Blog Entry ACE-Women's Rights

1. What are your view on the treatment of women's rights in Saudi.

Ans:
I believe in equal right for everyone according to their circumstances. Women do have rights, but they are based on our view of their obligations in life.

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are defined by Islam and tribal customs. Islamic law is based on the Qur'an and hadith (teachings of Muhammad). In Saudi culture, the Islamic law is interpreted according to a strict Sunni form known as Salafi. The law is mostly unwritten, leaving judges with significant discretionary power which they usually exercise in favour of tribal customs.

Saudi women sometimes face discrimination in many aspects of their lives, such as the justice system. Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for social reasons, women make up 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion in the world. The treatment of women has been referred to as "sex segregation". Implementation of a government resolution supporting expanded employment opportunities for women met resistance from within the labour ministry, from the religious police, and from the male citizenry.

Women's rights are at the heart of calls for reform in Saudi Arabia - calls that are challenging the kingdom's political status quo. Local and international women's groups are also pushing governments to respond, taking advantage of the fact that some rulers are eager to project a more progressive image to the West.

In conclusion, everybody should be allowed a say in everything that they do, regarless of sex, race, language or religion. After all, we are all part of the human race, we are all equal in every aspect that we are engaged in.

2.Do you think the use of social media has been an advantage or disadvantage to the women in Saudi?

Ans:
I feel that the social media has been an advantage to the women in Saudi Arabia. Through the use of social media, the women are able to reach out to the general public. They can then reach out to those who have the same sentiments as them. In today’s technological world, the internet connects everyone and it is not uncommon to see people having Facebook and Twitter accounts.
In fact, many uprisings such as those happening in the Middle East have started because of one or more people had posted the idea on social media. They use it as a tool to reach out to people, to share with them their ideas and other stuff.By making use of social media, the women of Saudi can inform people about their plight. This will make other people take pity on them and thus join their cause. By making use of social media, they can then influence the minds of others, and hopefully convince the government to break tradition and bring about a change that would benefit the women in Saudi.

3. There is a very fine line between religion and laws that govern a nation. How do you think the women's rights problem can be handled with sensitivity to both religious beliefs and legal rights?

Ans:
I feel that the way to handle this situation is to leave it to the familiesand the individuals themselves. There should be no laws where women are disadvantaged. All the laws should be applicable to the entire population and not just a specific group. The decision whether women can possess certain rights should be left to the families. The government must not be swayed by religion. However, it is necessary to put in place measures that will help prevent the women population from getting abused. However, the final decision of what rights the woman in the house should be given should be left up to the families themselves.

4. Reflect on the rights of women around the world. Compare the plight of women from another country and reflect on how their plight differ/are similar to the women in Saudi.

Ans:
The countries in the world have different views on how women are treated. Most developed countries have better views of women and they get more rights but the less developed and developing countries usually have women who get less rights.
Take for example India and China. The men are the ones who call the shots and in most parts of India, the women are not allowed to hold high positions. This however, is not reflected in societies like Singapore.
In Singapore, ladies are allowed to take on high-paying jobs, there are no sexual discrimination, women are as equal as men. However, the Saudi Arabians have brought things to a whole new level by denying women the right to do anything. Women are treated as property. Although there are other countries where ladies are denied certain rights, the Saudi women have it the worst.

Extention Activity
2. Women make good leaders. Do you agree?

Ans:

Yes, I do agree that women make good leaders.

Men and women operate in the work environment in different ways based upon genetic differences, cultivation, communication styles and life experience. Many managers, both male and female, agree that sex differences in management style do exist and both describe women’s differences in positive terms.

Stephen Covey said “management is basically a left brained logical approach toward controlling things: leadership is more a right brained, intuitive visionary approach towards building relationships with people. That enables women’s brains to transmit more information more rapidly between the left and right hemispheres.”

Some scientist favor the natural abilities and talents of women and the unique capabilities women contribute to the work environment. Leaders of the future should have strategic vision, effective communications, creativity, and the ability to trust and empower subordinates. Current leadership philosophy stresses many characteristics commonly viewed as feminine attributes.

In a recent Pew Research study, respondents identified eight essential traits for leadership: honesty, intelligence, hard work, ambition, decisiveness, compassion, extroversion, and creativity. Then they rated men and women in each of these categories. Women came out better than men in all except for decisiveness.

In any case, it's certainly a fact that society needs women leaders. Why? Because female leadership styles produce happier and more loyal employees. We are superior motivators, listeners, and nurturers. We're better at working out compromises. We're great at consensus-building. All this translates to better employee performance, productivity, and innovation.

According to a study at Northwestern, The meta-analysis showed that women are more likely than men to use leadership styles that other studies have shown produce better worker performance and effectiveness in today's world.

Specifically, women were more likely to be transformational leaders, defined as those who serve as role models, mentor and empower workers and encourage innovation even when the organization they lead is generally successful.

Research shows that higher standards are often imposed on women to attain leadership roles and to retain them. Because transformational leadership constitutes skillful leadership, women may be more skillful leaders than men because they have to meet a higher standard.