Culture and Ethics Based Conflict - a Saudi Arabian Perspective - Essay Example

 Culture and Ethics Based Conflict: A Saudi Arabian Perspective Abstract Saudi Arabia is the only Islamic nation with a ban on women drivers. In the recent past, women in disapproval of the ban and other cultural and religion-based restrictions have formed activism groups with support from western affiliated human rights groups, which has stirred a conflict with the Saudi authorities. The activism groups calls for lifting of the ban is deemed as having a western underhand motive to impose western values and lifestyle to the kingdom which is the core of Islam religion and culture. The anti-western atmosphere has further intensified the conflict. Leaders of the activism groups and women caught driving have often been arrested and detained. The conflict analyzed in this paper reflects a personal experience with a close western educated Saudi female friend who, being a member of a women rights activist group, found herself in conflict with the Saudi kingdom’s religious-cultural based authorities. The conflict could be solved through integrative negotiation between the activism groups and Saudi authorities. Conflicts based on cultural and ethical issues are inevitable. The burden lies on the identifying the most effective strategies to solve the conflicts in light of the criticality of cultural and ethical issues. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a pre-occupation of western governments and human rights groups for a long time due to its enforcement of culture and religion based regulations that have frequently violated basic women rights, notably the right to drive. In recent years, some women have responded to what they deem as irrational regulations with no genuine motivation by forming activism groups. The conflict analyzed in this paper reflects a personal experience with a close western educated Saudi female friend who, being a member of a women rights activist group found herself in conflict with the Saudi kingdom’s cultural and religious regulations and subsequently arrested and detained. As an active member of the Amnesty International, this conflict was important to me as it was inconsistent with the very philosophy of liberty of the organization of advocates. Sources of the Conflict The conflict between Saudi Kingdom and women rights activism groups occurs along the three dimensions of a conflict (perception, emotional, and behavioral) as outlined by Mayer (2000). Regarding perception, individuals believe or feel that their own needs, interests or wants do get along with those of other people. Saudi women have had a longstanding perception that the kingdom’s religion and culture based rules that are enforced against them are not only a violation of their basic rights but are also unreasonable and completely arbitrary, in particular the ban on female drivers. On the other hand, the Islamic kingdom male dominated society perceives women as subordinates who need a limitation to their entitlements lest they topple over men or else wipe out Islamic culture. These two different perceptions between the male and the female Saudi fraternities culminate to emotional reaction, the second cause of conflict. Emotions felt might be anger, bitterness, fear, hopelessness or a combination of all these. Saudi women represented by the activism groups experience these feelings in regard to the male-dominated kingdom, and they feel they are in conflict, and therefore they are. The authorities also experience these feeling as they view pro-women rights activism as synonymous to violation of cultural and religious beliefs and a threat to the male fraternity. The perceptions and feelings or emotional reactions translate into action, the third causative dimension of conflict. The actions taken by the conflicting parties express their feelings, and articulates their perceptions and get their different needs met in ways that have potential interference with the other party's ability to get their needs met. The actions may involve a direct attempt to make something happen or fail to happen at the other party’s expense. It could be an exercise of power, violence or an act of destruction (Mayer, 2000).In regard to conflict occurring along actions, women have formed activism groups which have won backing from the international community and other international human rights groups such as Amnesty international. The activism groups have lobbied Saudi women to protest the female driving ban mainly through the social media. The male fraternity has often hit back on the women’s “rebellion” asserting that it is a taboo for women to drive. The conflict is intensified by the Kingdom which amid high expectations that it would consider lifting the ban on women drivers has disappointed the international community and activism groups. In enforcement of this ban, the religious notorious Saudi police spy highways and arrest women who are caught driving in contravention of the ban Cultural Aspect of the Conflict The Saudi ban on women drivers is not founded on any written law. It is a cultural and religious ruling by clerics who prevent women, both Saudi and foreign from driving throughout the nation. The issue is part of the broad religious traditions that create disparities between men and women. It is worthwhile to highlight few of the religious traditions that segregate men and women in different domains in the society (Weygandt, 2014). When attending mosques, women and men are segregated upon entering the building. They enter the mosque in two different doors. When in the worship room, the women are generally required to occupy rows behind men. Further, women have restrictions not imposed on men, due to what is interpreted as biological reasons. For instance, when a woman is experiencing her monthly periods, she is prohibited from touching her Quran because she is deemed unclean (Weygandt, 2014). Education is open to women in Saudi. However, there are very few outside programs for women to take part in.For instance, there are no sports for females to do physical exercises in public (Weygandt, 2014). After going through higher education systems, women generally go into professions such as medicine and teaching. However, there is no equality between women and their male counterparts in workplaces. Women do not have as much benefits as male workers. Women are allowed to invest and own businesses but not without restrictions. A close relative (mahram) must be present in the business premises all the time, including when signing legal documents, opening and closing the business and when making business decisions. These limitations on women can be seen to pass a message that workplace is a man’s position in Saudi society (Weygandt, 2014). The above discussed cultural and religious limitations on women in worship, education and work resonates with the factors underlying the ban on women drivers which is the contentious issue. Rather than having a driving license, women are supposed to use their family driver. Families usually have more than one driver. If a woman requires going somewhere and all the family drivers are gone, a close male relative drives her. According to Rebecca Weygandt (2012) there are five major reasons that justify restrictions on female drivers. All the reasons are cultural related. A driving woman has to unveil her face in order to have a clear view while driving. Women are not allowed to do this based on restrictions to clothing. If women are allowed to drive, they may feel the need to leave the house often. This is a serious issue because, in line with the culture, women are not supposed to leave their home or residential areas without authorization by a close male relative (mahram). Driving a vehicle would lead to unnecessary intermingling with males outside their relatives circle, for instance in the event of a flat tire. If women are allowed to drive, the streets might become overcrowded, which deprives men of their privilege of driving. To have women to drive would be a major step in altering traditional values Methods of dealing with cultural barriers for effective communication or resolution In the conflict between women rights activists and the Saudi kingdom, cultural discrepancies arise in two ways. First, there are those western educated women, like my friend. They have not denounced the Islamic culture, but their interaction with the western cultures has not been without an effect on their Islamic culture. They are more liberal minded than most of Saudi women who have not had the opportunity to interact with the western culture. In brief, their inclination to the Islamic religious traditions is diluted, and this presents cultural barriers between them and the “pure’’ Saudis who would want them to be steadfast to the Islamic religious traditions such as not driving. On the other hand, the women activism groups receive reinforcement from international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and western powers. For example in 2007 when campaign against the ban on women driving gained momentum, then U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed the Saudi women leading the campaigns, terming them as brave. The U.S congresswomen also issued a statement in favor of the campaign. Early this month, following detention of a popular female human rights activist Suad al-Shamari, one the founders Saudi Liberal Network, Amnesty International openly condemned the Saudi Authorities in what it termed as a scheme to stamp out all voices calling for peaceful reforms. Therefore, it is clear that the conflict involves not only Saudi women rights activism groups but also European and US powers whose culture sharply contrast with Saudi’s culture. There is, therefore, need to deal with these cultural barriers in order to facilitate communication and create a conducive environment for prospective resolution of the conflict. According to Kiss (2008), there are two main tactics that can be employed to remove cultural barriers in order to have effective communication between the conflicting parties. The strategies include: Eliminating language which seems to stereotype the parties to the conflict. For example, Amnesty International as a concerned body in this conflict, and which seeks to negotiate between the Saudi authorities and women rights activism groups, should not use a language that might directly or indirectly stereo-type Saudi authorities as bound with irrational rules and regulations. There should be no categorization or presumptions about any of the parties in regards to variables such as culture, religion, nationality and ethnicity. Reducing violations of cultural procedures during conversations and discussions. The parties to the conflict and arbitrators or mediators should appreciate their cultural diversity and abide by the laid down procedures. Violations of these procedures might intensify the conflict and jeopardize prospects for resolution. Ethical implications of intervening in the conflict and methods for dealing with any potential ethical pitfalls It is important to emphasize that not all Saudi women feel violated by the cultural restrictions. Indeed, most women feel respected and honored, and they are not concerned with who drives or who is not supposed to drive. They feel that Saudi Arabia as the epitome of pure Islamic country is under threat from imported western cultures (Weygandt, 2014).From a lens of the recent western developments on ethical issues such as passage of legislations legalizing homosexuality and lesbianism, any slight intervention to the conflict by anyone or any-thing western or alluding western will meet opposition from majority Saudis, both men and women in equal measure. In actual fact, all past and current western calls for liberty for Saudi women have been interpreted as western schemes to introduce its corrupted, “devilish” values to Saudi Arabia, the heart of Islam and Arab culture, being the place where Prophet Muhammad started and developed Islamic religion (Weygandt, 2014). Calls by western to the Saudi authorities to lift the ban on women drivers will be seen as a gateway to calls for legalization of ethical and controversial issues such as homosexuality and lesbianism, as the western is already doing in Africa. Homosexuality and such other unnatural acts are punishable by execution in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, to avoid this ethical pitfall, the western powers, and the western affiliated human rights groups will need to work hard to clear the anti-western atmosphere in Saudi Arabia aggravated since September 11. It may take a long time, but as long as Saudis perceive western calls for liberty for women as a strategy to contaminate Islamic culture and ethics, an ethical pitfall is inevitable. The Most Effective Form of Conflict Resolution The most effective form of conflict resolution in this case would be negotiation. Negotiation entails two or more groups trying to reach a voluntary agreement about an issue (Colorado.edu, 2005). The Saudi women rights activism groups and the relevant Saudi authorities need to clear the hostile environment and initiate a negotiation process. Effective communication would be critical to the negotiation. Effective communication can be found by the two parties caring about what each other has to say, focusing on cooperation and understanding and being tolerant to each other. The authorities should give the women an opportunity and a conducive environment to table their grievances. The women groups should also be ready to evaluate the authorities’ line of argument. Effective communication would also involve the two parties changing their thinking by reframing the contentious issues. According to Mayer, (2000) reframing issues of the conflict can detoxify the issues by removing unproductive accusations. For example, the Saudi religious authorities who implement the ban should consider evaluating whether the ban is genuinely and substantially motivated by any serious cultural or religious issues, and whether lifting of the ban poses a significant threat to the Islamic culture or region, rather than simply dismissing the activism as western influenced and as a threat to Islamic culture. Reframing issues can assists the parties to generate valuable options to the conflict, discard unnecessary issues and reach a settlement. Negotiation would be the most effective resolution in this conflict since; it involves the conflicting parties only. There is no interference from a third parties in the form of a mediators or an arbitrators and, therefore, the conflicting parties would reach a liberal conclusion. This is essential from perspective of the misgiving by the Saudi authorities and majority Saudis that western calls for the kingdom to broaden women rights have an underhand motive. Secondly, Saudi Arabia is an economic giant in the Middle East and as mentioned, it is the heart of Islam and Arab culture. This rules out the prospects of successful mediation or arbitration by the neighboring Islamic countries. In addition, some these countries are also riddled with cultures of segregation of women from men. Conflict Theories Applicable to the Conflict Feminist conflict theory is manifest in this conflict. The theory is a consequence of the general movement to empower women all over the world. Feminism can be defined as awareness and criticism of male supremacy combined with efforts to alter it. The objectives of feminism are: to show the importance of the female gender in the society, to reveal that historically women have been subjects to men and to create gender equality. In other words, feminists advocate equality of women and contend that they ought to share equally in opportunities and resources in the society (Schaffer, 2007). Liberal feminism contends that all human beings are created equal and, therefore, should not be denied equality of opportunities on the grounds of their gender. They concert their efforts on social change (Schaffer, 2007). From the Saudi perspective, women in activism groups seek equality with men in different social domains, particularly driving. It is their conviction that they should be accorded same opportunities as their male counterparts. Procedures for Dealing with Future Conflicts According to Mayer, (2000) conflicts that stem from identity-based needs such as the Saudi women rights activists v. the religious- cultural based regulations are not easy to solve. Other than being addressed through a negotiation process, they require incremental processes of change in which individuals, groups and institutions gradually achieve different levels of understanding and better ability to communicate effectively.These conflicts call for social change efforts. Conciliatory efforts that focus more on the relationship among the conflicting parties and less on achieving specific agreement may be successful in addressing the deep identity-based needs. A framework such the one addressed by Mayer could be valuable in resolving the gender identity-based conflict with the Saudi Arabian women rights activism groups in future. The resolution process should involve conciliatory efforts or rather use an integrative approach to negotiation. The women groups should be prudent enough to realize that any pressure on the Kingdom’s authorities with backup from western affiliated groups will only aggravate the conflict, owing to the dominant anti-west atmosphere in the Middle East and in particular Saudi Arabia, based on cultural and ethical differences. In this regard, they should focus on demanding rights to drive among other rights in an integrative style rather a distributive style. As Maha Akeel, a Saudi scholar and a staunch critic of the government for its restrictions on women, the Saudi women should ask for their rights in accordance with dictates of Islam, not according to western values and lifestyles (Weygandt, 2014). Such an approach would prove successful in future conflict resolution since it would ease the anti-west connotations in the conflict. In conclusion, cultural and ethical issues will often generate conflicts in any society as some groups feel oppressed by the cultural or religious based rules and regulations while others would seek a status quo with respect to the cultural and ethics based rules and regulations. This is the case in Saudi women rights activism groups vs. the Kingdoms conflicting based on ban on women drivers.A negotiation framework that will avoid implications of western motive to interfere with the Islam culture and ethics would be the most effective way to resolve this conflict. References Colorado.edu. (2005). Distributive Bargaining. Retrieved 13 November 2014, from http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/distbarg.htm Kiss, G. (2008). Tactics for Removing Cultural Barriers. AARMS, 7(3), 425-433. Mayer, B. (2000). The dynamics of conflict resolution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Schaffer, L. (2007). Guide to Conflict Resolution. Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution. Weygandt, R. (2014). Gender Identity. Intercultural Communication:  a joint project between Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Hope College, Holland, MI, USA. Retrieved 13 November 2014, from http://hopeinterculturalcomm.weebly.com/gender-identity.html Read More