Samar Al-Miqrin

Al-Jazeera

 

Saudi women have been appointed to important government positions and have proved that they are capable and that they deserve the appointment. To those detractors of the rights of Saudi women, I say this: Saudi women participate fully in society and work hard just like men. We, Saudi women, feel proud of the female members of the Shoura every time we hear their names.



Nowadays, some people are discussing the possibility of appointing women as ministers. A study published recently by Al-Watan daily found that 54 percent of the 3,000-member sample population supported the appointment of women as ministers. I am sure that if the sample had been larger, there would have been an even higher percentage of supporters. This tells us that our society has begun to show more confidence in women and in their abilities to make a positive change in our country.



Of course, only a competent woman should hold the position of minister. It is not fair to restrict such positions to men and exclude qualified women. The media and the way it covers news related to women’s rights has depicted men and women as if they were two different beings who could never meet halfway. Some people think that if women win a certain right, it is at the expense of men who will have lost one of their rights.



The media has perpetuated this situation. That is why some men refuse to see women as ministers. I do not blame them for this way of thinking. But I do blame the media for it.



The media is also to blame for why many members of society think that women who hold high positions tend to neglect their children and do not take care of their homes. This is not true. If a woman can serve her country, she can also take care of her home and children. In the West, we have seen how women, who are ministers, cook and take care of their children, which is proof that being a minister does not affect a woman’s duty as a caretaker.

I still vividly remember an Italian female member of parliament who brought her child with her to one of the sessions. It highlighted her responsibility as a government official and as a mother.



 Some people in Saudi Arabia and in the Arab world in general have little respect for intellectual women and they belittle them and think that they belong in the kitchen. They believe that women cannot take care of their family and cook for them while performing their duties as minister.