By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI – The recent appointment of Saudi Arabia as the chair of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has come as a recognition of shift in the kingdom’s policies for women’s participation in public life, as a record number of women are joining the workplaces and the gender segregation and strict dress code for women are gradually dissolving in one of the richest Muslim-majority countries.
Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to U.N., Abdul Aziz Alwasil, will preside over the CSW’s 69th session in Beijing in 2025, following the appointment announced on March 27. Though there was criticism from some quarters over Saudi Arabia’s appointment as head of the gender equality forum in view if its track record on women’s rights, the kingdom has declared that it is eager to help women by working with the CSW as part of its new vision for the nation.
The CSW, established in 1946, has 45 members which are selected based on geographic quotas. No vetting process is required for a country to be elected to the Commission, and there is also no requirement that it meet certain standards of gender rights to join.
Since 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 38-year-old de facto Saudi ruler, has significantly liberalised many of the restrictions, as he is reportedly implementing a plan to remake the country’s economy. Women are coming to workplaces in large numbers and becoming active partners in the nation’s development, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), which functions as the kindgdom’s state news agency.
The SPA said the kingdom’s chairmanship of the Commission comes as an affirmation of its interest in cooperation within the framework of the international community in enhancing women’s rights and empowerment, and it is also in line with the qualitative achievements made by the country in this field, thanks to the special attention and care the kingdom’s leadership pays to women’s empowerment and rights.
The “Saudi Vision-2030” aims for a strong, thriving, and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunities for all. It includes priorities and targets focusing on women’s full participation at all levels and investing their energies in a manner consistent with their enormous capabilities.
Saudi Arabia was elected as the chair of the CSW in an unopposed bid after the Philippines was reportedly pressured to step aside. Countries are elected to the Commission for a two-year term on a rotating basis from one of five regional groups. Both Saudi Arabia and the Philippines are part of the Asia group, so the exit by the Philippines allowed Saudi Arabia to step into the role.
Ambassador Alwasil was endorsed by the group of Asia-Pacific states on the Commission. When the outgoing chair, the Filipino envoy to the U.N., Antonio Manuel Lagdameo, asked the 45 members if they had any objections, there was silence in the chamber. “I hear no objection. It is so decided,” Lagdameo said.
A country holds the chair normally for two years, but the Philippines was put under pressure to split its tenure and pass the post on to another country after one year. Bangladesh was expected to take over but late in the process, Saudi Arabia stepped in and lobbied for the chair, in what is widely seen as an attempt to brighten the kingdom’s image.
Among those who have criticised the move, Sherine Tadros, the head of the New York office of Amnesty International, pointed out that Saudi Arabia will be in the chair next year, on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing declaration, a landmark blueprint for advancing women’s rights globally. “Whoever is in the chair, it is in a key position to influence the planning, the decisions, the taking stock, and looking ahead, in a critical year for the Commission,” Tadros said, adding that Saudi Arabia’s own record on women’s rights was not good.
However, Saudi Arabia has highlighted the rapid strides made by it towards a greater social and economic freedom for women. The critics, on the other hand, pointed out that the 2022 Personal Status Law (PSL), addressing issues related to family life, described by the Saudi authorities as a step forward towards equality, would in reality reinforce gender discrimination. Prior to the PSL, matters related to family were subject to discretionary application of Shariah and interpretation of Islamic texts by the judiciary.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi Vision-2030” programme aims to reduce the Saudi economy’s reliance on oil through investment in non-oil sectors, including technology and tourism. Under MBS, Saudi Arabia began coordinating its energy policy with Russia and also strengthened its relations with China. MBS seems to be altering the map of the kingdom as the hub of Islam, and home to the most sacred and holiest Islamic sites.
MBS-led Saudi Arabia is gradually moving towards a more “current interpretation” of the Holy Quran. The departure from centuries-old norms has stirred controversy in the Islamic world, as an alcohol shop opened up in the kingdom in mid-January, concerts have started taking place in different cities, and the historic Masjid-e-Nabwi, one of the holiest places for Muslims, is on its way to becoming a tourist spot, visited by the people in all kinds of dresses.
The Saudi Arabian government has announced that it would issue tourist visas for entertainment events, such as concerts and sporting events, and a 35-year ban on cinemas was lifted. Women were granted more freedom in an effort to increase their involvement in the workforce. Among the restrictions lifted was a driving ban, and the government began to issue driver’s licenses to women in June 2018.
In August 2019, a set of decrees allowed Saudi women to travel abroad without the permission of guardians. The decrees also allowed women to obtain family documents and guardianship over minors and to register births, marriages, and divorces. The move marked a significant loosening of the controversial guardianship system, under which men exercised near-total authority over women.
The gender mixing, which was long forbidden, has been allowed on a large scale, and the men and women have in recent years been permitted to mingle in public. Women were allowed to enter a football stadium to watch a match for the first time in 2018 and can now also attend concerts alongside men.
The rules on the wearing of abaya robes at the beaches have been relaxed and the women, who had previously been restricted to a handful of careers, mainly in health and education, now also rub shoulders with men in the workplace. Millions of women have entered the job market since 2016, becoming bankers, shoe sellers, business owners, and border officers, among other professions.
