{"id":4235,"date":"2009-02-19T16:07:53","date_gmt":"2009-02-19T20:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/wideangle\/?p=4235"},"modified":"2009-02-19T17:04:54","modified_gmt":"2009-02-19T21:04:54","slug":"first-female-cabinet-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/wideangle\/wa-blog\/first-female-cabinet-minister\/4235\/","title":{"rendered":"First Female Cabinet Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rawan Jabaji <\/em><\/p>\n

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia shook up his kingdom by boldly appointing the first female minister to his government cabinet earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Norah al-Faiz is now the deputy minister of women\u2019s education — the most senior role<\/a> ever held by a woman in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Though al-Faiz occupies a new post, she is still very much bound by the stringent laws that dictate how women live<\/a> within the kingdom. Like all women in Saudi Arabia, al-Faiz is only permitted to do what her closest male relative allows, based on the guardianship system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Al-Faiz, who received her master\u2019s degree in education from Utah State University<\/a>, is fully cognizant of the challenges ahead of her, stating that the \u201cguardianship system\u201d is the first thing that should be removed<\/a> by the new Saudi government.<\/p>\n

During my own time living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the late 90s, I recall needing my father \u2014 my closest male relative \u2014 for anything that required me leaving our compound walls. From driving me to the mall (women aren\u2019t permitted to drive) to accompanying me to a doctor\u2019s appointment, I needed a male escort for everything. And while there is no law stating that a male must accompany a female to the doctor (though a male often has to authorize all procedures<\/a> at the doctor\u2019s office), females are not allowed to interact with unrelated males\u2014and almost all doctors in Saudi Arabia are males.<\/p>\n

Even when it came down to something as simple as getting a shawarma sandwich, I would have to ask my father to order because it was frowned upon for women to enter the restaurant and interact with men. My mother and I would wait in the car as my father walked into the restaurant crammed with men ordering for a parking lot filled with hungry women.<\/p>\n

Putting all shawarma aside, women aren\u2019t even permitted to testify<\/a> in a criminal court unless there isn\u2019t a male witness and the testimony is related to a personal matter. And even then, the testimony of a woman only counts for half that of man\u2019s testimony<\/a>, leaving it up to the court to decide whether or not it is to be accepted as valid.<\/p>\n

Saudi feminist and writer, Wajeha al-Huwaider, said it is unclear if al-Faiz will have any real power<\/a>, or if she will follow the path of other Saudi women who had been appointed to lower councils but were never heard from.<\/p>\n

But Haifa Jamal Al-Lail<\/a>, dean of Effat College in Jeddah, is more optimistic. \u201cThis is not just about having the first woman deputy minister. It\u2019s about having more women in important positions. Al-Fayez\u2019s presence in the Ministry of Education will make women\u2019s voices heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a country where, under Saudi law, women are considered the property of men<\/a>, appointing al-Faiz as the first female minister, though she\u2019s only in charge of women\u2019s education, is a big step in the right direction.
\n
\nWIDE ANGLE\u2019s film The Saudi Question<\/a> looks at whether the kingdom will find a path to democratic reform or succumb to a rising tide of Islamic extremism. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rawan Jabaji King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia shook up his kingdom by boldly appointing the first female minister to his government cabinet earlier this week. Norah al-Faiz is now the deputy minister of women\u2019s education — the most senior role ever held by a woman in Saudi Arabia. Though al-Faiz occupies a new post, she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9892],"tags":[330,4260,3810,4259,2244],"class_list":["post-4235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wa-blog","tag-education","tag-guardianship","tag-king-abdullah","tag-norah-al-faiz","tag-saudi-arabia"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Female Cabinet Minister | Wide Angle | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Female Cabinet Minister | Wide Angle | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rawan Jabaji King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia shook up his kingdom by boldly appointing the first female minister to his government cabinet earlier this week. 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