According to some reports 800+ people have been arrested in Riyadh for wearing low-slung jeans and sporting Afros in Saudi Arabia. Mosques in the Eastern Province have warned people that they will be banned if they are caught with either at prayer time and can also be arrested.

The youth arrested were released after their parents were called to get them and after they promised to never do it again. What is more likely: the youth will change their style or avoid the mosque?

An unanswered question is why would a mosque ban a worshipper? Common sense says that if a person if coming to the mosque to pray you want to encourage their good behavior, and use the opportunity to educate them (without the fire and brimstone style boring lectures of course). Crazy fashions are a part of youth and people outgrow them with age.

But banning these young men from coming to the mosque helps neither the youth nor the society. Associating the mosque with an oppressive environment where a person can get arrested for wearing the “wrong” clothes is not conducive for a longer term attachment towards religion, or even respect for local traditions.

An educational approach would be more effective in this case rather than draconian measures.

Related posts:

1. Change in Saudi Arabia- Short and Long Term
2. Divorce in Saudi Arabia
3. Types of marriages in Saudi Arabia

It is the 18th anniversary of women protesting the ban on driving by driving through the streets of Riyadh. People keep telling me that lifting the ban will completely change things for women around here. I disagree.

I think the car sticker above explains a lot about social attitudes (I took this picture a few months ago). Look at her hair streaming behind her. A woman who drives is considered to be one who doesn’t cover- she’s free, loose, open. These are not flattering adjectives over here.

People think that lifting the ban will mean women will suddenly have access to transportation, they will be able to work etc. Well, not really. This is not a logistics issue at all. For women who need to work, they find a way. For those who want to work but are faced with “no transportation” as an excuse are dealing with exactly that, an excuse.

For one car families, the primary driver will continue to be the men. In households where the car is shared between several members of the household, the car will still rarely be available for women. For households where there is more than one car, there are also hired drivers to take women around. How many “respectable” households will allow women to drive?

What needs to change is the larger attitude about the role of women in society. The issue here is a cultural one. Once there is an acknowledgment, at a societal level, that women should VISIBLY be a contributing part of everyday life, things will change around here. If/when the ban is lifted, people should not have to worry about facing social castigation for “allowing” the women of their households to drive.

The ban on women’s driving is merely a symptom of a larger cultural issue. A band-aid solution for the symptom will not change the much bigger underlying perspectives.

previous post on traffic: http://ruhsa.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/roads/

Related posts:

1. how do women get around?
2. where do women go?
3. Saudi women in medicine