Abstract
The literature abounds with many researches and articles that are written in a way that portray the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the poster child of hegemony, essentialism and women oppression. In recent years, no aspect of Saudi Arabian society has been subject to more scrutiny and debate than the women’s domain. Women’s rights and responsibilities have been controversial issues among both conservatives and progressives in Saudi Arabia; nevertheless, Saudi women remain among the least studied population. This study draws on the academic and professional experiences of the author dealing with Saudi women in Canada, the UK, the USA and inside Saudi Arabia to further the critical scholarship on Saudi Arabia and Saudi women as site and population of academic research to avoid the essentialist, orientalist and Westernized understanding of Saudi Arabia and Saudi women. This article is a springboard to any researcher interested in studying – critically- Saudi women’s issues.
Highlights
Part of the training of social researchers is to effectively scrutinize resources and critically reflect upon them
We have been baffled by the enormous amount of information and literature showing a non-critical conformity to the idea of Saudi Arabia as the cradle of essentialism, which included many scholarly works written by Saudis themselves
While we agree with Al-Rasheed (2013) and Al-Sudairy (2017); we would like to add that many scholarship on the country and Saudi women perpetuate the image of an oppressive regime and oppressed women
Summary
Part of the training of social researchers is to effectively scrutinize resources and critically reflect upon them. We have been baffled by the enormous amount of information and literature showing a non-critical conformity to the idea of Saudi Arabia as the cradle of essentialism, which included many scholarly works written by Saudis themselves. As researchers in the field of social studies, we are aware of the fact that many researchers, westerners and Saudis alike, tend to exploit certain literature to serve their purposes well; obscuring by that the other side of the coin. The examiner was skeptical of the literature presented in his thesis possibly because she was supervising Saudi male and female doctoral candidates who were portraying Saudi Arabia and Saudi women in a negative way. We critically discuss several elements of Saudi Arabia and Saudi women’s issues in an attempt to present a full picture for those interested in researching this arena
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