19th APRIL 2008

Feminism is a movement that seeks to establish equal political, economic and social rights for women, through such things as determining qual opportunities for women in education and employment. Throught the movement of feminisim, places such as Australia, Great Britain and America have been transformed into countries that show diverse acceptance of woman, making them nice countries to live in for women. However, it is obvious that there are stil countries that do not accept women to be equal to men.

On this day in 2008, the Human Rights Watch group of New York released a report titled, "Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia" in which it was stated that some Saudi Arabian women were being kept in "perpetual childhood", a state which allowed male relatives full guardianship over them. As a result of this guardianship the women could not work, travel, study, marry or even receive health care without the permission of the male relatives.It also said that the women were denied legally the right to make trivial decisions for their children, things such as opening bank accounts for them, enrolling them in school, obtaining school files or even travel with the children without written permission from the fathers.

The article was based on more than one hundred interviews with Saudi Arabian women.

How is this a justifiable act? People discriminate against feminism saying that a woman's place has always been in the home, to care for their families, to act as the damsel in distress, backing their claims with the notion that it's always been that way or that in same ways it relates to a religious view. But how is the concept of not even being able to travel with your own child without written permission justifiable?

I suppose that to some extent it could be related back to the religion of Saudi Arabia and these particular women. However, I don't think that in this day and age, to be fully classified as a modern country living in the first world, it can seriously be acceptable for this extent of religious restrictions to have effect. I'm not disregarding the rules and conventions of their religion, I'm looking at this with an open mind and assuming that it is through religion that this occurring. But what if it's not?

What if the reason these woman are being treated as "perpetual minors" is simple to appeal to the male relatives fancy? How can you intervene in a situation like this? I'm not religious but I fully accept other people's religion and the diverse array of religions that there are. I'm not discriminatory in any way.

It's just hard to fully grasp the idea that just because where I live I'm accepted as an equal, doesn't mean that women elsewhere aren't offered the same opportunities. And that I really can't do anything about it.



Image available: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Saudi-women-to-cover-%E2%80%9Ctempting%E2%80%9D-eyes-23212.html