Often we don't think about what other women in other countries are facing. We only think about women in America and how they can vote, drive a car, go to school, go to work, pick who they want to marry, etc. Not everywhere do women have the right to vote.
Today was a huge turning point for women in Saudi Arabia because in Saudi Arabia women have just earned the right to vote. Also they have earned the right to run and serve as members of the Shura Council. Could you imagine if women in American still did not have the right to vote? Would that have changed the outcome of elections?
Also Saudi Arabian women are not allowed to drive. There was a woman's right activist in Saudi Arabia who was arrested for driving a car. It seems like it would be a big inconvenience to not be able to drive to the store, to a friend's house, or even just to work. What would it be like in American if women did not have the right to drive?
In an article called My Name is Ahlima, Ahlima finds the way American women dress to be "immodest" she says tight clothing could "cause great discomfort" and doesn't think that women who dress that way "can be respected". In Saudi Arabia they have to wear an abuyah which is a loose fitting cloth that covers them from head to toe. Do you think women in America are respected for what they wear?
If you were a women in Saudi Arabia could you deal with not being able to drive, having to wear certain clothes, or having someone pick who you marry for you?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/25/world/meast/saudi-women-vote/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/25/why-can%E2%80%99t-women-in-saudi-arabia-drive-cars.html
http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/164120126152717363/lib/164120126152717363/muslim_woman_part_1.pdf
I really like Kim’s entry. I recently heard about women in Saudi Arabia being able to vote, and honestly I never took any time to actually think about women across the world being able to vote, or even do everyday things, such as driving or even voting, like women do here in America. If women in America did not have the right to vote, I don’t think it would affect me personally. That’s because I’ve just recently started voting and nothing has come to my attention that I would want to have a say in.
ReplyDeleteIf women in America did not have the right to drive, the majority of my extracurricular activities I would not be able to attend. I have done softball, soccer, dance, CCD, and other activities that my mom has had to drive to me to all of them since my dad works. He wouldn’t get home until at least seven at night, which would be after everything would be over. Also, during my last two years of high school, I drove my brother’s to school. If we didn’t have the right to drive, we would be stuck taking the bus, especially since my brother who is a year younger still has not gotten his license.
Do I think women are respected for what they wear? I honestly think this question could go 50/50. Only because it depends on what the women is wearing. If a woman is to wear a business suit or some formal or dressy attire, someone would have respect for them and think they might have some kind of power. But if a woman if to wear something inappropriate or casual, such as sweatpants and a t-shirt, someone might not take them seriously and might think less of them.
Finally, if I was a woman in Saudi Arabia, I don’t think I could deal with not being able to drive, having to wear a certain type of clothing, or having my marriage be set up by my parents. Sometimes I like to dress up and look nice or even dress down and to be comfortable. To constantly wear a certain type of clothing all the time would get on my nerves. Especially in Saudi Arabia where it’s humid, and the clothes I would have to wear cover my entire body. I would also not like a forced marriage since I know what it is like to be with someone you’re best friends with and enjoy their company. To be with someone I would barely know, I could end up hating them and being miserable for the rest of my life.
This is a very thought provoking post on the liberties assigned to women all around the world. It is honestly absolutely appalling that in the year 2011 women in Saudi Arabia still did not possess the right to vote until today when they were granted the right of suffrage. If women in the United States were not allowed to vote, the elections would be greatly affected. The voices of women would remain unheard by Congress and Legislator’s especially with issues like equal pay for women or abortion. I also could not believe that women in Saudi Arabia are not legally allowed to drive. In my opinion, if women were not able to drive that would be such an inconvenience for every day tasks, such as grocery shopping, going to work, running errands, and possibly driving their kids to and from school. In such a case, the United States would no longer “move” as quickly, as well as significantly slowing down the work force. Moreover, much of what women where in the US is quite revealing and may even cause others to view them in a less positive light or even cause some to judge another person about their private lives simply by the way they dress. That being said, I believe that women are not respected often times just by the clothing they wear and the way they present themselves. If I was a women living in Saudi Arabia I most definitely would not be able to handle so many restrictions on simple liberties that so many people take for granted around the world. I would feel so confined and trapped if I lived in Saudi Arabia without any of these simple rights. Life would feel as though it was like living in a prison, and you do not even have the ability to transport yourself other than by foot, and you’re not even in control of legislating your rights. The situation in Saudi Arabia is a sad example of how women are still subordinate to men in many places around the world.
ReplyDeleteKim this entry is great. I also remember having to read that article. I would not be able to imagine what the world would be like without women having the right to vote. I feel as though women would not have advanced as much in society if we didnt have the right to vote. we would probably still be considered "property". As for not being able to drive, I would go crazy. Considering both my mom and myself drive, so if we didnt have that privilege we would not be going to half the places we do. for the article, I feel that Ahlima may consider our dress to be inapropriate but most likely she only knows our style by the celebrities that represent us. In the world of being famous being the most exposed when it comes to wearing clothes gets you the cover of a magazine/article. Not all of us dress immodest the ones who do though are just trying to gain attention. Although some people would say that women should all dress the same so we waste less tiime picking out clothes and shopping I feel that is the exact opposite of what we should have. I like that we can epress ourselves through our choice of clothing where as every Saudi Arabian female looks like everyone else rather than 1 in a million.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great topic to write about. I didn't actually know about this until I read the blog and I thought it was so interesting. Not too often do we think about other countries and how their rights differ from ours in America. It's so crazy how up until today, women in Saudi Arabia couldn't even drive. Driving is something that every teenager looks forward to in America because we can drive around by ourselves, but Saudi Arabian women are so accustomed to not being able to do it. They don't really know any different because they've lived their whole lives not being able to vote, drive, go to school, go to work, or pick who they want to marry. It's not like those were once their rights and then got taken away from them, so they are used to not being able to do any of those things. But if those rights were taken away from American women today, it was be such a big adjustment because a lot of the women alive today were already born with those rights. If we weren't allowed to drive, we would have to walk everywhere. If we weren't allowed to go to school, we wouldn't be taking this class right now. In American, there are so many women with all kinds of styles. I believe some women are respected for what they wear, but not everyone, of course. If they are dressed very appropriate and in professional attire, I believe they are respected even more. It is so shocking that women in other countries still go through what American women went through over 100 years ago. Until now, women in Saudi Arabia were so incredibly inferior to men, just like women in America were so long ago.
ReplyDeleteSaudi Arabian women just recently earning the right to vote was news to me. The first time I learned about the issue was just the other day when I came across this blog. I tend to keep an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude towards issues, especially if the consequences and circumstances of events fail to affect me directly. Therefore, I rarely contemplate the differences in my rights and the rights of women in other countries. Being raised in a world where both sexes have similar opportunity and freedom has made it hard to imagine a place where women are still subordinate to men. The liberties I experience, such as driving, going to work/school, and picking out my outfit each day, seem so meager that I find myself taking such freedoms for granted. After reading about the Saudi Arabian women, I took a step back and paused to think about what life would be like if all my rights were not handed to me. Not being able to drive would be the biggest inconvenience for me. I could no longer work at my current job, because it is too far away to reach by walking. Thus, my freedom to make my own money would be hindered. Also, I would have to find alternative, more time consuming ways to get to and from school. If I had to wear loose fitting clothing that covered me head to toe, I would be quite frustrated. I believe that I, like many women in the United States, do not dress immodestly, but rather, conveniently. I like having the opportunity to choose shorts over a dress when I want to go running, as well as choosing a tee shirt over long sleeves when the temperature is above 75 degrees. I also enjoy having the choice of selecting who I want to date, and could not imagine having someone else pick who I marry and spend the rest of my life with. I feel as though that is a freedom I could not live without. I have yet to vote because I turned 18 just a few weeks ago, but without women’s votes, no elections would be the same. Each and every woman has her own opinion, and it is crucial that individuals express their opinions on who they want to lead our towns, cities, and governments. If American women could not vote, many issues would not have the same regulations and consequences they do now, such as abortion, crimes, and employee wages. Since I have experienced freedoms such as driving, picking my own clothes, and voicing my opinion, I would have an extremely difficult time abiding by the restrictions in Saudi Arabia.
ReplyDeleteThis article is interesting. A lot of people don't think about how other cultures are. I am unfortunately one of those people.
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine what being a woman in another culture would be like. This is partly because I'm only half woman, but partly because I've grown up in a culture where both sexes are treated equally. Since I've become accustomed to this, it's hard to think of a culture where it isn't like that.
Women have always had some sort of influence on me growing up. For instance, my mother used to work at Wheaton Village, a place that everybody in South Jersey knows. It is an awesome place for cool and rare artistic talents. For instance, there is a guy there who can carve birds out of wood blocks in about an hour. My mom worked there as a lamp worker and a glass blower. For those of you who don't know what those are, a lamp worker uses a flame to shape glass to make things such as marbles and jewelry, and a glass blower uses an open kiln and a metal pole to make things such as vases. She did both of these extraordinary tasks to create such beautiful objects and she even loved doing it. Women in Saudi Arabia don't get the chance to do things like that. They don't get the chance to do something that they love. They would get forced to do something, and then when they are done, they don't get to look at it as a creation, but something forced. This is wrong, not only because women lose that wonderful feeling, but I can't help but wonder what it has to be like for the children, also. I was affected greatly by my mother, as were a lot of children in America. One of the greatest lessons she taught me was that "If you find a job in something you love, you'll never work a day in your life." The girls never actually even have a hope of learning this, and the boys lose a mother figure, since the mothers have no say in anything that happens and have to submit themselves completely to other people.
In short(tl;dr), I really can't even imagine what it would be like without having a mother figure in my life. Children who don't have this right are deprived because a mother can be a great influence on a small child's path. It's great to hear that the women in Saudi Arabia are gaining these rights, and i hope that they turn the society around soon, because it would be great to hear that more countries get the chance to have such a great character during development.
Kim's entry is a very interesting one. I had heard about Saudi Arabian women being given the right to vote recently but I didn't know much else about their everyday lives. In fact, I knew very little besides they were forbidden from showing too much skin in public. I could tell by hearing that they just got that right that they must not have had the greatest living situations. I agree with all of the other posts above that if women in America lived in that very same situation still today, America would be a very different country. If American women couldn't drive or vote, this country would not be as far advanced as it is today. If you think about all the driving that parents do for their children, you would realize how detrimental it would be for one of those parents to no longer be able to drive. If one parent was forced to stay home because they weren't able to drive then the other parent would have to leave work to get the child or the child would not stay after school. This would result in very few after-school activities or lower production from work places. Also, if women can't drive cars does that then mean that they can't drive buses, trains, or airplanes as well? That would mean that all public transportation would be a strictly male position which would draw from other positions all over the country. It would cause a very significant drawback in our society and economy if women weren't allowed to drive. The right to vote being taken away from women would change the outcome of many elections because they make up about fifty percent of the population. Women have a lot of right's here in America that they wouldn't have anywhere else in the world like the right to individuality. This right includes being able to wear what they want. This is important in a society because there is a lot that you can tell about a person from their clothes and it is a way to get a general idea of what that person is like. These rights are extremely important and I do not know what I would do without those rights especially after already being exposed to them.
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