GCC civil society: The paradoxes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar
The Peninsula
One of the headlines of GCC press that has attracted my attention in the past few days is the announcement of a Saudi Arabian member of the press that he has officially submitted a request to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Saudi Arabia to form a society aiming for “sympathy toward men under the domination of women”.
Amongst the reasons the journalist cites for establishing this society is the neglect of men by their wives under the guise of working or care for children. He described this form of neglect as being unacceptable to many classes of men, pointing out that women abandoning their duties toward men are no longer an individual case, but has become a widespread phenomenon, especially with the reliance on domestic servants in conducting matters of the home. The journalist added that the financial independence of women has negatively impacted marital relations, since the wife does not contribute to household expenses despite dedicating time to work rather than the home. As for wives who do not work, they demand luxurious services for spending leisure time, including a car and driver, and shopping allowances, all the while depending on maids to take on their domestic duties. He also pointed out that the membership should, of course, be limited to men, and provided for no fee, just the moral support to other men in lifting the domination exercised by women on them.
Perhaps Saudi women’s action after this incident is a more mature and acceptable manner of dealing with complex issues in the community. A group of women joined together to obtain a license from the Ministry of Social Affairs in an effort to establish a society called , “Mowada” (or “Empathy”) for the treatment of divorce cases. They aim to anticipate and treat problems contributing to divorce through committees comprising of 31 women and a commission made up entirely of male lawyers, religious scholars, businessmen, and jurists. This society has received the approval of the Ministry of Social Affairs on February 17, 2010, and has become the first Assembly of Saudi Arabia on issue of divorce. The women’s association will have male support through the commission of men, because the ministry does not provide a licence for co-gender committees.
What is striking in this and other news is that it illustrates the authenticity and dynamic nature of rapid social mobility, which began in alternate sectors of Saudi society in various fields, especially in the area of civil society and its associated institutions. Although this movement came late for other Gulf communities, it is beginning to take root as they race one another to reform civil society institutions.
In Saudi Arabia, there are now over five hundred associations contributing to the State through support and education, including associations of medicine, engineering, geology, accounting, economics and management, journalism and literature. In addition, charitable associations and the Human Rights Association, which are players in everyday life, and whose activities are prominent and benefits are considerable. The members of the Saudi Shura Council have recently drafted a new system for civil associations and institutions that is awaiting Cabinet’s approval in the forthcoming days. This is a promising development of enhancing the quality, development, and activation of the role of civil society institutions in Saudi Arabia. This is especially the case since the drafted project seeks to regulate and develop civil action, and aims to involve citizens in community management and development, as stated in its first article. The project seeks the formation of an independent body on behalf of the national associations and institutions aimed at the organization of civil work and development and facilitating the tasks of associations and institutions, providing them with protection and support in overcoming difficulties they may encounter.
How have the tables been turned so dramatically? After Qatar was one of the first Gulf countries absorbing the need for change through the structure of society, the formulation of laws, and civil society on the principle of participation, the Qatari Council of Ministers did not pass the proposal of the Shura Council, and have instead suspended the provisions of the current law on associations, institutions, the drafting of a new civilised law. This leads one to question: what are the seeds we want to plant today to see fruits tomorrow?
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