So why should I take someone who is divorced when I haven t ever been married? Even divorced men are looking for girls who haven t been
married, so why would I end up with a woman who has been previously married? Al-Sanea, 2005-181
The traditions in Saudi Arabia society have put women in a disadvantage because it causes many gender discriminations against women. Their movement
and every day mobility is limited by various rules and norms.
2. Domestic Life
Not only in social life, the gender discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia also occurs in their domestic life. As Kelly stated that Saudi Arabia is an
extreme patriarchal society that it provides privileges to men over women Kelly, 2010: 427. Women in Saudi Arabia are often seen as inferior as men have a full
control of them, their voice are almost never heard even in their own home. In Girls of Riyadh, it is revealed that many women experience inequalities in their
own home. Even though they realize that women have their own responsibility as a wife or a daughter yet they are longing to voice their thought and be heard.
In choosing women as life partner, men in Saudi Arabia tend to choose the one that in their opinion is a shut-up woman. It seems like a tradition that they
are following their ancestor because they see that the marriage of the men before them always succeeded. In Girls of Riyadh, such a phenomenon is revealed by
Michelle, she explains the way men in the society think, it is the way they consider women to be their wife.
Those old men are still living with those shut-up women of theirs. So something must have gone right. What they did was successful. It s got to
work because everyone else has done it. So he follows their steps and doesn t go against their way of doing things Al-Sanea 2005: 182.
Many men in Saudi Society will do what their ancestors have done, they learn from them so that they will have the same success in their marriage. By having
women who do not speak much it will be easier for them. Finally, in marriage life, women will be inferior, their voices are often ignored. They live their life as
what their husband want. Every one of them lives huddled in the shadow of a man, or a wall, or a man who is a wall, or simply stays put in the darkness Al-
Sanea 2005: 2 Not only as a wife, as a daughter, women in Saudi Arabia society also
have limited freedom. Gamrah, who is already divorced with her husband, should live a miserable life in her own home. Just because she is a divorcee, it seems like
she has no more rights in making decision for her life. She cannot easily get permission to get out of the house and if she happens to go out, she has to be
accompanied by her brother. But wasn t that painful enough without having her freedom so horribly
curtailed? ... Believe it or not, this was the first day that she had been allowed to leave the house since her return from America three weeks
before Al-Sanea, 2005: 123 Not only the freedom to enjoy the life outside the house, Gamrah s future
is also decided by the men in the family. In order to protect the whole family from a bad image in the society, Gamrah is forced to remarried. Yet her opinion is not
even considered, whether she agrees or not. When there is a man who is chosen by her uncle to marry her, Gamrah feels so inferior as if she does not exist in the
family that she should accept anything said by her uncle and her father. One day when the man, named Abu Musa ed who is chosen for Gamrah
comes to see her, all elderly men in the family gathered in a room with him and
Gamrah, yet her presence was ignored, the men in the family talk about conditions related to the marriage without asking her opinion even a bit.
Gamrah was shifting her gaze from her father to her uncle to Abu Musa ed. It hadn t occurred to any of these men to consult the person who
had the biggest stake in this, and who happened to be sitting there in front of them, even if she was as silent and stiff as a wooden plank Al-Sanea,
2005: 191 In Islam the decision to get married for a divorcee or a widow is in the
hand of the divorcee herself, as suggested by the Prophet Muhammad SAW in a hadith:
The Prophet, God s blessings and peace be upon him, said: The virgin s agreement to a marriage must be sought by her guardian, but the widow
or divorcee has more right to her own person than does her guardian- The hadith collection of Sahih Muslim, verse 3477 Al-Sanea, 2005: 188
What happens to Gamrah show that the patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia put women in a disadvantage and they are seen as inferiors. In making a decision men
in Saudi Arabia usually do not care about the opinion of women, they decide it themselves. Women should obey what men say, especially their husband or their
father. Not only in marriage life, another discrimination also occurs every time it
comes to life decision such as choosing a job. Actually it is still very rare to see women working in Saudi Arabia because most sectors are dominated by men,
women can only work in a very limited sectors. Michelle who finally move to Dubai UAE has more freedom than when
she lives in Saudi Arabia, since UAE is more liberal country compared to Saudi Arabia. Yet, Michelle still finds difficulties in deciding her life choice because she
has to get the permission from her father. Even though she can finally works in
media, it is not easy for her to develop, because all matters should be under the agreement of her father.
Michelle was officially made a producer of the program. Then she got her own show to produce. They asked her to be the on-air presenter, but
Michelle s father refused to allow her to host a show that would be broadcast in the homes of his relatives in Saudi Arabia Al-Sanea, 2005:
207 Even though they are no longer living in Saudi Arabia but the strong patriarchal
system is still influencing their life. She is not allowed to be the on-air presenter for her own program because the program will be aired in Saudi Arabia. If her
face happens to occur on TV, bad rumors about her will definitely spread.
3. Discrimination in Law
