I do not have the same first-person perspective that Sufia does on Saudi Arabia, but respecting Saudi Arabia for its “progress” ignores numerous, and flagrant, violations of human rights and basic principles of good governance. Human Rights Watch, an international Non-Governmental Organization has chastised Saudi Arabia for its discrimination against women and lack of codified protections of expression, assembly, and association. From the violent dispersal in October 2003 of a demonstration in Riyadh, to the March 2006 razing of a private Hindu temple, the Saudi government is anything but progressive (Human Rights Watch Memorandum to the Government of Saudi Arabia on Human Rights Priorities in the Kingdom, hrw.org 2/7/2006). Sufia cites America’s high divorce rate as one if its primary social ills, yet the Saudi divorce rate stands at over 50% — so much for the downfall caused by Westernization (Saudi Arabia calls forced marriages ‘un-Islamic’, cbc.ca 2/7/2006). The Saudi government is an unelected monarchy, and women in Saudi Arabia are banned from voting or running for office in municipal elections in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which it is party. Human Rights Watch notes “women in the kingdom continue to suffer from severe discrimination in the workplaces, homes, and courts, and from restrictions on their freedom of movement. Women do not have the right to leave the house without a male relative or written permission from their guardian, which is also required to enroll in school or university, seek medical help, or open a bank account.” In fact, the number of international organizations condemning Saudi Arabia for violations of human and political rights, and other unprogressive behavior far outweighs those congratulating it. Amnesty International talks of widespread torture, secret trials leading to beheadings, and political prisoners, Human Rights Watch roundly criticizes the kingdom, and the United States Department of State notes numerous violations. The United States and “western world” have numerous problems, I agree. But these social differences that Sufia brushes off are indicative of a political and social institution promoting gender intolerance and inequity, and a fundamental lack of respect for basic human dignity and rights. Western society is certainly not crumbling, and Saudi Arabia would do well to incorporate more of the codified freedoms that the international community has accepted. Social and cultural identity are important, but until the issues raised by the international community are addressed, Saudi Arabia will never, and should never, be admired for its progress.
– Chris Wiener CAS 2008 210-260-4636
No affiliation with the author.
