Women at centre of Saudi King’s reforms

KING Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz began a policy of gradual reform on his ascent to the Saudi throne on August 1, 2005 - long before the advent of the ‘Arab Spring’. One of the dramatic changes relates to the role of women, writes Dr Tal Shenhav. The Kingdom practises a strict public separation between men and women, but the king initiated a long and complex process aimed at integrating women gradually into the public sphere. King Abdullah, 89, used and continues to use the state-controlled national television channel to project a more progressive role for women. The morning studio programme is an illustration of this process. Until the death of King Fahd - Saudi Arabia's ruler since 1982 - in August 2005, women had a minor part at the end of the broadcast confined to discuss domestic issues - care of their homes, children and husbands. In November 2005, change was introduced. In King Abdullah's early rule, women presenters were allowed to host a two-hour TV programme dedicated to the empowerment of women. The studio was controlled by women. The presenters moved freely in a large space given to them while men were confined to a very specific limited place outside the main studio. Female interviewees were professionals, educators and entrepreneurs. Although, as before, one could see only the presenters’ faces, they were, however, dressed in fashionable and colourful clothing. But issues were still restricted to education and health and nutrition. In 2011, there was further change. A new studio was opened, a huge, open space on an upper floor with large windows overlooking the city. It featured a semi-circular sofa with male and female presenters sitting side by side with just a cushion between them. They both interviewed men in the studio. The significance of this public image should not be underestimated. Current code of conduct requires women to dress in black when in public and limits their interaction with males who are not their immediate relatives. The surprising change of both code and content, now avoiding what were traditionally considered women's issues, was a mixed blessing. Women were no longer interviewed and their empowerment was no longer a goal. Two more dramatic changes happened in 2011. In March, King Abdullah issued a law allowing women to work in shops which enabled hundreds of thousands with college certificates to take jobs in female-only areas. In September 2013 he announced that 30 women would be allowed to act as members of the Shura Council, the nation’s 150-member formal advisory body. Two royal women were among the first 30 appointed in 2013. Significantly, the king also said women would have the right to nominate themselves as candidates in elections for municipal councils in 2015 and to vote in those polls. Although these changes are of great importance to Saudi society as a whole, in reality they will happen only with the support of the women's guardians, which means they cannot be imposed by the government. The conservative parties block all major change that will limit their power over women. This is why women have not yet been granted permission to drive or act freely in public. But the king persists in finding opportunities to ease public restrictions without losing the support of the religious establishment. Acute and essential political and social reforms are needed to take the country forward. In the political arena, power needs to be diffused to a much younger generation beyond the Al-Saud family who are reluctant to lose their monopoly on leading the country. Secondly, there is a need to separate the political system from the religious, which in turn would enable the king to make some necessary reforms. But the current regime's legitimacy derives from its religious functions, so this detachment will not take place as long as the political system remains unchanged. The third point is the need for social reforms that will, in turn, have a positive effect on the economic system. Since he was nominated crown prince in 1996, King Abdullah has worked assiduously to loosen the tight control of the Sunni Wahhabi religious establishment over Saudi society. These efforts, including improving women's opportunities, have been achieved in part by passing authority to younger members of the royal family. In February 2013, the king appointed 68-year-old Prince Muqrin as second deputy prime minister of the Gulf kingdom. He is third in line to the throne and said to share the king's commitment to cautious reform. While Saudi Arabia will probably remain a state governed by religious law for many more years, the incremental reforms will reinforce the continuation of the change process and usher in a new era for Saudi society.

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