Wajeha Al-Huwaider: A Feminist in Saudi Arabia

A while ago I stumbled upon a blog post from the blog "Sand Gets In My Eyes" about Wajeha Al-Huwaider, a feminist in Saudi Arabia.

(In fact the blog itself is pretty cool. It's written by an American journalist and mother who lives in Saudi Arabia. Anyway, though, back to Ms. Huwaider)

Needless to say, I was curious. I read through the post, and I was rather impressed. This woman wrote about issues that everyone was aware of, but no one bothered to clarify. And she wrote well, with blatant honesty and cutting sarcasm that I immediately fell in love with.

She's made several statements on Arab and Saudi men and women, and in most of her statements she defends Islam, implying that the patriarchy in the Arab and Muslim world is not a product of the religious doctrine itself, but of patriarchal and fundamentalist interpretations of it.

Now, I like that. I'm not a Muslim, myself, but I have grown up in a Muslim family and live a Muslim country. I'm not saying it's the most feminist religion out there, but there is plenty of room for a more feminist interpretation of it.

There were also a few pieces by her that I really liked, mostly portrayals of the ridiculous contradictions in the Arab world today, especially in the Gulf Countries. One is called "This is not a Western Conspiracy."

The blog post about her begins by saying that Huwaider is a rare woman in Saudi Arabia. I think that's key. What we need here in the Middle East is more women like Huwaider, who aren't afraid to speak their mind about the ridiculous things going on around them. Women who aren't afraid to question the things that have been stuffed down their throats in the name of Religion.

To my knowledge, Huwaider has been deported and lives in Oman, based on the scathing articles she's published in newspapers. This, I figure, shouldn't be too discouraging. With the internet, staying anonymous isn't a problem, and the more women speaking out, the less patriarchal governments can do about it, and the more they'll be pushed to take some actual, progressive action.

The only thing I don't like about Huwaider is her sweeping generalizations about Arab men. Sure, some of them are completely hopeless, but calling them all ungrateful bastards is pretty unfair, and is bound to give people more reason to call her a 'man-hater'.

Anyway, my perspective is that of a young girl in the Middle-East. What do all of you think? How does this fit in with your usual impression of Saudi Arabia, and of the Arab world as a whole?