Women’s Education in Saudi Arabia and Iran
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Added on 2019-10-18
Women’s Education in Saudi Arabia and Iran
Added on 2019-10-18
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Women’s Education in Saudi Arabia and IranSaudi Arabia and Iran are both Middle Eastern and Islamic countries that heavily effected by their society traditions,history and Islamic rules (particularly those that relate to women). Speaking about the Islam is worthwhile to mention that the first word was revealed in the Quran is (Iqra) means (read) which illustrates the importance of education in Islamic religion for both genders. The interpretations that followed the revelation of the Qur'an and Hadeeth (saying and doing of Prophet Muhammad. Prokop, 200) has contributed significantly to the misunderstood by mixing social principles, historical events and Arab’s traditions with constant religious rules. As a result, people began to rule their sacred traditions as Islamic legislations. (Dawod). Women have suffered more than men have from this blurring between history, traditions and Islamic regulations. In the history of Islam, there were great paradigms confirmed that Islam has never been an obstacle for women's rights particularly education. Aisha the Prophet Muhammad’s wife is the best example for those women who had the responsibility to participate effectivelyin their community. According to Desphand (2001), A'isha was the best scientist in the Quran learning, and Arabic literature, poetry, genealogy and history. This essay will discuss how women’s education effected by society in bothcountries Saudi Arabia and Iran.Women’s education in Saudi Arabia:Before the unification of Saudi Arabia in 1932, boys were studying in mosques by a religious man who volunteers to teach them Quran, basic literacy, and numeracy. While girls were studying with a religious woman who teaches them the same knowledge in her own house. This a primitive kind of education was called (Kuttab). Hamdan, (2005)After the unification of the country, the king Abdul-Aziz bin Saud ,the founder of Saudi, prepared to the next step, which was establishing the state economically, scientifically, and socially, and of course, none of those exists without education. Therefore, the education in Saudi Arabia officially started in 1932. Unfortunately, it was exclusive for boys until 1960 (40 years later of the official education). The reason for this delay was the traditions ofthe region at that time which strict women lives. Saudi people sanctify their traditions to some extent especially
those that relate to women. Before 1960, Saudis believe that women should stay home and their role in society is limited in raising children and caring home.Therefor, Women’s education was a high-profile case for most of the people there, especially the religious institution who had a power in the early years of unification of the country to control people’s lives under the name of Islam and who were seen as holy people because of the public ignorance at that time. In the beginning of education, people objected on women's education with the support of conservative religious scholars. Therefore, the government bowed to public opinion and chose to avoid confrontation with them so, girls remaining learn in the (Kutttab) for 40 years after opened the official schools for boys.However, Alsuwaida( ) states that through the 4 decades from the beginning of formal education, there were claims from many educated men to annexation of girls in formal learning equal to boys, but these claims did not have this effect, as it was with the Queen Effat claims (the king Faisal’s wife, king of Saudi Arabia at that time). The most famous and powerful supporter of education. Hanley and Delinda (2003) point out that queen Effat was an educated woman who received her education from Turkey when she was living there before her marriage of King Faisal. Therefore, she was aware of the importance of education at the time and she asserted to established women education in Saudi. However, because of the strict traditions toward woman’s role in the society, it was difficult to convince people of the necessity of women's education to be able to breed generations that perfectly build their society. The Queen Efaat established the first private school in the country, which called (Dar Al-Hanan), and then the private schools opened one after the other until they reached 15 schools around the Kingdom. It was funded by families then by the government as a primary step of women’s education supporting. (Hamdan, 2005) According to AL Rawaf and Simmons, (1991) finally, in a diplomatic way, the government succeeded in convincingpeople of the importance of girls' education and keen to make it codified by the religious institution and under their dominance attempting to appease them. By 1960, the first official girls’ school has opened in the capital city then followed by several schools across the Kingdom. (Hamdan, 2005) Unfortunately, the government had to courtesy the religious institution in order to achieve its goal in prevalence girls education by inauguration them the presidency of girls education and administer it under their conditions until integrated girls' education at the ministry of education which was exclusive for boys before in that time (Hamdan, 2005) Although of the relegation of the religion institution in girls’ education, and the improvements in the education system in Saudi, girls still facing challenges in their educational path with the inequality with men in universities’ majors. Girls have prevented of specific majors to study in in their university. Hamdan(2005) notes that in 1980, girls in colleges were not allowed to study specific majors such as law, engineering, petroleum geology, and politics, and it is still exclusive for men until today except law which just admitted last two year since this article
has written. In addition, due to segregation system between boys and girls in universities, boys have well-training teachers than girls because of the lack of women proficiently in high education sectors. (Hamdan, 2005)By 2006, girls’ education in Saudi entered its golden era. Desphande( ) states that the previous king of Saudi Arabia the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz believed that Saudi women should treat as first class citizens and be exactly equal to Saudi men. As a result, king Abdullah tried as much as he can to repair women’ position in Saudi Arabia. So, he initiated by taking several steps to the scientific improvement of the girls' schools and universities. The most important these great projects was the Princes Noura University (the biggest girls’ university in the world)In addition, in 2005 he sat up the largest scholarship program in the history of the Kingdome, which called the King Abdullah Sponsorship Program (KASP) that enables the Saudi students male or female to study abroad in oversea universities. (Denman, Hilal, 2011) However, Alsuwaida ( ) states that the program has faced many objections fromsome people because of their lack of awareness that they had about this program and their concern about western cultures’ impact on their daughters. One of King Abdullah's prominent efforts in the expansion of the women’s role in the society is appointment them senior management positions in the government such as the Deputy Minister of Education, who became the first woman to hold this position. In addition, allowed a number of women to participate in the Shura Council and other positions. (Al Shorfa ,2011) By challenged the traditional barriers, Saudi women have shown incredible achievements in the local and global level. However, they still need more support in order to expansion their accomplishment and attainment their goals. The History of Women’s Education in Iran:Despite of the differences in background, language, Islamic doctrine and political history of Iran and Saudi Arabia, they fairly share the similar cultural and social features specifically those that relate to women According to Childs (2006), similar kind of primitive education in Saudi called (maktab) was also existed in Iran in 1835. Pupils were studying the Quran, Hadeeth and the Parisian literature. As well as the foreign private schools, which occupied by Christians, Jewish pupils, and some Parisians students who attached with western communities. Then, Muslims boys have joined to these schools. However, Muslims girls were deprived of joining such schools, because people’ anxious about the fact that Muslims women could effect by western cultures that to some extent conflicts the Islamic culture. (Shiranipour, 2002) these private schools are considered as a seed of the growth of the Parisian Education.
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