FROM DOMESTIC TO PUBLIC: THE CONSTRUCTION OF WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT DISCOURSE IN SAUDI ARABIA’S VISION 2030
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32332/akademika.v29i1.7755Keywords:
Discourse construction; Reform; Socio-economic liberalization; Vision of Saudi Arabia 2030; Women's empowerment.Abstract
The involvement of women in the public sphere in Saudi Arabia has increased after Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman officially declared the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030. In contrast to Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi clerics who tend to domesticate the role of women, the government in its vision actually encourages women to be involved in the public sphere. This paper seeks to describe the discourse on women's empowerment and reveal the ideology that underlies it and to explain the implications of the construction of this discourse on changes in public policy in Saudi Arabia. The author use critical discourse analysis as an analytical tool. The author concludes, First, the discourse on women's empowerment in the Saudi 2030 vision document is manifested in giving equal roles to women and men to be involved in social and economic activities. Women in Saudi's 2030 vision are positioned as national assets that are open, competitive, hardworking, and able to drive the economy. Second, the discourse that encourages women to be involved in public activities is inseparable from the ideology of the current Saudi Arabian government which tends to lead to socio-economic liberalization. In this context, women's empowerment is used for the benefit of economic growth and the transformation of new, more open religious social conditions (infitah). Third, the discourse on women's empowerment in the Saudi 2030 vision influences changes in public policy in Saudi Arabia. The old policies from the rulings of the ulama were replaced with new policies that gave women more freedom to participate in the public sphere.
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References
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Samargandi, N., Al Mamun, M., Sohag, K., & Alandejani, M. (2019). Women at work in Saudi Arabia: Impact of ICT diffusion and financial development. Technology in Society, 59, 101187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.101187.
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Van Dijk, T. A. (1977). Semantic macro-structures and knowledge frames in discourse comprehension. Cognitive Processes in Comprehension, 332.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926593004002006.
Wodak, R. (2007). Pragmatics and critical discourse analysis: A cross-disciplinary inquiry. Pragmatics & Cognition, 15(1), 203–225.
Yamani, M. (2009). From fragility to stability: A survival strategy for the Saudi monarchy. Contemporary Arab Affairs, 2(1), 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550910802576114.
ad-Darwīsy, A. ’Abd al-Razzāq. (2003). Fatāwā al-Lajnah ad-Dā’imah li al-Buhūts al-’Ilmiyyah wa al-Iftā’ (5th ed., Vol. 17). Dār al-Mu’ayyad.
Al Rajhi, A., Al Salamah, A., Malik, M., & Wilson, R. (2012). Economic Development in Saudi Arabia. Routledge.
Alasgah, A. A., & Rizk, E. S. (2023). Empowering Saudi women in the tourism and management sectors according to the Kingdom’s 2030 vision. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 13(1), 16–43. https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jsustf/v13y2023i1p16-43.html.
Al-Atawneh, M. (2009). Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia. Middle Eastern Studies, 45(5), 721–737. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263200802586105.
Alhargan, R. A. (2012). Saudi Arabia: Civil Rights and Local Actors. Middle East Policy, 19(1), 126–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2012.00529.x.
Allmnakrah, A., & Evers, C. (2020). The need for a fundamental shift in the Saudi education system: Implementing the Saudi Arabian economic vision 2030. Research in Education, 106(1), 22–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034523719851534.
Almathami, R., Khoo-Lattimore, C., & Yang, E. C. L. (2020). Exploring the challenges for women working in the event and festival sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tourism Recreation Research, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2020.1821329.
Alsaif, T. (2013). Relationship between state and religion in Saudi Arabia: The role of Wahabism in governance. Contemporary Arab Affairs, 6(3), 376–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550912.2013.822721.
Arabia, S. (2016). Saudi Arabia Vision 2030. Gazette, Riyadh Tuesday, 26.
Badara, A. (2014). Analisis Wacana: Teori, Metode, dan Penerapannya pada Wacana Media. Prenada Media.
Bin Bāz, ’Abdul Azīz bin Abdillāh. (2016). Fatāwā Nūrun alā ad-Darb (Vol. 31). al-Ri’āsah al-’Āmmah li al-Buhūts al-’Ilmiyyah wa al-Ifta’.
Chara, J. (2018). Saudi Arabia: A prince’s revolution. European View, 17(2), 227–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1781685818803525.
Cochran, J. A. (2019). The Rise in Power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Digest of Middle East Studies, 28(2), 369–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12195.
Eriyanto. (2001). Analisis wacana: Pengantar analisis teks media. LKiS Yogyakarta.
Fadaak, T. H., & Roberts, K. (2018). Young adults, new media, leisure and change in Saudi Arabia. World Leisure Journal, 60(2), 127–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/16078055.2018.1456956.
Foley, S. (2017). When Oil Is Not Enough: Sino-Saudi Relations and Vision 2030. Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 11(1), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/25765949.2017.12023296.
Freer, C. (2019). The Symbiosis of Sectarianism, Authoritarianism, and Rentierism in the Saudi State. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 19(1), 88–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/sena.12287.
Habibi, N. (2019). Implementing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030: An Interim Balance Sheet. Middle East Brief, 127, 1–9.
Hameed, A., Jabeen, I., & Mehar Khan, A. (2020). Planning for Transformation: A Semantic-Grammatical Based Discourse Analysis of Saudi Vision 2030. Arab World English Journal, 11(3), 212–225. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no3.13.
How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global growth | McKinsey. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/how-advancing-womens-equality-can-add-12-trillion-to-global-growth.
Hvidt, M. (2017). Saudi Arabia: Ambitious reform processes initiated. Videnscenter Om DetModerne Mellemsten, 1–5.
Jawad, H. (1998). The rights of women in Islam: An authentic approach. Springer.
Jurgenson, S., Bayyari, F. M., & Parker, J. (2016). A comprehensive renewable energy program for Saudi Vision 2030. Elsevier.
Khan, M. K., & Khan, M. B. (2020). Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: Vision 2030. Routledge.
Khashan, H. (2017). Saudi Arabia’s Flawed" Vision 2030". Middle East Quarterly.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (2016). Saudi Vision 2030. https://vision2030.gov.sa/.
Manchin, D., & Mayr, A. (2012). How to do critical discourse analysis. New York: Sage Publications.
McLoughlin, L. (2017). A critical discourse analysis of South Asian women’s magazines: Undercover beauty. Palgrave Macmillan.
Meijer, R. (2010). Reform in Saudi Arabia: The Gender-Segregation Debate. Middle East Policy, 17(4), 80–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2010.00464.x.
Moshashai, D., Leber, A. M., & Savage, J. D. (2020). Saudi Arabia plans for its economic future: Vision 2030, the National Transformation Plan and Saudi fiscal reform. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 47(3), 381–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2018.1500269.
Next Generation Women Leaders | McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/next-generation-women-leaders/overview.
Nicholls, J. (2003). Methods in school textbook research. Citeseer.
Nurunnabi, M. (2017). Transformation from an Oil-based Economy to a Knowledge-based Economy in Saudi Arabia: The Direction of Saudi Vision 2030. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 8(2), 536–564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-017-0479-8.
Prokop, M. (2003). Saudi Arabia: The politics of education. International Affairs, 79(1), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.00296.
Quamar, M. M. (2020). Education System in Saudi Arabia: Of Change and Reforms. Springer Nature.
Rundell, D. (2020). Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Sabir, A., & Zenaidi, K. (2019). Saudi Arabia reforms: The changing face of Saudi women at workplace with a vision of 2030. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 4(1), 1–7.
Samargandi, N., Al Mamun, M., Sohag, K., & Alandejani, M. (2019). Women at work in Saudi Arabia: Impact of ICT diffusion and financial development. Technology in Society, 59, 101187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.101187.
Saqib, N. (2016). Women empowerment and economic growth: Empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia. Advances in Management & Applied Economics, 6(5).
Sonnenfeld, D. A., & Taylor, P. L. (2018). Liberalism, Illiberalism, and the Environment. Society & Natural Resources, 31(5), 515–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2018.1436375.
Stenslie, S. (2016). Salman’s Succession: Challenges to Stability in Saudi Arabia. The Washington Quarterly, 39(2), 117–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2016.1204413.
Thompson, M. C. (2015). Saudi Women Leaders: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of Arabian Studies, 5(1), 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2015.1050880.
Thompson, M. C. (2017). ‘Saudi Vision 2030’: A Viable Response To Youth Aspirations And Concerns? Asian Affairs, 48(2), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2017.1313598.
Thompson, M. C. (2021). The Impact of Vision 2030 on Saudi Youth Mindsets. Asian Affairs, 52(4), 805–825.
Tlaiss, H. A., & Al Waqfi, M. (2020). Human resource managers advancing the careers of women in Saudi Arabia: Caught between a rock and a hard place. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1783342.
Topal, A. (2019). Economic reforms and women’s empowerment in Saudi Arabia. Women’s Studies International Forum, 76, 102253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2019.102253.
Van Dijk, T. (2014). Discourse-Cognition-Society. Current state and prospects of the socio-cognitive approach to discourse. Contemporary Studies in Critical Discourse Analysis, 121–146.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1977). Semantic macro-structures and knowledge frames in discourse comprehension. Cognitive Processes in Comprehension, 332.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926593004002006.
Wodak, R. (2007). Pragmatics and critical discourse analysis: A cross-disciplinary inquiry. Pragmatics & Cognition, 15(1), 203–225.
Yamani, M. (2009). From fragility to stability: A survival strategy for the Saudi monarchy. Contemporary Arab Affairs, 2(1), 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550910802576114.
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