Saudi Arabia Critique Essay
Saudi Arabia is a deeply conservative country in the Middle East rooted in Islamic laws and traditions that degrade women in the society. The laws have roots in both the traditions and Islam. And to a large extent, the country has suffered slow growth as only half of its economy is productive.It is evident that when women are empowered there will be a tremendous growth in the economy, and as such, gender parity should be perceived as a moral obligation which will stimulate economic stability and give women a chance out of social bondage.
WHY THE LAWS SHOULD BE CHANGED
There is a great need for the country to adjust its laws to accommodate all the citizens, both male and female. The kind of discrimination and social degradation women face is the worst ever. Women are forced to obtain permission from men, including from their sons to be able to travel, get jobs and enroll for higher education. Even after the progress which had been made during the colonial period, the country has found itself back to its original position,at work places, the education sectors and leadership.
For the women, discrimination has become the norm. During job applications and recruitments, they don’t get the same opportunities as men (Vogelstein, 2018). With the men’s narrow conservative perception, women are even denied promotions, others dismissed. Thus, this has led to constant disputes with their male colleagues.
The result being slow progress in their personal development stemming adverse realities for them. This perspective doesn’t regard women as having the necessary skills and abilities for pursuing leadership roles although there are economic reformations, there are still numerous challenges.The academic leadership roles of women has been crippled by organizational and administrative challenges they face in their work environment (Alsubh, 2018).
Women are barred from taking superior positions due to lack of their training and education. This coupled with inadequate financial allocation and patriarchal mindset has affected women leadership, which directly impacts on the institutional achievement. Other challenges hindering their capabilities are caused by uncooperative behavior of their subordinates, excess workload with very long working hours due to absence of positional power.Most women trying to break away from the societal norms and expectations find themselves in very tight schedules(Alsubh, 2018).
They are expected to take charge of their families. This translates to less time attending to work, in severe cases a promotion may lead to separation from her family.Some opt to drop their jobs altogether. With constrains in time, they are barely able to get enough experience. Most cannot withstand the pressure and end up with low self-confidence, thereby unable to adapt to the dynamics of work environment. This significantly bars implementation of the strategic leadership technique.
More than often, over the years, the workplace has always been considered to be a masculine domain(Alsubh, 2018). Men are perceived to be more productive than women, which has created conflicts among women and fellow workers or even their bosses. Women are made to appear unfit and even within the right qualifications they still find it hard convincing their seniors. Sadly, most loose the opportunities. Women empowerment is therefore suppressed.
CONCLUSION
Saudi Arabia having developed its laws from Islamic laws and traditions, is a highly patriarchal society where women are utterly discouraged from formal jobs in the public sphere. For the better part of history, this has been the story over and over again. The government has finally come to terms with the fact that it cannot develop without the input from women, thus it’s in the process of creating a friendlier environment for the women, although amidst challenges. Women are also citizens who need equal opportunities just like men,
