The vision of a utopian society, where concepts of egalitarianism and justice reign, is an ancient thought which has motivated political thinkers throughout the century. Yet to turn the society into an Eden, according to which the social order resembles a paradise, is clearly a political project that has not yet been realized. For various causes in political and social history, societies have been constituted by the exact inverse: a lack of equality and discrimination. Nevertheless, identifying these instances within a given social framework gives one the chance for improvement. This improvement in the case of Saudi Arabia must be examined according to the precise instances of discrimination that occur within the society, so as to understand their causes and perhaps someday correct them.
According to the annual survey produced by the think tank Freedom House, entitled “Worst of the Worst 2010: The World’s Most Repressive Societies”, Saudi Arabia is included within the top ten. With regards to discrimination, this occurs on many levels. The report notes for example, systematic discrimination against political alternatives, as “political parties are forbidden and organized political opposition exists only outside of the country.” (Freedom House, 2010) Furthermore, religious freedom “does not exist in Saudi Arabia”, as “all Saudis are required by law to be Muslims” (Freedom House, 2010), whereas the Shia and Sufi “minority sects are restricted.” (Freedom House, 2010) Furthermore, in the area of gender “women are not treated as equal members of society, and many laws discrimination against them”, such as not being allowed to “legally drive cars” (Freedom House, 2010) and their use of “public facilities is restricted when men are present.” (Freedom House, 2010) According to the Freedom House report, we can therefore identify three main areas of discrimination in Saudi society: political discrimination, religious discrimination, and gender discrimination.
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Arguably, all of these forms of discrimination are related back to the particular interpretation of Islam that exists within Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the systematic practices of the Saudi society are determined by “legitimacy on governance according to Islamic law (Shari’a).” (U.S. Department of State, 2004) Clearly, however, the law as a legal text is also subject to interpretation. Namely, the fact that there exist a plurality of Muslim states and societies and not all of these states and societies have the same law means that religious texts which form the body of the Shari’a can be interpreted in multiple ways. If we suggest there is discrimination in Saudi Arabia, this is based on a particular interpretation of the Islamic faith and not the result of Islam itself.
Clearly, discriminatory practices are negative to those affected by them. Women are not able to live in the same manner as men. New political ideas are forbidden. Any different form of religion is not permitted. Discriminatory practices affect the individual on numerous levels, restricting spiritual freedom and the freedom of critical thinking as well as, in the case of women, the freedom of movement. To the extent that a society is committed to eliminating discrimination, these systematic practices clearly serve as a barrier to this goal.
However, perhaps it is also worth noting that many of these ideas originate in a particular cultural context, such as the context of Western human rights discourse. If we criticize other countries for having different norms than these standards, we must be wary that we do not also use a form of moral superiority, namely, that we judge others by taking our norms to be universal and the norms that do not coincide with these norms as primitive.
For this reason, the solution is not morally condemning societies which possess different norms with the aim of eliminating discrimination. Rather, dialogue must be opened so as to understand the logic, causes and reasons of such differences. The respect for diversity is also respecting different social arrangements. However, by respecting the opinion of others, we leave ourselves open to be heard. The elimination of discriminatory practices, in this sense, must begin with a sensitivity to diversity and working towards common goals based on our shared humanity that transcends particular social contexts.
- Freedom House. Worst of the Worst 2010: The World’s Most Repressive Societies. Washington, DC: Freedom House 2010.
- U.S. Department of State. “Saudi Arabia.” Washington, DC: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. February 28, 2005. Accessed May 25 2015 at http://www.state.gov
