Case Study: Saudi Arabia
The categories below comprise this study's look at the educational situation for Saudi women. Click on the boxes to find more information on the obstacles that face women's access to education in the Middle East. You can also check out where Saudi Arabia stands in comparison to the rest of the Middle East here.
The Arabian Peninsula on which Saudi Arabia is situated is the historic origin of Islam. After conquering the Hijaz kingdom in 1926, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932, when the Hijaz and the Nejd were joined into one state under King Ibn Saud. Saudi Arabia has a geopolitically strategic location, as well as an incredibly vast oil supply... Read More
For the next category of obstacles, resources, Saudi Arabia’s issues are again unique from Egypt’s. Saudi Arabia, as the ultimate welfare state, “provide[s] free, general scholarships for students (male and female) in some areas of general education and in all vocational, technical, technological, and higher education with free transportation for all females” (Alexander 200). However, there is a distinction between... Read More
The main obstacle that faces Saudi women is the role that they are expected to play within their society. Saudi women are expected to be obedient daughters, wives, and mothers, and most careers are not open to them. As a result, they are severely underemployed and education is seen as a trophy that can enhance social standing... Read More
Another phenomenon in Saudi Arabia that distinctly limits women’s access to quality education is gender segregation due to Islamic law. This issue also faces Egyptian girls, as all Egyptian state schools are segregated as well. However, in Egypt, females may attend classes taught by male teachers; in Saudi Arabia, this never happens after the primary level, except in medical school (Somers 49). Even the coeducational universities... Read More