Women in Saudi Arabia Today

162 Pages·1997·9.29 MB·English

by  Mona AlMunajjed

Women in Saudi
Arabia Today
Mona AlMunajjed
WOMEN IN SAUDI ARABIA TODAY
Also by Mona AlMunajjed
MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF ARABIC NAMES FOR GIRLS
IN THE ARAB WORLD
Women in Saudi
Arabia Today
Mona AlMunajjed
&
M First published in Great Britain 1997 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
ISBN 0-333-63812-3 hardcover
ISBN 0-333-65481-1 paperback
First published in the United States of America 1997 by
& ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-312-12988-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
AlMunajjed, Mona.
Women in Saudi Arabia today / Mona AlMunajjed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-312-12988-2 (cloth)
1. Women—Saudi Arabia—Jeddah—Social conditions. 2. Women-
-Saudi Arabia—Jeddah—Economic conditions. 3. Women—Education-
-Saudi Arabia—Jeddah. 4. Women in development—Saudi Arabia-
-Jeddah. 5. Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)—Social conditions. I. Title.
HQ1730. A65—1996
305.42'09538—<lc20 95-31779
CIP
© Mona AlMunajjed 1997
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with
the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court
Road, London W1P9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
map of oaudi Arabia VII
1 Introduction: Saudi Arabia, Past and Present 1
2 The Status of Arab Women under Islamic Law 9
3 Segregation 33
4 The Veil 47
5 Education 59
6 Work 81
7 Conclusion 103
Bibliography 109
Index of the Qura'nic Verses 143
Index of the Hadith Al Nabawi
(Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) 145
Index of Subjects 147
Index of Personal Names 151
Index of Places 153
V
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Map of Saudi Arabia
1 1
1 1
300 mi
ill' $i
jDammam
\ liBAHRAIN
_JJAE
Jeddaht
1
i^lfll/
Abha *rt /^ "^O**^*
JistnWye^^MX
Population City Population
16.9 million
O Over 1,000,000
Area (sq miles)
850,000 * Over 500,000
• Over 100,000
A Under 100,000
• Capital
vn
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1 Introduction: Saudi
Arabia, Past and Present
Today, Saudi Arabia has become a major source of influence as
the world's largest exporter of petroleum and oil products and is
one of the richest countries in the world in its reserves of oil.
Saudi Arabia is also the custodian of the two holy cities of
Meccah and Medinah. It is in these cities that Islam was born at
the end of the sixth century AD, developed under the Prophet
Muhammad, and where the religion's holy book, the Qur'an, was
revealed and written.
There are one billion Muslims in the world today, for whom the
cities of Meccah and Medinah are holy places. It is to Meccah
that hundreds of millions of Muslims turn to pray five times a day,
and to where they come if they can, at least once in a lifetime, as
pilgrims in obedience to their faith. All this has given Saudi
Arabia a clear and leading status in the Islamic world. It has also
led to the increase of Saudi Arabian participation in international
relations concerned with Arab and Muslim countries.
Geographically, Saudi Arabia encompasses around 80 per cent
of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered to the east by the
Arabian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to
the south by the Yemen Republic and Oman, by the Red Sea to
the west and by Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait to the north. The
country occupies approximately 850,000 square miles. It is a
land of highlands, plateaus and deserts. Most of the surface is
covered by sand, forming the deserts of Nafud, Dahna and Rub
al Khali (the 'Empty Quarter').
Saudi Arabia is divided into four major regions: Najd,
Al Hijaz, Asir and Al Ahsa'. Administratively the country is
divided into five major provinces. These are the Western
Province (Al Hijaz), the Central Province (Najd), the Eastern
Province (Al Ahsa', which contains the oil fields), the Southern
Province (Asir) and the Northern Province (Tabouk). The major
cities are Riyadh (the capital), Jeddah, Meccah, Medinah, Taif
and Dammam.
1