Maria’s note: Amazons in Saudi

Saudi Arabia, the country of gender segregation has taken one step further. In addition to segregation in all public and even private places, the kingdom has announced the construction of a city just for ladies. The new city will be located in the Eastern province of Hofuf, and it is planned to be the first of several cities constructed exclusively for women. The construction is expected to start by next year. The female-planned municipality will create more than 5000 new jobs in the fields of pharmaceuticals, textiles and food industries, and the project will attract around 500 million riyals, or $133 millions. 

The Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) plans to combine the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam that usually treats women as second-class citizens, with the desire to fulfill women’s aspirations regarding their careers.

According to general estimates, Saudi woman conform the 60% of Arabia Saudi’s graduate students but very few of them are employed. Around 15% of Saudi women have a job; which means that there is a difference of 23% between male and female employment rate. A difference that makes necessary for the kingdom to hire foreign workforce to balance the huge gap.

Although the kingdom is taking some measures to empower the female population, they are very insignificant. Women in Saudi Arabia are still banned and prevented from exercising many of their rights. 

With the new city, women should be able to develop their careers freely but at what cost?

They will be isolated from men and children, only meeting them during their holidays. Interaction between both sexes will be reduced even more, which does not seem very positive. However, the more women work, the more independent they will be. This fact can help Saudi women to create a movement, a feminist platform if you want, that reunites them and express their demands and needs.

As it happened in many other countries, along with economic independence comes a new sociopolitical conscience. 

The women-only town is at an open ocean; it could disastrously drown or it could help women to sail through it.