Daily Times

A tender complaint fielded during luncheons and coffee with Muslim friends is the creation of artificial borders in the Middle East during the era of colonial rule. Discussion moves to the ancient boundary known as Al-Sham (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan). Frequently, the conversation then moves to the current status of Jerusalem. What remains a consistent curiosity is how a more boldly defined artificial border has been unequivocally ignored in the cradle of Islam.

The House of Saud is the custodian of two of the three holiest sites for Islam. But I view their system through my western lens. It is also the custodian of the world’s largest women’s prison.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has 18.5 million citizens. It is an XY dominant political model, which subjugates nine million XX citizens with rules that forbid driving, travel and independent living arrangement without written permission from an XY. The XX citizen is also denied the vote. The political system is unusual to say the least. It is a genetocracy. Chromosomes determine human potential. To be born an XY is desirable. But XX citizens face fettered volition and a lifetime of micromanagement.

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and members of the royal entourage were present for the recent opening of the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University. The campus sprawls across eight million square meters to support a student body of 50,000 women. It boasts 15 departments. It is also a car-free campus with a monorail and electric buggies for transportation. Higher education does not shed the harness. The campus perpetuates the concept of artificial boundaries. It stands as a monument to education with insensibility.

In 1990 when US troops were amassing on Saudi soil to liberate Kuwait, a few of the Saudi XX population noted American XX soldiers driving about in the desert. The coalescence of imagination and inspiration produced a neurobiological reaction. XX citizens used the cerebral cortex to put their limbic system into action. Women took to the roads with car keys in hand. Their punishment was jail time and a two year ban from the workplace. November 6, 1990 was the last time women defied the driving ban until recently.

This article is intentionally delayed into the journalism queue because of a new mini-surge of political activism in Saudi Arabia. A social networking site “honked” to the XXs that on June 17 they should fire up their engines and take their chances. Computer security consultant Manal al-Sharif took car keys in hand and found herself in the custody of the person holding the jail keys. There she stayed — for 10 days.

Civil disobedience is usually an act of conscience. Women in Saudi Arabia will still be punished for driving until the law is changed. The intent of this piece is to stimulate thought; not energise any time-stamped ruckus or any subsequent wind hitting the political sands.

My father handed me the car keys when I was 15. He slid into the passenger seat and said, “drive”. I guess daddy knew that if I was old enough to conceive a child I was also mature enough to manage the gas pedal and brake. That initial driving lesson was followed by many other ‘first’ events in my life. There was a first date with a high school football player. It was followed by a move away from home to start a job and save money for college. Flipping hamburgers at a fast food restaurant provided the eventual savings to purchase a small car. The cheque was written with trembling fingers. This economic milestone remains one of the proudest moments of my life. First day of college was later followed by courtship, marriage and children in the nest. Each milestone made me into the woman I am today; confident, happy and full of life. Did I chart my course alone and in rebellious manner? Of course not! My father was the primary male influence in my life for many years. He cheered me on from the sidelines and it remains my strong desire to never disappoint this man. Luckily, my husband is cut from the same bolt of cloth and I am grateful to be the wife of such an enlightened man. My wings have rarely been clipped. I have soared to the high crags of human emotion. The flight pattern is due to an adequate wing span.

Why are we afraid to talk about how Saudi men treat their women? It is a women’s health issue. Co-educational facilities can provide a bridge for basic human understanding between the sexes. Women from industrialised nations drive and take care of daily errands. This lightens the burden of the husband. Voting women soften the public policy landscape. They contribute a distinct wisdom, mercifully endowed within the female frame.

What does the XY in Saudi Arabia fear? Is it loss of control of the XX? If marriage fulfils half the religious requirement then it stands to reason that women lack any inherent defect. They are not the thorn of religion but the bloom. Women are a surprising gift: fascinating both physically and emotionally. We are equal to our counterpart, but merely sustain a different role and function. As emancipated as I may seem, my husband still expects me to keep the stove fired up in the kitchen and flame hot in the marital bed. He takes care of the lawn and changes my flat tires. Pulling together and pulling each other up makes a marriage work.

Woman was never created to be harnessed. That is not what God had in mind when He made a counterpart for Adam. She is also created from a clot of blood. The difference is chromosomal. She needs to experience life fully. It needs to be without artificial boundaries. Saudi Arabia abides by the strict and unreasonable rules of a few hidebound men.

The writer is a freelance columnist. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com