WUNRN
SAUDI ARABIA - WOMEN &
ENGINEERING - DICHOTOMY OF VALUES FOR STUDY ABROAD
By Sabria S. Jawhar - 9 December
2013
A new study by the World Economic Forum came up with
some interesting facts about Arab and Muslim women, particularly Saudis, in
education and the workplace. An estimated 80 percent of all Saudi women
applying at domestic and foreign universities are interested in the field of
engineering.
Greet Brosens, managing director of Sagent Recruitment, told the news website
PolicyMic that, “The number of girls studying engineering in the Middle East is
higher than the UK for all countries where stats are available. Kuwait jumps
out with near parity at 49 percent, and some research even suggests that girls
have now overtaken boys in engineering subjects. Bahrain (has a female
engineering student population) of 32 percent. (And) 80 percent of all girls in
Saudi Arabia are interested in engineering.”
This sharply contrasts to young Western women entering college in which only 19
percent of American women graduated with engineering degrees in 2012. Only 15
to 16 percent of the women in the United Kingdom comprise engineering students.
According to PolicyMic, part of the success in Saudi Arabia producing so many
female engineering candidates is our gender-segregated education system, which
promotes an environment to excel. However, the Saudi education system is taken
to task for its segregated system for not preparing Saudi women to work
alongside men.
I think that working closely with men is less of a problem for Saudi women than
the social impact of their education and career choices. Saudi women have
demonstrated in the Kingdom and abroad that they can behave professionally and
not be distracted from the work at hand. If only the religious establishment
could be as smart and perceptive as the women they routinely condemn for obtaining
a Western education and finding work in a mixed environment.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s scholarship program, which
allows virtually any Saudi the opportunity for a free university education
abroad, has dramatically altered the dynamic in relationships between men and
woman and the role that Saudi women play in society. Sixty percent of the
university graduates today are women. And, frankly, men are having a tough time
with it.
Saudi women are returning from Western universities with degrees, letters of
appreciation and recognition worldwide for their research. Alberta University
recently recognized my niece for her studies in breast cancer research in her
master’s program. She doesn’t have time for nonsense as she buries herself in
her research.
Yet some young Saudi men can’t see past the perceived shame of Westernization.
Marrying a Saudi women returning from the West after completing their studies
is akin to marrying someone morally corrupt. A Saudi comedian recently conducted
man-on-the-street survey to gauge the attitudes of Saudi men toward women
educated in the West. One answer came from a Saudi man dressed in a tracksuit
decorated as the American flag. At his side was his dog: “No, I won’t marry her
because she is corrupted by the West and she will be arrogant and look down on
me.”
Apparently our friend has no concept of irony or a smidgen of self-awareness.
The comedian’s survey was meant to be humorous, but instead it reflexed the
insecurities and failures of some Saudi men. Some respondents urged women to
follow their dreams as long as they followed the principles of Islam. But the
majority couldn’t fathom the idea of a wife who could intellectually challenge
them.
One
man interviewed went to far as to say he couldn’t marry an educated Saudi woman
because she would be “open-minded.” By being open-minded, I surmise that he is
talking about women who see themselves as intellectually capable in all aspects
of life and not reduced to being a baby-making machine.
University-educated Saudi women are not inclined to marry such men, which is a
danger to Saudi society because we are witnessing a growing gap between the two
genders. As women become aware of the world around them and the opportunities
available through an education abroad, the idea sitting in front of the
television in the afternoon, shopping on Tahlia Street in the evening and
producing babies every other year is far from appealing. Saudi Arabia is
quickly producing a new generation of educated Saudi women who will have a
profound impact on our society. The price will be a higher divorce rate and
more women marrying foreigners.
If the Saudi government has any inkling to strengthen and stabilize the fabric
of our society it must accommodate women by finding them challenging jobs,
teach men to respect women’s role in society and guarantee females full
citizenship status instead of treating them like children that require
coddling. That also means providing social services for the children of Saudi
mothers and foreign husbands, and relaxing the guardianship rules and laws
regarding marrying foreigners.
It’s a sad state of affairs that an educated Saudi woman is perceived as a
threat to men. It’s men who still hold most of the decision-making
responsibilities in government. Women are leaving the kitchen and the new
generation will not easily go back. The window is open for men to narrow the
gap and find a comfortable solution to the 21st century Saudi female.