This week US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and adviser Ivanka Trump have met with Saudi Arabia’s leaders.
It’s been a cordial affair – filled with photo opportunities, embracing of customs, and talk of $100 million donations to women’s empowerment funds and progress on women’s rights.
"Saudi Arabia’s progress, especially in recent years, is very encouraging but there’s still a lot of work to be done and freedoms and opportunities to continue to fight for," Ivanka said during a women's roundtable, while her father spoke with Arab leaders in another room.
"The stories of Saudi women, such as yourselves, catalysing change, inspire me to believe in the possibility of global women’s empowerment."
While Ivanka's words are accurate - Saudi Arabia has been making legislative changes to give women greater rights - let's be clear that this is "progress" from a society that still fundamentally disadvantages women.
Saudi Arabia may have recently given women the right to vote and run for office and has made moves towards dismantling its guardianship laws, but let's reflect on what life is really like for Saudi women.
For starters, women are not permitted to drive. That is, they can't get licences and therefore are denied from using the most flexible mode of transportation available. A journalist who tweeted against this law and criticised religious authorities, Alaa Brinji, was jailed for five years in March 2016.
We are talking about a country that harshly punishes "crimes" such as insulting the rulers, inciting public opinion, and where adultery is punishable by stoning to death.
Currently, women - adult women - must obtain permission from a male guardian, who is usually their father, husband, brother or even their son, in order to travel within or outside of the country, according to the Human Right's Watch 2017 report.
They also require permission from their guardian to marry or exit prison and will find difficulty trying to rent an apartment or file legal claims without a male relative's help. Women may also need their guardian's consent to work or access healthcare.
All of this adds to a culture where women are seen as second-class citizens and their freedoms are restricted by the wills of men. It's no wonder human rights organisation Freedom House ranked Saudi Arabia as the 10th worst nation in the world on political and civil rights.
And yes, thankfully, we are starting to see small changes to these systems.
Earlier this month, the country's ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, announced steps towards loosening the rules of the country's guardianship laws, which will be pivotal in dismantling sexism and female disadvantage.
But the 'relaxing' of these laws needs to be an outright abolishment.
Because there's still so much that needs to be done for Saudi women.
Listen: In Australia we're still cracking glass ceilings.
Dressing modestly is not a choice for either sex, but for women, it's still a punishable offence to be seen without a hijab (headscarf) or abaya (robe-like dress) in public. In December 2016, Malak al-Shehri, tweeted a photo of herself on the street without the coverings and was subsequently arrested for "violations of general morals".
Women could only vote or run for office for the first time in the December 2015 elections, following a royal decree from the late King Abdullah in 2011. The result was 38 women elected or appointed to councils, equating to about one per cent of 3,159 members across the country. However, the women elected to these positions must converse with their colleagues via video link while they sit in separate rooms.
There's no doubt that there has been "progress" in Saudi Arabia. However, while Ivanka Trump acknowledged efforts made in recent years towards women's empowerment, her saccharine words don't fully reflect how deeply this female powerlessness and structural sexism runs in the country.
The "possibility of global women’s empowerment" is a real one - but not without Saudi Arabia making monumental, revolutionary changes.
So let's look beyond the glossy photo opportunities and polite chats in front of the media.
Let's not kid ourselves about what life is really like for Saudi women.
Top Comments
Brilliant article. It's also another society that rules on the idea of honour and as such if a woman even looks the wrong way, they can be killed. The UN has discussed these issues time after time. Women are not second class citizens based on their gender or any race and while the steps they are making is good to see, it does have a long way to go. However the way we treat people such as refugees means we can't get on our high horses either, our own human rights record is deplorable as is the united states'. Ivanka should use her untitled position as a springboard to push for equal rights there and in her own backyard.
Saudi has a very very old culture and the progress they have achieved in recent years is fantastic. A lot of Saudi women don't even want to drive; the roads there are insane and even if it was legal I'm sure most wouldn't drive anyway because it's simply so unsafe.
It's easy for outsiders to judge their country, but it is very difficult to change a culture that is thousands in years old. Even cities like Rome are known to be modern and yet the local culture is archaic if you scratch below the surface.
Earlier this month the law changed in Saudi that women can travel abroad without permission. There is no law about the abaya or hijab, women must be modestly dressed, but men too; they can't wear shorts or singlets in public (why is that never mentioned?) You would be crazy to walk around there as a woman not covering yourself, there are so many foreigners and locals who would stare at you and follow you; for safety it is important to blend in.
Until things are really perfect for women in our own countries we shouldn't judge their country. I have huge issues with being a mum and struggling to afford daycare and my career going down the toilet; meanwhile my husband's career is flourishing because nobody expects him to give up work to be available for the kids. If I were in Saudi I could afford a good-quality nanny and fabulous private schooling (that would actually be paid for by my employer). And how about an article mentioning some of the laws of Saudi in place to protect women?
Can you tell me about the laws that protect women? I was certainly not aware of any of them. I was called (on various occasions) in public , 'evil bitch', 'whore', told to 'get home'. A Saudi woman would never go out in public without wearing an abaya and face veil. Even the female Saudi doctors covered their faces at work and in the female only dining room would not take them off in front of non Muslim women. A few female doctors did not cover their faces, but that was because their mothers were not Saudi. An idealized expat lifestyle, full of nannies and drivers is delusional.
It seems like you don't realise how crazy your comments are. For safety it's important for women to cover herself up? Lots of women don't even want to drive? FFS. Really convincing arguments for equality mate.
Struggling to afford child care is not even remotely in the same league as being charged with adultery and caned if you are raped. And those good quality nannies address often treated terribly. If they are subjected to rape or abuse there is often no justice or they punished. I lived in the middle east and we used to raise money to help abused nannies and servants get back home and help their embassies feed them. It was not uncommon for servants to commit suicide in rather suspicious circumstance. This is a country that is on the UN council for human rights so i will judge them for their human rights record. Also Saudi society in its current form of Wahabism isn't that old compared to other societies. It came about in the early 1700s . Yes, that isn't exactly young but its younger than most european societies, so you can't use that as an excuse for their treayment of women.