Excellent article by Sabria Jawhar on the reality of working Saudi women and transportation. You can link to the story in the August 7, 2014 Arab News here, and the article is pasted in below.
One of the hard lessons Saudi women learn when they get a new job in the
private sector is the attitude among employers. They are told: “you got
a job, the rest is up to you.”
More plainly put, female employees
are required to show up at work on time and leave at the appropriate
hour at the end of the workday. If you must do work-related errands
during business hours, then find your own transportation.
Educated
women from well-to-do families and working at high-level jobs can live
with these requirements. They have their own drivers. But for the rest
of us, those middle-class women who can’t afford to sponsor a full-time
driver or don’t have access to a full-time driving service, it’s almost
impossible to reliably arrive to work on time and leave at a reasonable
hour at the end of the day.
There are many private employers — and I
have run into plenty — that may offer company drivers to female
employees only to pull the rug from underneath them when the time comes
to actually drive women around.
A common method among some employers
is to insist that the female worker and the driver work out a schedule
between themselves. Yet many drivers loathe the idea of driving women
from their homes to work, and then pick them up at the end of the day.
Worse, they often become unavailable during working hours. Their
attitude is they drive female employees to and from work at their
convenience and not the workers.
It’s never a matter of “I won’t
drive you” but rather simply not answering the phone or claiming a
scheduling conflict. Employers prefer not to get involved, so the
transportation issues disintegrates into a cat-and-mouse game where
women workers are reduced to using a male colleague’s mobile phone so
her so-called driver will pick up the phone, or catch him napping in an
empty office somewhere in the building and making an awkward
face-to-face demand. This daily exercise becomes so exhausting that the
idea of hailing a smelly cab from a street corner is easier.
(Full
disclosure: My employer contracts a private limousine company to take me
anywhere I want to go. I no longer endure the indignity of begging
drivers for transportation.)
The attitude of drivers in Saudi Arabia
has changed dramatically in the past decade. Drivers, who were once
prompt, courteous and respectful to female passengers has evolved an
attitude that shows they are doing women a favor by simply allowing them
in the back seat of their car.
The Ministry of Labor has a pretty
good handle on the dilemma faced by female workers. No one realistically
believes that Saudi women will receive the right to drive a car in the
near future. At the same time more women are entering the workforce only
to find that lack of transportation is not only hindering their work
performance, but also encouraging them to stay at home rather than find
employment. This will eventually have a significant impact on the
Kingdom’s economy.
To solve the problem, the Labor Ministry now
requires employers to provide transportation to Saudi women workers.
Al-Sayyda Khadija Bint Khuwailid Center, which is part of Jeddah Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), conducted a study that found that 48
percent of Saudi women workers employ private drivers while 26 percent
use the men in their families to drive them to work. Only12 percent use
taxis and just 4 percent of the women use private minibuses owned by
their employers.
So about half of the female workforce is without
reliable transportation since using a dad or brother to act, as a
chauffeur is hardly considered reliable.
The Labor Ministry has
managed to do a lot to get employers in line since its crackdown on
undocumented workers last year. It has successfully integrated retail
shops with women workers and continues to find ways to make it easier
for Saudi women to get hired in the private sector.
Their program to
require employers to provide transportation is a logical step to keep
women in the workplace. Enforcement, however, remains a sticking point
if employers continue to take a passive attitude by not requiring their
drivers to be available. Still, the Labor Ministry over the past year
has been consistent in its directives, and women just might see a
positive change in how their employers handle their transportation
issues.
Sabria's e-mail: sabria_j@hotmail.com
Showing posts with label Sabria Jawhar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabria Jawhar. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Right to drive is just part of a bigger picture
Saudi journalist and blogger Sabria Jawhar wrote this in the Saudi daily Arab News on June 23, 2014. A link to the story is here, and the text is pasted in below.
There’s been some hoopla recently over a proposal from two Shoura Council members to allow Saudi women to obtain an international driver’s license in the Kingdom that would permit them to drive in foreign countries.
Possessing an international driver’s license at one time was seen as a path toward obtaining a Saudi driver’s license that would allow women to legally drive in Saudi Arabia. Authorities, however, refused to issue international licenses to Saudi women. It’s a good thing that the issue is now before the Shoura Council, but it is by no means the most important thing. In fact, it’s really a minor side issue to a much larger picture: The representation of Saudi women in government.
Both Saudi and western human rights activists have been preoccupied with the women’s driving issue as if it will cure all ills. While it is important that Saudi women have the right to drive a car, it does not solve the perplexing issue that many of us are denied some rights.
Instead, driving right is only a stepping-stone to full equality guaranteed to women in Islam. That is the thinking of Latifa Al-Shaalan and Haya Al-Mani, the two women Shoura Council members who introduced the amendment that would allow women to obtain an international driver’s license. And the fact the amendment is about driver’s licenses is irrelevant.
If
there were an argument that it’s better to work within the system than
externally, the work of Al-Shaalan and Al-Mani would be the perfect
example.
As we have witnessed since 1992, female driving demonstrations have had limited impact on Saudi women’s rights, other than to antagonize certain elements and whip up western activists who project their own feminist ideals on a culture they barely understand. On the other hand, conservatives have cleverly found ways to tamp down on demonstrations by putting pressure on the men in families to curb their daughters and sisters, impounding cars and waging whisper campaigns.
But Al-Shaalan and Al-Mani force the issue of women’s rights to the surface. By introducing the international driver’s license amendment, they force every Shoura Council member to reveal his or her position on the issue. It’s unlikely that the amendment will ever pass, but there will be little doubt exactly where the Shoura Council stands. And if the amendment should pass and become a recommendation of the Council, then the tired argument that “Saudi women will drive when Saudi society is ready” will be put to the test.
But whether the amendment passes or fails is beside the point. The proposal and others like it drafted by female Shoura Council members will result in accountability at the highest levels. Every time a proposal is made to ensure Saudi women their Islamic rights, every man and woman on the council must stand by their vote to deny such rights and answer to Saudi society why they abdicated their public service and religious responsibilities.
This is the power of a consultative body that measures the wants and needs of the community it serves and comes at a decision via a vote. By appointing 30 women to the Shoura Council, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has introduced a new dynamic never witnessed in Saudi history: The voice of Saudi women — half of Saudi society — and accountability of those individuals who seek to silence that voice.
Email: sabria_j@hotmail.com
There’s been some hoopla recently over a proposal from two Shoura Council members to allow Saudi women to obtain an international driver’s license in the Kingdom that would permit them to drive in foreign countries.
Possessing an international driver’s license at one time was seen as a path toward obtaining a Saudi driver’s license that would allow women to legally drive in Saudi Arabia. Authorities, however, refused to issue international licenses to Saudi women. It’s a good thing that the issue is now before the Shoura Council, but it is by no means the most important thing. In fact, it’s really a minor side issue to a much larger picture: The representation of Saudi women in government.
Both Saudi and western human rights activists have been preoccupied with the women’s driving issue as if it will cure all ills. While it is important that Saudi women have the right to drive a car, it does not solve the perplexing issue that many of us are denied some rights.
Instead, driving right is only a stepping-stone to full equality guaranteed to women in Islam. That is the thinking of Latifa Al-Shaalan and Haya Al-Mani, the two women Shoura Council members who introduced the amendment that would allow women to obtain an international driver’s license. And the fact the amendment is about driver’s licenses is irrelevant.
It’s
more about the power of these two women who drafted the amendment,
introduced it to the Shoura Council and having it sent to the proper
committee for approval before being put before the Council for a vote.
As we have witnessed since 1992, female driving demonstrations have had limited impact on Saudi women’s rights, other than to antagonize certain elements and whip up western activists who project their own feminist ideals on a culture they barely understand. On the other hand, conservatives have cleverly found ways to tamp down on demonstrations by putting pressure on the men in families to curb their daughters and sisters, impounding cars and waging whisper campaigns.
But Al-Shaalan and Al-Mani force the issue of women’s rights to the surface. By introducing the international driver’s license amendment, they force every Shoura Council member to reveal his or her position on the issue. It’s unlikely that the amendment will ever pass, but there will be little doubt exactly where the Shoura Council stands. And if the amendment should pass and become a recommendation of the Council, then the tired argument that “Saudi women will drive when Saudi society is ready” will be put to the test.
But whether the amendment passes or fails is beside the point. The proposal and others like it drafted by female Shoura Council members will result in accountability at the highest levels. Every time a proposal is made to ensure Saudi women their Islamic rights, every man and woman on the council must stand by their vote to deny such rights and answer to Saudi society why they abdicated their public service and religious responsibilities.
This is the power of a consultative body that measures the wants and needs of the community it serves and comes at a decision via a vote. By appointing 30 women to the Shoura Council, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has introduced a new dynamic never witnessed in Saudi history: The voice of Saudi women — half of Saudi society — and accountability of those individuals who seek to silence that voice.
Email: sabria_j@hotmail.com
Monday, March 24, 2014
Women driving: Don’t interfere in our domestic issues
Saudi journalist Sabria S. Jawhar writes in the Saudi English language daily, the Arab News on March 24, 2014. A link to the story is here, and the text is pasted in below.
- Sabria S. Jawhar
US President Barack Obama during his visit to Saudi Arabia on March 28 is expected to defend the United States’ position on Iran, Syria and Egypt. America’s warmer relations with Iran, in particular, have affected the 70-year relationship between the two countries.
Obama’s abandonment of the Egyptian government, a vital Saudi ally, and his failure to intervene last fall when there was documented evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons to kill civilians has angered the entire region.
America and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed a close and binding relationship and it’s only now there has been some disagreements.
In view of the new developments, the Saudi government has taken the initiative to forge strong ties with non-western countries.
It’s quite a surprise when Amnesty International demonstrated breathtaking naiveté in an ill-considered campaign to get Obama raise women’s driving issue during his visit to the Kingdom. Amnesty International also wants Obama to meet with Saudi women who protested the driving ban last Oct. 26.
Here we have two countries warily circling each other following profound changes in American foreign policy, which could conceivably alter their future relationship for decades to come, and the human rights group feels the timing is perfect to play dirty.
Of course there is no religious justification for banning Saudi women from driving. We also know now that Saudi society either accepts or is indifferent to women getting behind the wheel. If Oct. 26 has taught us anything, the driving ban is a government position. I have said many times in this column that I and most of the women I know want the right to drive whether we actually get behind the wheel or not.
But the tone-deaf Amnesty International thinks it’s prudent for Obama to raise women’s driving issue. Here’s the point I see: At the precise moment that Obama needs to bridge the obvious gap between Saudi Arabia and his administration, the world’s largest and most respected human rights organization wants to thrust an obscene gesture right in Saudis’ faces.
The human rights group argues that Saudi women would “benefit from global solidarity.” While Saudi women’s social media campaign has certainly publicized their efforts, the impact of global solidarity is questionable.
Amnesty International consistently ignores that Saudis will not under any circumstances accept the imposition of a foreign government’s will on Saudi Arabia. Any foreign agenda will be rejected. Even many supporters of the women driving issue will not accept external intervention. Our pride and dignity preclude such interference and only Saudis will effect change.
Yes, the world needs to know that we want our rights guaranteed in Islam, but having heads of state exert external pressure on domestic issues smack of stupidity. Saudi Arabia certainly hasn’t indulged in putting pressure on the French government to lift its niqab ban or Switzerland’s minaret ban. Saudi Arabia also hasn’t made efforts to curb the rise in power of anti-Muslim political parties. Yet Amnesty International sees fit to interfere in domestic issues here.
If Saudi Arabia had a track record of bowing to international scrutiny, then maybe such a plan would work. But really, since when has the Saudi government ever expressed the slightest concern over what any western country says about Saudi women driving?
Driving advocates have myriad tools available to wage their campaign, not the least of which is social media. Applying pressure to President Obama to join in the campaign will backfire. Such a campaign also seriously misreads the status of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
- Sabria S. Jawhar
US President Barack Obama during his visit to Saudi Arabia on March 28 is expected to defend the United States’ position on Iran, Syria and Egypt. America’s warmer relations with Iran, in particular, have affected the 70-year relationship between the two countries.
Obama’s abandonment of the Egyptian government, a vital Saudi ally, and his failure to intervene last fall when there was documented evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons to kill civilians has angered the entire region.
America and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed a close and binding relationship and it’s only now there has been some disagreements.
In view of the new developments, the Saudi government has taken the initiative to forge strong ties with non-western countries.
It’s quite a surprise when Amnesty International demonstrated breathtaking naiveté in an ill-considered campaign to get Obama raise women’s driving issue during his visit to the Kingdom. Amnesty International also wants Obama to meet with Saudi women who protested the driving ban last Oct. 26.
Here we have two countries warily circling each other following profound changes in American foreign policy, which could conceivably alter their future relationship for decades to come, and the human rights group feels the timing is perfect to play dirty.
Of course there is no religious justification for banning Saudi women from driving. We also know now that Saudi society either accepts or is indifferent to women getting behind the wheel. If Oct. 26 has taught us anything, the driving ban is a government position. I have said many times in this column that I and most of the women I know want the right to drive whether we actually get behind the wheel or not.
But the tone-deaf Amnesty International thinks it’s prudent for Obama to raise women’s driving issue. Here’s the point I see: At the precise moment that Obama needs to bridge the obvious gap between Saudi Arabia and his administration, the world’s largest and most respected human rights organization wants to thrust an obscene gesture right in Saudis’ faces.
The human rights group argues that Saudi women would “benefit from global solidarity.” While Saudi women’s social media campaign has certainly publicized their efforts, the impact of global solidarity is questionable.
Amnesty International consistently ignores that Saudis will not under any circumstances accept the imposition of a foreign government’s will on Saudi Arabia. Any foreign agenda will be rejected. Even many supporters of the women driving issue will not accept external intervention. Our pride and dignity preclude such interference and only Saudis will effect change.
Yes, the world needs to know that we want our rights guaranteed in Islam, but having heads of state exert external pressure on domestic issues smack of stupidity. Saudi Arabia certainly hasn’t indulged in putting pressure on the French government to lift its niqab ban or Switzerland’s minaret ban. Saudi Arabia also hasn’t made efforts to curb the rise in power of anti-Muslim political parties. Yet Amnesty International sees fit to interfere in domestic issues here.
If Saudi Arabia had a track record of bowing to international scrutiny, then maybe such a plan would work. But really, since when has the Saudi government ever expressed the slightest concern over what any western country says about Saudi women driving?
Driving advocates have myriad tools available to wage their campaign, not the least of which is social media. Applying pressure to President Obama to join in the campaign will backfire. Such a campaign also seriously misreads the status of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Finally! A voice in the Shoura Council
There are some great opinion pieces today in the English language press in Saudi Arabia. This one is notable from blogger and journalist Sabria Jawhar. The article appeared in the Arab News - on Oct 10, 2013. A link to her column is here, text is below.
October 10, 2013 - by Sabria S. Jawhar
It's said that women will be permitted to drive cars when Saudi society is ready. A more accurate message is that women can drive only when men say so because only men can be decision-makers in the Kingdom and only men represent Saudi society.
But as we have witnessed the other day, we now see that Saudi women can be leaders and push forward issues that affect the women they represent. It’s no longer just a man’s world. OK, mostly yes it is. However, Shoura Council members Latifa Al-Shaalan, Muna Al-Mishit and Haya Al-Mani gave a voice to Saudi women by recommending that the ban on women driving be lifted.
This is no small feat and requires considerable courage. They opened the door a crack that brings the driving issue from the streets into the council chambers.
As a workingwoman, I consider the steps taken by the women Shoura Council members a great step toward greater freedom in our choice of transportation. And let’s not limit the issue to transportation because the recommendation in the Shoura Council also respects greater freedom in our lives. The efforts by Al-Shaalan, Al-Mashit and Al-Mani demonstrate the benefits for women like me representing my interests.
Mothers and workingwomen know more than anybody what it means to drive their own car and have full control over our lives. As a teacher of a new generation of young female nurses who regard me with respect and as a role model, I find it incredibly humiliating to travel 70 minutes a day with a complete stranger to reach my workplace and then return home. What is worse is that this same stranger has complete control over the time I arrive and leave work.
Two weeks ago, I noticed my relatively new driver treating me with familiarity that made me feel uncomfortable. He asked me personal questions and angled the rearview mirror in my direction. One day a female colleague accompanied me on a trip from the university to our destination. My driver insisted in a hostile manner on charging me twice the price because we were both in the car.
I gave him a hard time because he treated us as if we were bus passengers. The next day, he didn’t show up to pick me up for work. When I called, he said he will no longer be my driver. I called the driver’s company for another driver, who first agreed to drive me, then called later and said he wouldn’t be my driver.
This is a common trap many women fall into; a form of blackmail to charge women extra money or to exert control over their schedule. If a woman flirts with the driver, agrees to pay extra from time to time, she is guaranteed trouble-free transportation. But the woman who sees the driver/client relationship as a business transaction is at the driver’s mercy.
Ask a man if they would put up with that kind of behavior. I have seen enough YouTube videos of what Saudi men do to drivers attempting such nonsense. Yet a woman is suppose to take such abuse.
There was a time when drivers were just that — drivers. They acted like gentlemen, minded their own business and looked out for the safety of their passengers. They charged reasonable rates. But drivers have wised up to the fact that women have no transportation rights. There is no advocate for women. They have no protection. Saudi society is perfectly content to hand them their women and let them fend off the abuse on their own.
I am sure the three brave women on the Shoura Council have had similar experience as I have, or at least have heard similar horror stories. They empathize. They know that the new generation of private drivers is exploiting the ban on women driving to satisfy their patriarchal urges and find a way to make more money. The guys? No, they don’t know so much.
I am thinking that the appointment of women to the Shoura Council is finally bearing fruit.
Email: sabria_j@hotmail.com
It's said that women will be permitted to drive cars when Saudi society is ready. A more accurate message is that women can drive only when men say so because only men can be decision-makers in the Kingdom and only men represent Saudi society.
But as we have witnessed the other day, we now see that Saudi women can be leaders and push forward issues that affect the women they represent. It’s no longer just a man’s world. OK, mostly yes it is. However, Shoura Council members Latifa Al-Shaalan, Muna Al-Mishit and Haya Al-Mani gave a voice to Saudi women by recommending that the ban on women driving be lifted.
This is no small feat and requires considerable courage. They opened the door a crack that brings the driving issue from the streets into the council chambers.
As a workingwoman, I consider the steps taken by the women Shoura Council members a great step toward greater freedom in our choice of transportation. And let’s not limit the issue to transportation because the recommendation in the Shoura Council also respects greater freedom in our lives. The efforts by Al-Shaalan, Al-Mashit and Al-Mani demonstrate the benefits for women like me representing my interests.
Mothers and workingwomen know more than anybody what it means to drive their own car and have full control over our lives. As a teacher of a new generation of young female nurses who regard me with respect and as a role model, I find it incredibly humiliating to travel 70 minutes a day with a complete stranger to reach my workplace and then return home. What is worse is that this same stranger has complete control over the time I arrive and leave work.
Two weeks ago, I noticed my relatively new driver treating me with familiarity that made me feel uncomfortable. He asked me personal questions and angled the rearview mirror in my direction. One day a female colleague accompanied me on a trip from the university to our destination. My driver insisted in a hostile manner on charging me twice the price because we were both in the car.
I gave him a hard time because he treated us as if we were bus passengers. The next day, he didn’t show up to pick me up for work. When I called, he said he will no longer be my driver. I called the driver’s company for another driver, who first agreed to drive me, then called later and said he wouldn’t be my driver.
This is a common trap many women fall into; a form of blackmail to charge women extra money or to exert control over their schedule. If a woman flirts with the driver, agrees to pay extra from time to time, she is guaranteed trouble-free transportation. But the woman who sees the driver/client relationship as a business transaction is at the driver’s mercy.
Ask a man if they would put up with that kind of behavior. I have seen enough YouTube videos of what Saudi men do to drivers attempting such nonsense. Yet a woman is suppose to take such abuse.
There was a time when drivers were just that — drivers. They acted like gentlemen, minded their own business and looked out for the safety of their passengers. They charged reasonable rates. But drivers have wised up to the fact that women have no transportation rights. There is no advocate for women. They have no protection. Saudi society is perfectly content to hand them their women and let them fend off the abuse on their own.
I am sure the three brave women on the Shoura Council have had similar experience as I have, or at least have heard similar horror stories. They empathize. They know that the new generation of private drivers is exploiting the ban on women driving to satisfy their patriarchal urges and find a way to make more money. The guys? No, they don’t know so much.
I am thinking that the appointment of women to the Shoura Council is finally bearing fruit.
Email: sabria_j@hotmail.com
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