The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative states in the world. Strict segregation of women is observed here, mainly outside the walls of the house. Saudi women have very limited rights. This is due to the great influence of religious leaders and features of the country's laws based on Islamic law.
Woman's life in Saudi Arabia
Every adult resident of the Kingdom is required to have a guardian - a close male relative. Without the consent of the guardians, women in Saudi Arabia are deprived of the opportunity to travel, obtain business licenses, work, study at a college or university. Education is allowed only in a female environment, male teachers can communicate with students only on internal television.
Even in cases where the law does not require the consent of a guardian, the authorities apply to him for permission. Without the permission of a husband or guardian, women in a welfare state do not receive medical care. There are no laws in the country prohibiting violence against women, but there are a great many legislative norms that enshrine the dominant position of men. So, men enjoy the right to have several wives at the same time, to divorce them unilaterally, without putting forward legal justifications. For the fairer sex, obtaining a legal divorce is fraught with great difficulties. A female heir may claim half the inheritance than a male heir. Residents of the country do not have the right to drive a car. They must cover their face, hair and wear abaya - a long black dress hiding the figure.
Conservative men agree to empower Saudi women
In 2011, King Abdullah issued a decree allowing women to participate in municipal elections. Moreover, residents of the country are granted the right to sit on the Royal Advisory Council, which previously consisted exclusively of men.
Undoubted progress has been made in sports: in the summer of 2012, for the first time in history, two women from Saudi Arabia participated in the Olympic Games (photo). In April 2013, the world spread the news of the new generosity of the men of the Kingdom. They allowed their ladies to ride bicycles and motorbikes, but introduced a number of restrictions. First, Saudis cannot ride unaccompanied by a husband or other male person who is related to her. Secondly, you can ride only along the bike paths of the parks and in other specially designated places located as far as possible from the places of the gathering of men. Finally, the last limitation: women in Saudi Arabia can ride a bicycle or motorcycle only wrapped upside down in a national dress - Abaya. It remains to add that the observance of these rules is monitored by the religious police, which suppresses any attempt to violate the canons of Islam.
Despite some reforms that to some extent improve the legal status of Saudi women, discrimination continues to exist. The stability of Islamic customs and traditions does not allow us to hope for early progressive changes in the situation of women in Saudi Arabia, which do not correspond to modern legal standards, which record the status of the fair sex in the field of international law.
