Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

drive
automobiles and enjoy many freedoms other Arab women yearn for.
Yet, there are many unsolved problems facing Egyptian women. Female
circumcision is not uncommon in many regions of the country,
although the more educated families have turned away from that
appalling custom. Many Egyptian women complain of rampant groping
should they make a trip to the market without their husbands or a
male escort. Although Egyptian women recently stood
shoulder-to-shoulder with their men when calling out for democracy,
now that the constitution is being re-written, women have been left
out of the process.
    In the Gaza Strip things are going from bad
to worse for women. Due to the never-ending exchange of violence
with Israel, life has always been difficult, but after the election
of Hamas, life grew even more rigid for women. Hamas campaigned for
“Taliban like laws”, including total segregation of women and men,
and the wearing of the total Hijab. (Women in Gaza had always had
the right for personal choice when it came to veiling.) Since the
Hama election, some government officials have attempted to impose
the most severe penalties should women not adhere to strict Islamic
dress and other restrictions against the civil population, such as
the promotion of polygamy, card-playing, and dating. Clearly,
Palestinian women in Gaza need someone to take up their cause.
    In Iraq and in Iraqi Kurdistan, women’s
rights have taken many twists and turns since the overthrow of the
Saddam Hussein government. Few people realize that Iraqi women had
achieved great gains in rights under the dictator. In fact, a 1958
law allowed Iraqi women to divorce their husbands, inherit
property, study, work, and even move without the permission of the
male member of the family. After the latest government came into
power, women lost all previous gains. With regional control held by
various tribes, women are beaten for not covering themselves in
Hijab, and the act of rape is being used as a weapon by tribal
factions at war. It is said by many Iraqis that Iraqi women risk
their lives by studying or working.
    In Iraqi Kurdistan, the message for women is
mixed. Honor killings have reached an all-time high. In some cases,
teenagers have even been killed for the crime of talking to a boy
over their cell phone. Self-immolation is a huge problem, as well,
and authorities are unsure whether the women are setting themselves
on fire, or if they are victims of attempted murder by family
members. However, the parliament has banned forced marriage, as
well as the marriage of minors. And, polygamy has been restricted,
much to the relief of many women. Despite the many set-backs, it
appears that many men in Kurdistan are attempting to educate males
regarding women’s rights and issues. Therefore hope reigns that the
Kurdish parliament will continue ruling in favor of women’s
issues.
    Approximately 15% of the workforce in Jordan
is female. Generally the female workers are single as married women
are discouraged from working. Like most countries following Shariah
law, divorced women lose custody of their sons when they reach age
7 and their daughters when they reach age 11. Currently the
government is pushing to have the law changed so that children can
remain with their mothers until age 12, with plans to make the age
15. Although women inherit, generally male relations pressure the
women into giving up their inheritance. Because of this tendency,
women own less than four percent of all property in Jordan. To the
Jordanian government’s credit, they are introducing new legislation
to regulate inequalities between men and women. Not surprisingly,
many of the hard-line religious authorities are protesting such new
policies.
    Kuwait is considered to be one of the best
countries for women in the Middle East. Women are allowed to drive,
work without the consent of a man, acquire passports, travel out of
the country, and even hold government positions, all without the
consent of a male family member. Kuwaiti women even gained the
right to vote in the local elections of 2005. While the family
courts still require two women’s testimony to one man’s, that is
not the case in the civil, criminal and administrative courts,
where the testimony of a woman equals that of a man. While women
still face some social and legal discrimination, the future for
Kuwaiti women is bright indeed.
    Although Lebanese family structure is
strictly patriarchal, Lebanese women enjoy equal