Saudi Arabia’s heir to the throne Muhammad Bin Salman, known by MBS was recently interviewed by CBS, an American television network. In his first interview with an American television channel, he discussed many issues from economic to massive social reform. He also discussed his plan of emancipation of Saudi women by giving them equal rights as men like: right to start a business, join the military, attend concerts and sports event and the right to drive etc. He also said that women could wear decent and respectful clothing like men and the decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire they choose to wear. He also showed his concern that only 22 percent of Saudi women work outside their home and he encourages more to join in the country’s workforce. He also said that today, Saudi women are not getting their full rights though their rights are stipulated in Islam but as they have already come a long way, only a short way to go to establish the Saudi women’s full rights.

Comment:

It is well known to the world including the Muslim Ummah that in the name of combating corruption, social reformation and women emancipation what is happening in Saudi Arabia. It is also not a secret to the world that for decades Saudi Arabia has a slave and master relationship with the consecutive US government. Now, the current regime of Saudi Arabia headed by the 82-year old King Salman and his powerful son Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) are doing their best to prove their utmost loyalty to their decade old master.

Though many Saudi women have welcomed MBS’s idea of so called “emancipation” of Saudi women and are dreaming of a country where they will get rid of all kinds of abuses and will get their ultimate rights and freedom but the reality is far from their fancy dream. Some of the reasons are the following:

1- The true definition of women emancipation has nothing to do with getting the right of driving, or to start a business like men or going to concert hall or watching sports at the gallery. If it is so, then the women of the West would have been the happiest women in the world and free from all kinds of abuses and exploitation. According to a new report of Gallup, more than one in three women in US regularly fears being sexually assaulted and of the 77 countries that reported to the United Nations, Sweden, the UK, Botswana and Australia had the highest reported rates of sexual violence. The US especially has the high rates of rape, specifically. Hence, it is evident that how the western concept of “freedom and liberation” had brought disaster to life of the women in west and turned them into a mere sexual commodity to fulfill men’s shameless desire.

2- In the name of moderate Islam, MBS is actually secularizing the country as per the wish of his master. In the past, the successive rulers of the country implemented Wahabism, a distorted form of Islam created by the British, which exploited and abused women in the name of Islam. And now MBS is going to secularize the country by eradicating each and every trace of Islam. So, under the banner of freedom and liberty, Saudi women are now going to face a different kind of subjugation and exploitation. There is no doubt that in near future, this fake freedom will stripe off their dignity as a Muslim woman and turn them into a sexual commodity of multi-national companies.

3- Though MBS has confessed that Islam ensures the rights of Muslim women but Saudi women need to understand that a secular Saudi Arabia and its puppet ruling class who have abandoned Islam in the first place will never implement Shariah laws to protect Saudi women’s rights given by Islam.

Every Muslim woman who is aware of the glorious history of Islam, knows that under Islamic ruling Muslim women had reached to such a level in regard of their political participation, managing economic affairs, social activities their aspiration of higher level of education from astronomy to medicine, and most of all, the dignity and safety as a human being are beyond comprehension to any so called liberal woman of the West. Throughout the history of Islam, the Shariah law protected the rights of Muslim women as a daughter, wife and mother. And the Khilafah State portrayed them as the honor of state, whose honor and dignity were inviolable at any cost. Hence, for true emancipation, following the path of the women companion of Rasulullah ﷺ, Saudi women should struggle for bringing back true Islamic system under the banner of the second Khilafah Rashidah and throw away all other false concepts of freedom and emancipation.

Fehmida Binte Wadud