Saudi women the weakest, EAU the strongest

A member of the religious police which takes care of the sobriety of behaviour, sees the nail polish and indicates to the woman to come out of the shopping mall. She objects, and as he insists, she calls security officers to come, accusing him of harassment. In the end, the one to leave the scene will be the policeman. The video, which received over 1,100,000 hits on You Tube in ten days, and has had its comments frozen due to the heated arguments arising, renews with arrogance and a smile the delicate issue of women's rights in Saudi Arabia where the episode took place. Arrogance, because it reminds of the many limits to which Saudi women are subjected to, and a smile for the victory, although a random one, of the woman who even has the courage of telling the "guardian of virtue" to be ashamed of himself, a god-fearing man who set his gaze on her lips, touched up with some lipstick. The condition in which the nine million women of the rich Saudi country live in, a nation which is the first oil exporter in the world, is among the most dismal in the world: it stands at number 129 on a list of 134 countries in the World Economic Forum's report on gender issues. Among timid signs of reform, the monarchy's policy remains one of ambiguity, still hostage to the conservative factions. The milestone of voting has almost been achieved: women have been allowed to participate and run for administrative elections or to be nominated for the Shura Council (Consultive parliament), but the basic rights as can be driving a car or doing sport, are still forbidden. Personal freedom such as that of free movement or free choice are not allowed, something which ends in the still popular practice of child brides. The inequalities are strong in the labour market, that is, for the 22% of women who actually do work in Saudi Arabia. They earn less than their male counterparts who have the same qualifications and duties. The same goes for instruction, where female literacy is of 70% compared to the male 85%. King Abdullah last September cancelled the verdict against Manal al Sharif, sentenced to 10 lashes for having driven a car and "instigated" other women to do so. At the same time, no female athlete will be able to represent Saudu Arabia in the London Olympics. On quite an opposite front is the situation for women in the second economy in the region, that of the United Arab Emirates, where a government policy started in the nineties has brought women of the Emirates to be the most "powerful" in the region. From the astronaut to the mechanic, there is no profession which is forbidden for the UAE female citizen: about 12,000 businesswomen manage investments for 2,7 billion euros, 66% of them are employed and of them, 30% are in managerial positions. They can also enter politics. Seven of the 40 members of parliament are women whereas four are ministers. (ANSAmed).