Change Comes to the Kingdom

One evening in June, Hessah Alajaji did something revolutionary: She jumped into the driver’s seat of her parents’ Lexus and drove five minutes from her home in Riyadh to a McDonald’s to grab a bite to eat.

Alajaji, 33, was among the first women in Saudi Arabia to get a driver’s license when it became legal on June 24. Until then, women had been forced to rely on male relatives or hired drivers to take them where they wished to go.

“I hoped I would experience this one day,” Alajaji says. “But I never thought it would happen in my lifetime.”

Allowing women to drive is just one of many changes that have come recently to Saudi Arabia, one of the most socially conservative nations on Earth. Women can now do other things that were once forbidden without getting a man’s permission, such as applying for a job or appearing in court. And all Saudis, who once had few avenues for entertainment available to them, can now go to one of the country’s new movie theaters, see a live concert, or attend a poetry reading or even a monster truck rally.

One evening in June, Hessah Alajaji did something revolutionary. She jumped into the driver’s seat of her parents’ Lexus and drove five minutes from her home in Riyadh to a McDonald’s to grab a bite to eat.

Alajaji, 33, was among the first women in Saudi Arabia to get a driver’s license when it became legal on June 24. Until then, women had been forced to rely on male relatives or hired drivers to take them where they wished to go.

“I hoped I would experience this one day,” Alajaji says. “But I never thought it would happen in my lifetime.”

Saudi Arabia is one of the most socially conservative nations on Earth. Allowing women to drive is just one of many changes that have come recently to the country. Women can now do other things that were once forbidden without getting a man’s permission. That includes applying for some jobs or appearing in court. And all Saudis now have more avenues for entertainment available to them. They can now go to one of the country’s new movie theaters, see a live concert, or attend a poetry reading or even a monster truck rally.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most powerful nations in the Middle East. Its influence stems largely from its oil wealth—it has almost 20 percent of the world’s known oil reserves—and its position as the birthplace of Islam and the guardian of the religion’s two most sacred sites, in Mecca and Medina.

It’s also an important U.S. ally in the region, a relationship that has had a lot to do with oil: Eighty years ago, an American company struck oil in Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. has been a top importer of Saudi crude for decades (see “Saudi Arabia & the U.S.,” below).

King Salman is a member of the Al Saud family, which has ruled Saudi Arabia since 1932, and his authority has been near absolute. For decades, a strict fundamentalist interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism has governed all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia, with the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad effectively serving as a constitution.

One of the most important ways Saudi religious law has affected life in the nation is in its treatment of gender relations. Unrelated men and women have been completely segregated from one another. Women have had to wear black head-to-toe coverings called abayas in public. Marriages have been arranged by families, with the couple usually meeting for the first time when they become engaged.

And under the country’s so-called “guardianship laws,” women have traditionally needed written permission from a male relative before they can get a job, attend college, leave the country, or even undergo a medical procedure.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most powerful nations in the Middle East. Its influence stems largely from its oil wealth, as it has almost 20 percent of the world’s known oil reserves. But it’s also influential because of its religious significance. The nation is the birthplace of Islam and the guardian of the religion’s two most sacred sites, in Mecca and Medina.

It’s also an important U.S. ally in the region. The relationship between the two nations has had a lot to do with oil. Eighty years ago, an American company struck oil in Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. has been a top importer of Saudi crude for decades (see “Saudi Arabia & the U.S.,” below).

King Salman is a member of the Al Saud family, which has ruled Saudi Arabia since 1932. His authority has been near absolute. For decades, a strict fundamentalist interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism has governed all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia. The Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad effectively serve as a constitution.

One of the most important ways Saudi religious law has affected life in the nation is in its treatment of gender relations. Unrelated men and women have been completely segregated from one another. Women have had to wear black head-to-toe coverings called abayas in public. Marriages have been arranged by families. In fact, couples usually meet for the first time when they become engaged.

The country has also enforced its so-called “guardianship laws.” Under these laws, women have traditionally needed written permission from a male relative before they can get a job, attend college, leave the country, or even undergo a medical procedure.

But over the past few years, some of these restrictions have begun to break down, due to Prince Mohammed’s growing influence. Women can now apply for government jobs or retail jobs at malls without a guardian’s permission. They can be lawyers and appear in court. They can attend soccer games and other sporting events that once were open only to men. Women have their own ID cards for the first time, and they’re allowed to register to stay at hotels in the country on their own.

“There is no doubt that there is a deep transformation happening in Saudi now,” says Kristin Smith Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C.

For decades, the ban on women driving had been the most obvious sign of the restrictions, and many Saudi women rejoiced to see it end.   

“The lifting of the driving ban is one step closer to the independence and liberation of Saudi women,” says Fareeda Al-Sajan, a young woman who lives in Riyadh.

But over the past few years, some of these restrictions have begun to break down. It’s all been due to Prince Mohammed’s growing influence. Women can now apply for government jobs or retail jobs at malls without a guardian’s permission. They can be lawyers and appear in court. They can attend soccer games and other sporting events that once were open only to men. Women have their own ID cards for the first time. And they’re allowed to register to stay at hotels in the country on their own.

“There is no doubt that there is a deep transformation happening in Saudi now,” says Kristin Smith Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C.

For decades, the ban on women driving had been the most obvious sign of the restrictions. Many Saudi women rejoiced to see it end.   

“The lifting of the driving ban is one step closer to the independence and liberation of Saudi women,” says Fareeda Al-Sajan, a young woman who lives in Riyadh.

Prince Mohammed is also trying to reduce the power of Saudi Arabia’s ultraconservative religious establishment. He’s stripped religious police—who used to hassle young women if their clothing wasn’t considered modest enough—of their power to arrest people.

“The crown prince is trying to put these ultraconservative clerics back in their box and loosen their grip on society so the country can have a more normal social life,” says David Ottaway, a Saudi Arabia expert at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

That’s a welcome development to Saudi Arabia’s predominantly young population. About 70 percent of the country’s 33 million people are under 30 years old. Many of these young people have enthusiastically endorsed the changes led by Prince Mohammed.

“I love him,” says 25-year-old Ibtihal Shogair. Sitting on the lawn of a luxury Riyadh hotel with a friend, she describes the crown prince as “a young man who [thinks] more like us.”

Shogair says there used to be almost nothing fun for young women like her to do on a weekend in Riyadh, so they mostly stayed home. When they did venture out, the religious police bothered them even though they dressed modestly and covered their hair.

“They would walk behind you and say: ‘Cover your face, cover your face,’” says her friend, 26-year-old Lina Bulbul. Now, the women rarely see the religious police.

The social changes appear to be part of a broader push by Prince Mohammed to usher Saudi Arabia into a more modern era, including by opening the nation up to Western-style tourism, embracing solar technology, and making the economy less dependent on oil, the price of which can fluctuate wildly.

But women’s activists say there’s still work to be done. For one thing, the underlying guardianship system remains largely intact. Some restrictions have eased, but women are still legally treated as children without the power to make many of their own decisions, such as whom they marry and whether they can leave the country.

Prince Mohammed is also trying to reduce the power of Saudi Arabia’s ultraconservative religious establishment. He’s stripped religious police of their power to arrest people. These officers used to hassle young women if their clothing wasn’t considered modest enough.

“The crown prince is trying to put these ultraconservative clerics back in their box and loosen their grip on society so the country can have a more normal social life,” says David Ottaway, a Saudi Arabia expert at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

That’s a welcome development to Saudi Arabia’s predominantly young population. About 70 percent of the country’s 33 million people are under 30 years old. Many of these young people have enthusiastically endorsed the changes led by Prince Mohammed.

“I love him,” says 25-year-old Ibtihal Shogair, sitting on the lawn of a luxury Riyadh hotel with a friend. She describes the crown prince as “a young man who [thinks] more like us.”

Shogair says there used to be almost nothing fun for young women like her to do on a weekend in Riyadh. That forced most of them to stay at home. When they did venture out, the religious police bothered them even though they dressed modestly and covered their hair.

“They would walk behind you and say: ‘Cover your face, cover your face,’” says her friend, 26-year-old Lina Bulbul. Now, the women rarely see the religious police.

The social changes appear to be part of a broader push by Prince Mohammed to usher Saudi Arabia into a more modern era. He’s opened the nation up to Western-style tourism and helped it embrace solar technology. He’s also been pushing to make the economy less dependent on oil, as its price can fluctuate wildly.

But women’s activists say there’s still work to be done. For one thing, the underlying guardianship system remains largely intact. Some restrictions have eased, but women are still legally treated as children. Saudi women still don’t have the power to make many of their own decisions, such as whom they marry and whether they can leave the country.

And all the social and economic reforms have not gone hand in hand with political reforms. In fact, there’s been a crackdown on dissent—a sign that the monarchy has no intention of loosening its grip on power. Dozens of journalists, activists, intellectuals, and clerics who oppose the new policies have been arrested. Even activists who’ve long pushed for reforms like allowing women to drive have been arrested, perhaps for suggesting that even more reforms are needed. Those who tweeted criticisms of the authorities have faced lengthy prison terms. 

In August, the government expelled the Canadian ambassador and halted all business deals with Canada after a Canadian official condemned the recent arrests. Experts say the unusually harsh response was meant to send a signal to other Western governments to stay quiet.  

“It’s become even more politically repressive, even as he’s opening up,” says Ottaway, the Saudi expert. “It’s a country going in two directions.”

Perhaps that’s not surprising, considering how unsettling these changes are to many Saudis, most of whom remain deeply conservative. The challenge for a reformer like Prince Mohammed, says journalist Karen Elliott House, is that not all parts of Saudi society are eager to change.  

“He has laid out this big change agenda,” says House, “but it will take a long time to change people.”

And all the social and economic reforms have not gone hand in hand with political reforms. In fact, there’s been a crackdown on dissent—a sign that the monarchy has no intention of loosening its grip on power. Dozens of journalists, activists, intellectuals, and clerics who oppose the new policies have been arrested. Even activists who’ve long pushed for reforms like allowing women to drive have been arrested, perhaps for suggesting that even more reforms are needed. Those who tweeted criticisms of the authorities have faced lengthy prison terms.

In August, the government expelled the Canadian ambassador and halted all business deals with Canada after a Canadian official condemned the recent arrests. Experts say the unusually harsh response was meant to send a signal to other Western governments to stay quiet.  

“It’s become even more politically repressive, even as he’s opening up,” says Ottaway, the Saudi expert. “It’s a country going in two directions.”

Perhaps that’s not surprising, considering how unsettling these changes are to many Saudis. Most of the nation remains deeply conservative. The challenge for a reformer like Prince Mohammed, says journalist Karen Elliott House, is that not all parts of Saudi society are eager to change.  

“He has laid out this big change agenda,” says House, “but it will take a long time to change people.”

With reporting by Margaret Coker, Lara Takenaga, and Ben Hubbard of The New York Times.