On Sunday, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia inagurated the world’s largest women’s university. This incredible institution spreads over 20,000 acres and is expected to hold nearly 40,000 students at a time. Believe it or not, the first year classes alone at this university will be able to hold just over 60% of Saudi Arabia’s female high school graduates and will therefore take students from surrounding countries as well.
Even though the opening of this university is a huge step for a strict middle eastern country, the women who have plans to attend this new university are wondering where they’ll be able to use the skills they acquire there. An interesting statistic is that although Saudi Arabian women make up 58% of the country’s student body, they only make up 14.4% of the country’s national labor force. This low number is primarily due to the fact that Saudi Arabian women are not allowed to drive cars, leave the house unaccompanied by a male escort, or vote in elections. These limiting factors are greatly stifling when it comes to women who desire to leave the home and enter the workforce.
The new university is going to offer courses in fields that are typically limited when it comes to female involvement in Saudi Arabia. Fields such as computer science, nursing, and business will be included in courses taught at this university but the women are asking themselves what good these skills will be if finding employment is going to be such a daunting task.
The question posed now is whether having this university is going to change the country’s outlook on women in the workforce. If women are becoming more and more capable because they are being granted access to higher levels of education, who’s to say that the minds of the government won’t shift in the favor of women? The issue lies then in the fact that more than government regulation, the way that the Saudi Arabian society views women is long-set in tradition and has been firmly established in the culture as well. Even if women become educated, will they want to stand up for their place in the workforce if it is going to go against centuries upon centuries of traditional values and mentalities?
My heart goes out to those who will take this death as closure to the death of a family member, parent, friend, or colleague. Terrorism the ugly child of a skewed ideology mixed with the devotion of foolish or naive followers. I hate to hear the word “terrorism” in any occasion. But in this case, I take it to ear with great joy and hope for the future. It is projected that the death of Bin Laden will spur an uprising of attacks against the world in retaliation and anger. But this is a bittersweet fact as the attacks will most likely be unorganized and grant anti-terrorist organizations tactical advantage and intelligence on these Al-Qaeda remnants. Damage is hoped to be minimal over the next few days, but the world remains apprehensive to see how everything will play out as it pertains to the death of a great coward and tyrant.