faith do not believe that that men and women are equal in matters of religion (Kathleen, 1991). The role of women in the family and upbringing of children play a major part consequently, the women are allowed to hero-worship at home as the men and the boys worship at the mosque. Despite the active role of women in religion, Saudi women are denied access to any management roles and leadership positions in the countrys religious institutions (Kathleen, 1991).There are still some conservative people who do not want to compress The New World Order, where women work and are independent, religion is still the take over of this people. There is as an ideological conflict between culture and religion, Islam allows women the right to education and work. As a result Arab women continue to seek education and work, societys expectations h over over them, giving them more strength to those who oppose empowering women. resultantThe purpose of this study was to examine the family and societal factors that affect Saudi women in their pursuit of leadership positions in a Muslim society, such as that found in Saudi Arabia. Another area of interest was the impact of Islam on the Saudi women and their pursuit of leadership roles in public life. It is true that the law and the male dominated society and does not provide a good environment for leadership positions of women. The women now more than ever are willing to take the risk and empower themselves, sooner than later women from these part of the world will catch up with other countries that have control gender discrimination.Studies show that Saudi women are getting more attention due to the current interest in multiculturalism and global awareness. There are many women in Saudi Arabia who have attained leadership roles on a smaller scale, such as in remote villages and hobnailed areas. The number of Saudi women who have leadership positions may not be large in comparison to the number of women with leadership positions in horse opera nations or even in neighboring countries but it is a great step considering the position of Arab women and their role and treatment under Islamic culture. Women who have leadership roles in Arab societies are an important resource for information that can help bridge the gap between preconceived notions about the Arab world and the reality of the conditions encountered by women in that part of the world. For instance , in the States there are great women who have revolutionized leadership like Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza sieve while in Germany Angela Merkel is the Chancellor. In the Middle East the most common figure was Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan who was a potential political leader but was assassinated. These women in leadership ar role models to other women all over the world and soon the Arab world is going to embrace women leadership.However, the level of leadership and the participation of women in various positions in Saudi are faced with mainly two interrelated issues. First, the effects of the constitutional rights on women and secondly, is the status of women and their position in reference to Islamic laws.Reform is urgently needed in both educational and employment sectors to provide greater equality for women. earlier trends of females in educational development indicate an ever expanding access of education by women to where they may outnumber men. However, gender segregation and inferiorities in curriculum differentiation is still experienced. There should be more awareness campaigns for women to be informed on the importance of pursuing education to a higher level and diversification of courses to be studied. The diversification of the countrys economy and the expansion of the services in the various sectors may result in the liberalization of the backdrop of occupation and enroll women in leadership roles. This change would be due to the shortage of labor and the increased participation of women in the education facilities and curriculums. This would help move women up in public visibility and allow them to participate in the decision making of the country.