Traditional and religious practices derived from the Islamic holy text, the Qur’an, have been the determining factors leading to the oppression and segregation of women in Saudi Arabia. Women are expected to be subservient to men whether in home settings or in public settings. It has been argued, though, that the ideals of the Qur’an have been misinterpreted by Saudi authorities and are not supported by Islamic law. To understand this concept further, we must first have some understanding of Saudi Arabia’s government. Saudi Arabia has a monarchist government structure with the Shari’a, the fundamental religious concept of Islam, as the basis of its government system. Saudi Arabia’s Constitution specifies that the Qur’an and the hadith, the
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Saudi Arabia’s actual Constitution is the Shari’a, or Islamic law, which is where all laws obtain the validity. The Council of Senior Ulama delivers fatwas, or decrees, which are derived from the Qur’an while the Courts use the rules from the Shari’a in cases that are brought before them. The Basic Law, however, is silent on women’s rights. Saudi Arabia’s government allowed clergymen to interpret the Shari’a as to deny right’s to women, such as the right to travel and seeking healthcare without being accompanied by a male, and the denial of equal access to education and employment. With their interpretation of the Shari’a, the beating of a defiant wife is also legally …show more content…
The Qur’an requires men to wear coverings from the waist to the knees, but this dress code is not strictly enforced on the men by the religious police, muttawas, but the veiling of women is not referenced by the Qur’an nor is it mentioned in hadith. In actuality, hadith instructs men and women to be dressed modestly and humbly. The veiling could be seen as a cultural norm if it weren’t forced upon women. The enforcement of the dress code on women in Saudi Arabia is discriminatory because women are not treated with the flexibility that men enjoy. As veiling is not strictly required as part of Islam, there is no religious basis for which it is enforced upon women, and their human right not to be discriminated against solely because of their sex is directly being violated (Mtango,
Saudi Arabia’s actual Constitution is the Shari’a, or Islamic law, which is where all laws obtain the validity. The Council of Senior Ulama delivers fatwas, or decrees, which are derived from the Qur’an while the Courts use the rules from the Shari’a in cases that are brought before them. The Basic Law, however, is silent on women’s rights. Saudi Arabia’s government allowed clergymen to interpret the Shari’a as to deny right’s to women, such as the right to travel and seeking healthcare without being accompanied by a male, and the denial of equal access to education and employment. With their interpretation of the Shari’a, the beating of a defiant wife is also legally …show more content…
The Qur’an requires men to wear coverings from the waist to the knees, but this dress code is not strictly enforced on the men by the religious police, muttawas, but the veiling of women is not referenced by the Qur’an nor is it mentioned in hadith. In actuality, hadith instructs men and women to be dressed modestly and humbly. The veiling could be seen as a cultural norm if it weren’t forced upon women. The enforcement of the dress code on women in Saudi Arabia is discriminatory because women are not treated with the flexibility that men enjoy. As veiling is not strictly required as part of Islam, there is no religious basis for which it is enforced upon women, and their human right not to be discriminated against solely because of their sex is directly being violated (Mtango,