Forum on Saudi women and their rights

The Saudi Women Study Center will hold a forum on Saudi women and their rights and duties at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh next Saturday.Foud Abdelkareem, general supervisor of the center, said around 1,300 specialist participants from around 20 Saudi cities will attend. They are from governmental, nongovernmental and charity bodies.The forum aims to create awareness in society in general and among women in particular with regard to women’s civil and religious rights that are upheld by Islam. Also, the forum aims to present mechanisms for practical solutions and highlight that the male-female relationship in Islam is based on mercy and love, not conflict. He explained the idea of the forum was to highlight Saudi women’s rights as stipulated in Islamic law and then see how they were being applied in society in an attempt to identify gaps and problems in order to mitigate them.Abdelkareem said the forum will discuss several themes: Women’s rights in the Saudi system; women’s social rights; women’s economic rights; and women’s legal awareness. In addition, there will be workshops on developing the concept of rights and duties, young girls’ rights and duties, women’s awareness of their legal rights, how to protect women’s financial rights, and women and the work environment. Abdelkareem revealed the center has identified 14 reports on Saudi women conducted by international legal organizations that are full of fallacies and exaggerations. These reports have neglected to highlight women’s achievements in Saudi Arabia over the past few years. He told Arab News that the West has targeted the globalization of the Saudi women. He criticized the report entitled Qasirat Lilabad (Inferior Forever) released by Human Rights Watch as an attempt to strip women of their religious principles.“The report does not stop at calling for the removal of the head scarf, but it is an offence to these principles, interferes in internal affairs, and even gives orders,” he added. The overwhelming majority of Saudi women enjoy national and religious immunity and therefore they are not likely to be influenced, according to Abdelkareem.On the contrary, women mock such reports as they overlook the bright side of women’s rights in Islam and reflect a lack of knowledge of Saudi culture and its religious exclusivity. Abdelkareem emphasized that Islam liberates women and guarantees their rights.