What is the current social, economic and political status of women in Research Paper

What is the current social, economic and political status of women in Saudi Arabia What are the obstacles to true reform of womens rights in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example This essay discusses the social, economic, and political status of women in Saudi Arabia today. Women in Saudi Arabia are seriously underrepresented in important positions in both the private and public sectors. Possibly most evident, women experience discrimination in personal-status laws, which focus on features of family life such as marriage, inheritance, and child custody. Most Saudi laws proclaim that the husband is the head of the family, authorize the husband to control the decision of his wife about getting a paid job, and in certain instances openly instruct the wife to submit to her husband.ii However, major attempts have been initiated to advance women’s status over the recent years. Women have become more involved in business, education, and public life all over Saudi Arabia. The specific issues that have been of utmost concern to women in Saudi Arabia today relate to employment opportunities, access to health care and education, political rights, and legal protection. These issues have been the focus of almost all women and women’s movement in the region.iii For decades Saudi women have fought for equal opportunities. Today, they fight for their right to leave their houses without the supervision of a male kin and their right to work. The authority of the male relative guarantees the lack of freedom of Saudi women. A reform in women’s legal status is certainly the major change concerning women’s status in Saudi Arabia. The status of women is continuously advancing and in numerous universities the population of female students continuously grows. There are still a small number of women involved in paid employment, but those who are part of the labor force occupy very important positions and are willing and prepared to stand up for their careers, a characteristic highly valued by private organizations.iv Women are becoming more visible in new industries wherein they are now permitted to work; yet, poverty, homelessness, and