Saudi Arabia: Are Conservative Women the Key to a Protest Movement?

Newsweek portrays conservative Saudi women as a crucial demographic for any protest movement in the country. The piece revolves around a group of women, who were arrested on March 20th at the country’s Ministry of Interior for protesting the arrests of their male relatives. In a country whose insularity reduces the impact of new communications technology and which lacks a strong liberal social base, these women both have the drive and capability to confront the government, the article argues. There are reportedly 30,000 political prisoners,  mostly male, in Saudi prisons, leaving many of their wives and female relatives without a bread-winner or male escort. The novelty of women protests in the country underscores their seriousness and serves as a source of embarrassment for the government.

However, the conservative character of the protesters alienates some Western and Saudi liberals. Khuloud Saleh, a women’s rights cyberactivist states, “This is not a women’s movement. [Extremists] are using the women, and believe me, they are very smart. I cannot trust them.” However, Toby Jones, a Saudi expert at Rutgers University, suggests there may be no alternative. “There’s a history of Islamists taking to the streets in Saudi Arabia where liberals never do.”