Liberating Young Saudi Girls from Patriarch driven mentality

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Liberating Young Saudi Girls from Patriarch driven mentality

“To be female is, according to that distinction, a fact-city which has no meaning, but to be a woman is to have become a woman, to compel the body to conform to a historical idea of ‘woman to induce the body to become a cultural sign, to materialize oneself in obedience to a historically delimited possibility, and to do this as a sustained and repeated corporeal project” (Butler)

Introduction

In Saudi, women emancipation has dwindled to crises levels. In fact, being female is a source of equal pride, equal opportunities, and equal competition. A woman in the contemporary Saudi does have equal resource and abilities parallel to that of the male counterpart. However, conventional reflection has often relegated woman’s role in the society to appear, as that does not have a decisive power to request for equal rights and justices. The commencing discussion will attempt to prove that a liberated Saudi girl stands a greater position to compete favorably against patriarch based opinions and agendas. This research is based on a movie Wadjda, which seeks to portray the life of young Saudi Girl, inclined to social rigidity, but wishes to explore her inner-self, a personality of adventure and genderless factors. The study examines critical studies showing how the Saudi situation has subjected women to a series of global problems. Besides, the study provides a personalized reflection with intent to integrate the liberal literature highlighted in the background section.

Background

As seen from the Wadjda movie, much of the contemporary research in relation to women has focused on women emancipation at the expense of primary and in particular, critical attention has been directed to examine whether women could achieve equal status as that of men when they are already grown. However, this approach lacks a coherent justifiable approach because the social constraints are entrenched deeply into the culture. This affects the psychosocial analysis that young girls should understand the role sexuality in affirming the purpose of a woman in the social development. The Wadjda movie provides a distinct analysis that sexuality plays a significant element in Saudi women. In this regard, few researchers, namely, Foucault 1978, Butler 1988 and Ranciere 1991 have provided much of the needed approaches in relation to young girls understanding their sexuality as their identity and not necessary a trade-in for security favors offered by the male sex. Other mounting studies have attempted to evaluate on the importance of women emancipation especially in relation to the development of human theories of sexism and subjectivism as well as, the much contended marriage factor.

Literature

Problem Statement

Social culture and rigidity concern

Epidemiological approaches on stereotypes against Saudi women have existed on almost every hemisphere of Saudi’s culture. There has been an optimal reluctance to examine the severity, which optimally affects vulnerable groups. This is evident even in the Wadjda movie. Sa’Ar (406) argues that unpleasant realities of prejudices within the Saudi culture are primarily responsible for deviant projections against the entire feminine gender. In fact, the social culture against Saudi women has ensured that the male sex dominates in all social sectors and more so education. Indeed, women in Saudi are poorly educated, unemployed and this accentuates on social violence decisively. In the year, 2003, Shirin Ebadi Nobel Prize winner, attempted to warn Saudi women against this stereotypes.

From this warning, it is clear from that the scholarly approach towards stereotyping against Saudi women has ensured that women rights are now considered at serious risk shaken by unpredictable shocks.

Surveys on Saudi women culture have justified that educated women culture differs significantly from the uneducated women. These prejudices and stereotypes stretch valiantly to causing complication of everyday life, lack of time, lack of motivation, family responsibility, and lack solidarity among women. Olimat (2) further argues in relation to these diversities in what the text considered as unique vulnerabilities. Indeed, in Saudi, approaches regarding study of violence in vulnerable populations have argued that an explanation regarding risk factors of stereotypes explains the adequacy of explanatory frameworks.

Sexism illuminates to Subjectivism

Wadjda the film talks about a girl who desires to beat the odds of sexism, and in fact, desires to conduct a boyish life. After watching the Wadjda Husband movie, one will be compelled to think whether the moral subjectivism initiated against the feminine sex is primarily responsible in triggering extreme emotivism that attempts to hold the moral judgments. In this regard, it is necessary express the feeling that cannot be morally be criticized. Ideally, the rationally criticized feelings are technically projected by the error theory (Joyce, 520), which holds that moral judgments are equally false whether sexist, or anti-sexist Double (503). Conversely, the according to the video, one will notice that intuitionism is not much stronger since it encounters when sexist ideologies predominate the argument to argue that males ought to be treated better than females and that business matters in that sense.

The discussion further melts down to the role of prescriptivism in shaping a moderate Saudi girl to consider that woman held an important position in the society. Such views have periodically tarnished the benevolent theory since after all, Saudi women do consider themselves as seconding the patriarch driven social dominion and not establishing an equivalent competitive sex. The discussion on subjectivism is emphasized by the nature of voting and education and leadership roles. This debate introduces a series of other debates; for instance, sexist language and the introduction of male issues like, paternity leave.

Stereotyping is evident in the movie. In relation to the earlier discussion presented in this assessment, -stereotypes- Krause quotes Cook (1999) who cites as examples interference of Christian missionaries on one hand and contemporary efforts to rescue Arab women from being killed for becoming pregnant without being married. This research considers that moral postmodernism as failing culture that has failed to offer a practical agenda. Consequently, post-colonialism agenda deepens these stereotypes. In fact, the incorporation of economic factors in the basic social setting was evident.

In an analysis, one will notice that there is an alternative on the concept of suggested which attempts to perceive the moral subject to not being static and that which is not constructed on basis of language, culture, gender, and ideology.

Therefore, about the subject of formation, there has been an impetus seconding the formation fragmented the experiences and this remains technically adjustment to traditional subject. In any case, it receives integral status of exclusion when relative is initiated to examine whether its dominion has any deep significance. Sexism is primarily responsible for the development of subjectivism, and a later part will attempt to argue how the masculine doctrine is entirely responsible for the development awkward ideologies.

Sexuality and Marriage (pigeonhole)

Ginat argues that the term honor is not an exact translation of respect, but in the Saudi culture, the strict code of modest for women and unequal treatment of the female sex is a well understood phenomena. A man is a source of hope to several women in the Saudi culture, and, in fact, this hope stretches significantly to explaining the restrictions of where Saudi Muslim women are placed in the Saudi society – subjects. In this regard, restrictions placed in the Saudi women reflection sexuality acts as the most serious breach of the modesty code. Further in the aspect of the stereotype, there has been a constant debate in Muslim societies says that women inferior position is attributed to her supposed to their sexual appetite and moral laxity. Therefore, in relation to the video, it is good to argue that a married woman is not only protected and offered shelter by the patriarch dominion, but also guided, controlled, supervised, and special cases rectified brutally by the patriarch dominion and that is right.

Ahmad (193-194) conducts a series of comparison in relation to women position in the society. In these assessments, it is clear that the bride’s group should tether the bride to continue protecting its relatives long after her marriage since honor is entirely at stake. On the other hand, the bride’s new kinship plays a decisive role in selecting and judging a temperate woman one that is fit for their clan. In this case, it is good to argue that is a gap between technical ideology and reality. There is another stereotype: whenever the unmarried woman is found in immorality, she is killed by the members of the native family. This illusion accelerates the spontaneous ignorance that women are the receiving subjects when it comes to the subject of immorality, and to be on the safe side, marriage remains an important agenda in their lives.

The aspect of marriage and social ambition in Wadjda movie

“Saudi men cannot stand an experienced and intelligent women, it would seem as though the man is afraid of her because….he knows very well that his masculinity is a test and not an essential justification of truth” source author 2014

In the light with this apprehension, there has been as subsequent effort attempting to discourage women from advanced education. As a result, women have been coerced to think inline of marriage and that business is formerly accepted. In this result, the marriage factor remains as a strong ambition for most women. In fact, according to the video, marriage is an important aspect more than education to an average Saudi woman.

This is constructively backed by the pigeonhole that the value of women deteriorates with age. In fact, their youth is seen as the only important thing in their kinship. Further to this, their youth is only important in giving the husband sexual pleasure, bearing children for the kinship and serving the extended family and more so the husband with food. This period last from the age of the girls in the video although to menopause, not to mention that also through this period, masculinity is at free to practice polygamy.

Male Guardian

….if the bride selects a marriage partner who is not suitable to the clan’s expectation, the guardian is not obliged to marry her to him, and if the she presents a candidate and the guardian presents a candidate the guardian chooses a different candidate altogether……source author 2014

There has been a derivative debate attempting to clarify how women are capable of marrying themselves to any man. This can be debated collectively on the exception that a young girl whose father has authorized to conclude the marriage contract is naturally left out of the process of negotiating. Further to this, the masculine dominion will naturally extend until marriage where the married man is expected to make an important decision regarding his woman in her oblivion. In fact, the most problematic issues relate to the eligible guardian in the marriage contract and not the role of the female being sought.

For the Saudi culture as presented in the Wadjda movie, a senior man has a distinct authority over a member of the clan including the younger men and women and this authority extends deeply on the subjects of distinct forms of control subordination. In this patriarch society, the guardian male (whether right or wrong….it is not questionable) gender arrangements and the only way for young girls are to comply with decisions as they come. The question that every woman is concerned is not whether the quality of decisions she makes are sufficient but whether the quality meets the standards of the male guardian.

Research perspective

How teaching changes this setting as seen in Wadjda movie

Elementary Education and Female literacy

Watt 8 attempts to clarify the literal differences between a Saudi women living in Canada and her native counterpart living in a stereotyped like Saudi. In this analysis, one will notice that a female access to training and education depends on the degree of how cultural and religious belief defining her position in the society. In the previous assessment, we leant that the Saudi culture defined the role of women as providers of love and comfort to the competitive man and caretakers of their families in a broader sense. However, the commencing assessment (which is in the light with our teacher in the video) is developed structurally to ensure that modernity encourages women to be equal players in the society with men.

Watt uses the media analysis to compare the quality of lives between various Saudi, and in this analysis, it is clear that liberated women in civilized stood a great advantage to fight against social rigidity since education liberated them constructively.

In Saudi’s reality, women and more women will be required to join the general workforce, and this stretches deeper to masculine careers; for instance, industrial machine operators, contractors, and electricians. However, as a matter fact, marriage remains to be a competitive deterrent to feminine education and in the real sense early marriages prevents women from competing for equal opportunity and in any cases, most technical and non-traditional training requires the minimum of nine years of elementary education (Wadjda, 2014). In this regard, the girls in the video represent a desired generation. However, the social rigidity identified previously in this discussion has acutely constrained their prospect of attaining formal education.

Sexuality development and Mobility concerns as presented in Wadjda movie

One way in which this system of compulsory heterosexuality is reproduced and concealed is through the cultivation of bodies into discrete sexes with ‘natural’ appearances and ‘natural’ heterosexual dispositions (Butler)

Foucault and Butler attempted to compare modernity versus enlightenment and the evolution of sexuality with time. This is a crucial consideration in human development. In this case, Saudi feminine problems in relation to patriarch dominion ensure can be answered by Foucault judgments in what the texts considers as politics of the body. The Saudi woman is entitled envisage a personal inner space, and education becomes the only decisive application that would be applied some of these problems (Wadjda, 2014). In his writings, one will notice that Foucault was more interested in power than with power in the emergence of the modern subjects. Therefore,

Foucault provides a decisive analysis that attempts to aid women with polymorphous techniques of power, and in this case, not sex as a practice but sex as the theme of the manifold discursive practice. As a matter fact, the subject matter is not sex as a piece of offering to the patriarch dominion, but sex as an analytical enterprise that seeks to present equality.

Conversely, it is prudent to advocated Foucault text to the young girls since according to the Foucault, the western approach in relation to the concept of sex, one will notice that the post-Renaissance period advocated for the internalizing of social norms related to moral and in particular to sexual behavior. Butler supports the theorems as he sets out a political stall. Eventually, his uses a strategy that denaturalize and signifies bodily factors. In addition, this text should be explained to the young girls who due to ignorance they are trapped in a much deeper patriarch dominion. In fact, the young girls will have a firm stand for denouncing the proliferation beyond the binary frame after reading the text. The drag example is a decisive approach that Butler applies when identifying naturality factor. This is a vital prerequisite required while deliberating on the role of identity shaping the destiny women.

The above two deliberations provides a critical assessment of the unique role of women in the society. In this regard, Ranciere provides a pedagogical approach that can be applied to aid the various levels of teaching. Butler attempts to present a complex theoretical analysis examining the nature of Arab men and their attempt to use patriarchy as a doctrine. Ranciere provides a series of pedagogical advisories that can be applied to mitigate sexual indifferences and psychological inferiority complexes.

In Ranciere’s approach, one will notice that the author offers a decisive methodology of performing. Firstly, it is good to note that Ranciere’s text advocates equality and this is the only methodology that decisive goals are achieved. In fact, Ranciere’s approach is advocates the radical treatise on the democratic education. In relation to Ranciere’s specification is the knowledge that what woman advocate is the ignorance of what is needed and what is achievable in class. Secondly, in light with Ranciere’s analysis, it is clear that the how the girls can approach of learning what they never knew about the equality subjects encourages optimism in relation to gender equity. After providing Ranciere’s assessment in class, the girls can draw both reassurance and the ambitious claims about what the Saudi culture considered as impossible. This circumstance is also evident in Wadjda movie.

Summary

The video inspiring this study is barely five minutes long, but what it advocates is instrumental to reignite a cultural thrift. The study has conductively advocated the adoption of Butler and Foucault ideas. This can be applied by using Ranciere’s objectives in a pedagogic approach titled using education to liberating young Saudi from patriarch ideologies. This study has been instrumental in seconding that young Saudi girl needed much decisive attention in the quest making them better and competitive against social driven rigidity, masculinity, sexism and subjectivism. The circumstances surrounding the experiences of a typical Saudi girl are perfectly presented in the Wadjda movie. This research clarifies that women must change and make a decisive contribution of building the economy and not acting on a secondary role in the whole business of masculine development. In an encapsulation, education provides decisive answers to detach from social and cultural constraints, especially those relating to patriarch dominion.

Bibliography

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Foucault, Michael. The History of Sexuality. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication, New York. (1978). Stanford University Press, 1991.

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Joyce, Richard. “The Error In ‘The Error In The Error Theory’.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 89, no. 3 (2011): 519-534.

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Rancière, Jacques. The ignorant schoolmaster: five lessons in intellectual emancipation. Stanford, Calif: 1991.

Sa’Ar, Amalia. “Masculine Talk: On the Subconscious Use of Masculine Linguistic Forms among Hebrew‐ and Saudi‐Speaking Women in Israel.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 32, no. 2 (2007): 405-429.

“Wadjda,” YouTube video, 2:47, posted by “Film Festivals and Indie Films,” March 06,     2014, HYPERLINK “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RoU_QC-VQQ” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RoU_QC-VQQ

Watt, Diane. “Challenging Islamophobia Through Visual Media Studies: Inquiring Into A Photograph Of Muslim Women On The Cover Of Canada’s National News Magazine.” Simile: Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education 8, no. 2 (2008): 1-14.