06-26-2007, 02:48 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Veil of segregation
A new law prohibits Saudi women from sharing office space with men, writes Donna Abu-Nasr
Female bank employees are being partitioned away from their male colleagues in their workplaces under new rules enforcing Saudi segregation of the sexes, a move women say is squeezing them out of the few business realms where they have been gaining more rights.
In one case, a woman banker reported to work only to be told she would no longer be working at her usual place alongside her male colleagues. Her office has been relocated to a women-only suite, set up on the ground floor so she and other female bankers won't mix with men taking the elevators to higher floors.
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Another woman has been told she will soon be separated from her male colleagues by partitions being erected in a corner of the spacious floor she has long shared with them. Both women spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their careers.
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Saudi Arabia has long enforced a strict Islamic lifestyle in which men and women are segregated in public, including at schools, universities, restaurants, lines outside international fast food outlets and bank branches catering to customers.
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But the latest measures targeting several bank headquarters in Riyadh have stunned many female bankers who believed the Government had turned a blind eye to the mixed environment at their offices because it wanted Saudi women to advance at work. Women have long been banned from several professions, especially in the legal system, and academic majors, such as engineering, journalism and geology.
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The kingdom's labour law prohibits the employment of women in "hazardous jobs or industries" and allows them to work only "in all fields suitable to their nature" without specifying what those are.
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Banking is one of the few professions where Saudi women have gained more rights in the past few years - as part of a reform drive. Female bankers say they now make up to 15 per cent of the staff.
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No one knows exactly who issued the new segregation rules. Managers have refused to provide written orders to women. Officials at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the kingdom's central bank which many suspect is behind the new action, did not return several calls made by this writer on Sunday and Monday.
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The measures are a major setback for women, who have long struggled to prove themselves in this male-dominated society. Saudi women are believed to make up less than 10 per cent of the workforce and have mostly worked in the education and health sectors. Saudi women say the new rules contradict Government assertions that it wants to provide women with more employment opportunities.
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They also contend the rules constitute a breach of several agreements Saudi Arabia has signed with international organisations, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
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"Nothing has been done to eliminate discrimination against women," said historian Hatoon al-Fassi. "The new measures discourage women from work and from seeking leadership positions, and they encourage employers to hire men instead."
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Five female bankers interviewed by this writer said they worry the measures would deprive them of their jobs or lead to their demotion. They said they doubt the orders will be reversed because it will be hard for officials to defend actions that the religious establishment deems offensive. The women insist they were not breaching Islamic principles by working with men. They said banks already had strict rules governing interactions between the sexes. For example, female staffers had to keep the mandatory black abaya, or cloak, and veil on at all times.
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They could not wear make-up, hold closed-door meetings with the male staff or date them.
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Many also could not attend business lunches with male clients for fear the religious police would arrest them for illegally mixing with men.
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The women said they don't know how the banks will function with key staffers and executives hidden away on different floors or behind partitions.
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The woman ordered to the ground floor said not only her working conditions were changed, but also her duties. Her bosses would not tell her why she was given a different job. It was only when she saw a story about the new measures on the Website of the Dubai-based, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that she understood.
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"My life changed overnight," said the woman. "I can't attend meetings. I can only talk to my male colleagues by phone ... It's a big mess."
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?m...t&counter_img=3
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Seems like Islamic societies are increasingly becoming ''progressive.'' Ironic, a year or two ago there was program on one of the European channels on women's rights in saudi arabia. This saudi ''feminist'' went on and on, raving to the western female journalist, about how things are changing for the better for women in the arab society, and that it won't be long before they can drive and do all those wonderful things that women in other societies can do. The change is in the air....Blah..blah..blah.
Fast forward a year or two, and the women are completely isolated physically, sitting by themselves in a separate room, talking to themselves. If this is the Saudi society's idea of change for the better, oh boy...
A new law prohibits Saudi women from sharing office space with men, writes Donna Abu-Nasr
Female bank employees are being partitioned away from their male colleagues in their workplaces under new rules enforcing Saudi segregation of the sexes, a move women say is squeezing them out of the few business realms where they have been gaining more rights.
In one case, a woman banker reported to work only to be told she would no longer be working at her usual place alongside her male colleagues. Her office has been relocated to a women-only suite, set up on the ground floor so she and other female bankers won't mix with men taking the elevators to higher floors.
Â
Another woman has been told she will soon be separated from her male colleagues by partitions being erected in a corner of the spacious floor she has long shared with them. Both women spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their careers.
Â
Saudi Arabia has long enforced a strict Islamic lifestyle in which men and women are segregated in public, including at schools, universities, restaurants, lines outside international fast food outlets and bank branches catering to customers.
Â
But the latest measures targeting several bank headquarters in Riyadh have stunned many female bankers who believed the Government had turned a blind eye to the mixed environment at their offices because it wanted Saudi women to advance at work. Women have long been banned from several professions, especially in the legal system, and academic majors, such as engineering, journalism and geology.
Â
The kingdom's labour law prohibits the employment of women in "hazardous jobs or industries" and allows them to work only "in all fields suitable to their nature" without specifying what those are.
Â
Banking is one of the few professions where Saudi women have gained more rights in the past few years - as part of a reform drive. Female bankers say they now make up to 15 per cent of the staff.
Â
No one knows exactly who issued the new segregation rules. Managers have refused to provide written orders to women. Officials at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the kingdom's central bank which many suspect is behind the new action, did not return several calls made by this writer on Sunday and Monday.
Â
The measures are a major setback for women, who have long struggled to prove themselves in this male-dominated society. Saudi women are believed to make up less than 10 per cent of the workforce and have mostly worked in the education and health sectors. Saudi women say the new rules contradict Government assertions that it wants to provide women with more employment opportunities.
Â
They also contend the rules constitute a breach of several agreements Saudi Arabia has signed with international organisations, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Â
"Nothing has been done to eliminate discrimination against women," said historian Hatoon al-Fassi. "The new measures discourage women from work and from seeking leadership positions, and they encourage employers to hire men instead."
Â
Five female bankers interviewed by this writer said they worry the measures would deprive them of their jobs or lead to their demotion. They said they doubt the orders will be reversed because it will be hard for officials to defend actions that the religious establishment deems offensive. The women insist they were not breaching Islamic principles by working with men. They said banks already had strict rules governing interactions between the sexes. For example, female staffers had to keep the mandatory black abaya, or cloak, and veil on at all times.
Â
They could not wear make-up, hold closed-door meetings with the male staff or date them.
Â
Many also could not attend business lunches with male clients for fear the religious police would arrest them for illegally mixing with men.
Â
The women said they don't know how the banks will function with key staffers and executives hidden away on different floors or behind partitions.
Â
The woman ordered to the ground floor said not only her working conditions were changed, but also her duties. Her bosses would not tell her why she was given a different job. It was only when she saw a story about the new measures on the Website of the Dubai-based, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that she understood.
Â
"My life changed overnight," said the woman. "I can't attend meetings. I can only talk to my male colleagues by phone ... It's a big mess."
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?m...t&counter_img=3
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seems like Islamic societies are increasingly becoming ''progressive.'' Ironic, a year or two ago there was program on one of the European channels on women's rights in saudi arabia. This saudi ''feminist'' went on and on, raving to the western female journalist, about how things are changing for the better for women in the arab society, and that it won't be long before they can drive and do all those wonderful things that women in other societies can do. The change is in the air....Blah..blah..blah.
Fast forward a year or two, and the women are completely isolated physically, sitting by themselves in a separate room, talking to themselves. If this is the Saudi society's idea of change for the better, oh boy...