ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN SAUDI ARABIA

Type Thesis

Rate 0.0 /5

Details

Files

Reviews

Download

Summary

This study was concerned with examining how the economic changes brought about by the growth of Saudi Arabia's oil revenues and its large scale development programs have affected the social and economic status of women in Saudi Arabia. There were two purposes to the study. The first was to describe the historical socio-economic and political conditions of Saudi Arabia, a task necessary to understanding the present position of women. The second purpose was to examine women's educational opportunities, labor conditions and the social welfare and health services available to women and to determine how these have been affected by the development programs. This study was based primarily on data gathered in a field study of women in 1979-80. This included in-depth interviews conducted among five groups of women from four different communities: nomadic, rural, recently settled, and urban, as well as a group of salaried women. The findings demonstrated that the development programs have included, for women, some educational opportunities, some job opportunities in the modern sectors, and access to health and welfare services. However, these opportunities have been limited, for women in the modern sectors of the economy play virtually no significant role. Women's economic activities in agriculture and animal husbandry, and in the home, have been disregarded and their economic contributions undervalued. Furthermore, women have been associated primarily with their maternal role and have been assigned a position subordinate to men.