Will TV liberate Saudi women?

A study recently featured in FP showed that rural Indian women who watched satellite TV came to have more liberal attitudes and behaviors. For example, they became less accepting of spousal abuse, their bias in favor of having boys declined, school enrollment among girls increased, and the women were more likely to be able to spend money without a husband's permission.

Now, a similar "TV effect" could be occurring in Saudi Arabia, the only country where women aren't allowed to drive cars. Women's right to drive has now become a growing topic of debate, and Saudi women are saying that this debate stems in part from what women see on satellite TV and read on the Internet.

Not only do they learn about the freedom that women abroad have, but they see depictions of Saudi women themselves living lives of freedom. The country's most popular show, Tash Ma Tash (No Big Deal), a comedy that airs during Ramadan, addresses controversial social issues and shows episodes with Saudi women driving and going to the movies (there are presently no cinemas in Saudi Arabia). Another popular show, Amsha Bint Amash (Amsha, Daughter of Amash), is about a Saudi woman who disguises herself as a man to drive a cab.

On Sept. 23, Saudi Arabia's national day, the League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia delivered to the king a petition signed by 1,100 women demanding the right to drive cars. The king hasn't yet replied, though.

And the women shouldn't expect an affirmative reply anytime soon. Advocates for women's rights concede that much preparation and public education would be required to ready both women and men for this relatively profound social change. Similarly, the producer of Tash Ma Tash says regarding women driving, "There will be a time [when] we will accept it, so now is the time to get prepared for that."

Too much social change too quickly in any society can backfire and produce a backlash and other destabilizing effects; Saudis must be slowly eased into this new world of liberated women. When it comes to women's rights in Saudi Arabia, slow and steady wins the race.