Youth in Saudi Arabia

204 Pages·2019·1.73 MB·English

by  Talha H Fadaak

Talha H Fadaak
Ken Roberts
Youth in Saudi Arabia
Talha H Fadaak · Ken Roberts
Youth in Saudi
Arabia
Talha H Fadaak Ken Roberts
Umm Al-Qura University School of Sociology and Social Policy
Mecca, Saudi Arabia University of Liverpool
Liverpool, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-04380-3 ISBN 978-3-030-04381-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04381-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018963737
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse
of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by
similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein
or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover image: © Getty/Mert Mayda/EyeEm
Cover design by Fatima Jamadar
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents
1 Saudi Arabia 1
2 Youth 21
3 Free Time: Online and Offline 43
4 Education 67
5 Employment 91
6 Marriage and Family Transitions 117
7 Housing 143
8 Looking Forward 169
Bibliography 189
Index 199
v
List of Tables
Table 3.1 Total internet use in Saudi Arabia (2005–2017) 50
Table 3.2 Total mobile service subscriptions in Saudi Arabia
(2007–2017) 51
Table 3.3 Top 10 in Saudi followers on Twitter, updated in 2018 53
Table 4.1 Educational attainments, Saudi 30- to 34-year olds,
2017 (in percentages) 69
Table 4.2 Saudis: total labour force and unemployed by educational
levels, 2017 (in percentages) 84
Table 4.3 Saudis only. Types of occupations by educational levels
in 2014 (in percentages) 85
Table 4.4 Specialisations of Saudi Arabia’s beginning undergraduate
students in 2017 (in percentages) 88
Table 6.1 Saudi Arabia population 121
Table 6.2 Saudi population (15 years and over) by age groups
and marital status (2016) 135
Table 6.3 Saudi female population (15 years and over)
by age groups and marital status (2016) 135
vii
viii List of Tables
Table 7.1 Housing units (occupied by Saudi households),
households and individuals by tenure of housing
unit, 2017 144
Table 7.2 Housing units occupied by Saudi households by type
of housing, 2017 145
1
Saudi Arabia
Introduction
Saudi Arabia is changing. In 2015, King Abdullah (born 1924) died
and was succeeded by King Salman, then aged 80. King Salman’s son,
Prince Mohamed, immediately became de facto head of the government
and was appointed Deputy Crown Prince. Since then:
• Prince Mohamed has been promoted to Crown Prince.
• His government has produced Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to
modernise and diversify the Saudi economy.
• Prince Mohamed has visited Silicon Valley and invited high-tech
entrepreneurs to base their enterprises in Saudi Arabia.
• He has arranged with Six Flags, an American company, to open
amusement parks through the Kingdom.
• The country’s first museum has opened in Riyadh.
• Women have been allowed to attend some male spectator sports
events (in segregated parts of the stadiums).
© The Author(s) 2019 1
T. H. Fadaak and K. Roberts, Youth in Saudi Arabia,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04381-0_1
2 T. H. Fadaak and K. Roberts
• Cinemas have begun to open.
• Music concerts have been held.
• The ban on women driving has been lifted.
• There are proposals to designate a recreation zone along the north-
west coast within which normal rules on dress and sex segregation
will be relaxed.
• The religious police have lost their powers of arrest and have been
placed under the control of the interior ministry.
• In 2017, around 320 of the country’s richest people, including some
prominent royals, were detained on charges of corruption.
In foreign affairs, Saudi Arabia has become assertive.
• Air and ground forces joined the civil war in Yemen, attempting to
restore the Sunni president who had been deposed by the Houthis, a
Shiite tribe.
• Saudi Arabia joined USA President Trump in denouncing Iran as the
main source of international terrorism.
• Nimir al-Nimir, a popular Shiite sheikh who had called for revolu-
tion, was executed on 2 January 2016. This led to mass protests in
several cities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, demonstrations out-
side Saudi embassies throughout the Middle East, the invasion by
protestors of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and a complete rupture in
Saudi–Iran diplomatic relations.
• Saudi Arabia detained the Lebanon prime minister until he resigned
from his post while visiting Riyadh. He resumed office after return-
ing to Beirut.
• The Saudi government organised an Arab coalition to fight in Syria,
initially against ISIS, then against President Assad’s forces.
• Saudi Arabia joined other Gulf countries in blockading Qatar. The
principal demands were that Qatar should close Al Jazeera which had
become an alternative source of news throughout the Middle East,
and cease supporting ‘terrorism’, meaning the Moslem Brotherhood
and other manifestations of political Islam.
1 Saudi Arabia 3
• With US support, Saudi Arabia began to organise a coalition
of Sunni states (principally Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States,
Jordan and Egypt) to resist a perceived threat of Shiite influence
in a ‘corridor’ stretching from Iran, through Iraq and Syria as long
as President Assad remained in power, and into Lebanon where
Hezbollah is one of the best-supported political parties and part
of the coalition government. Iran is seen as capable of mobilising
Shiite populations in Yemen, Oman, and in Saudi Arabia’s own
Eastern Province. The Sunni coalition is intended resist Iranian
influence, and to stabilise the Middle East. Its members accept
the legitimacy of the state of Israel. The Shiite governments and
political parties continue to regard Israel as the ultimate rogue
state.
Given its pre-2015 history, this list of changes amounts to a revolution
from above. Middle East experts in the rest of the world are excited by
these changes. Up to now, the lives of Saudis have been less affected.
The changes may be the start of the transformation of Saudi Arabia into
a more normal Middle East country. A problem is that few young or
older Saudis want their country to become more like Iraq, Syria, Jordan
or Egypt. They rather appreciate the ways in which their country has
been different.
Saudi Arabia: Recent History
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Arab Moslem country located
in the south-west corner of Asia. It covers most of the Arabian
Peninsula and has a strategic geographic location with beaches
stretching along the Red Sea in the west and the Arabic/Persian Gulf
in the east. The Gulf littoral is shared with the smaller Gulf States.
Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbour is Yemen. Its northern neighbours
are Jordan and Iraq.