THE STRUGGLE OF WOMEN AGAINST GENDER
DISCRIMINATIONS IN
GIRLS OF RIYADH
BY RAJAA
ALSANEA
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
PUTRI RISKYA IRIANI
Student Number: 104214015
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
THE STRUGGLE OF WOMEN AGAINST GENDER
DISCRIMINATIONS IN
GIRLS OF RIYADH
BY RAJAA
ALSANEA
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
PUTRI RISKYA IRIANI
Student Number: 104214015
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
THE STRUGGLE OF WOMEN AGAINST GENDER
DISCRIMINATIONS IN
GIRLS OF RIYADH
BY RAJAA
ALSANEA
By
PUTRI RISKYA IRIANI
Student Number: 104214015
Approved by
Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum. November 13, 2014 Advisor
iii
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
THE STRUGGLE OF WOMEN AGAINTS GENDER
DISCRIMINATIONS IN
GIRLS OF RIYADH
BY RAJAA
ALSANEA
By
PUTRI RISKYA IRIANI
Student Number: 104214015
Defended before the Board of Examiners on November 25, 2014
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairperson : Dr. F. X. Siswadi, M.A. _______________ Secretary : A. B. Sri Mulyani, M.A., Ph.D. _______________ Member 1. : Dr. F. X. Siswadi, M.A. _______________ Member 2. : Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum. _______________ Member 3. : A. B. Sri Mulyani, M.A., Ph.D. _______________
Yogyakarta, November 28, 2014 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean
iv
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due to reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis.
Yogyakarta, November 13, 2014
v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma Nama : Putri Riskya Iriani
Nomor Mahasiswa : 104214015
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
THE STRUGGLE OF WOMEN AGAINST GENDER
DISCRIMINATIONS AS IN
GIRLS OF RIYADH
BY RAJAA
ALSANEA
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 13 November 2014
Yang menyatakan,
vi
Whatever your past may have been,
your future is still spotless
Boona Mohammed
As you get older, you will start to
understand more and more that in
life, it s not about what you look like
or what you own
It s all about the person you ve
become
vii
For
My Beloved Parents
And
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to sayAlhamdulillahirabbil aalamiin, all praise is to Allah SWT, the One who owns my life and makes anything impossible, possible, the One who hears me crying when no one else does, and obviously the One who gives me strength in carrying all burdens, only with His permission that I could finish this undergraduate thesis.
I also want to give my gratitude to my beloved parents,Pak Ngatmi and
Bu Harmi whose love for me never ends, the ones who always support me in anything I do and always remind me when I did something wrong. Only with their guidance I can be who I am now. I also send my gratitude to my great big family that I know always pray for my success.
I want to express my gratitude to my beloved advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum. who always makes me feel excited to come to her office not only to get her advice regarding my thesis but also to have a fun chat about baking. Also, I would like to thank my co-advisorA. B. Sri Mulyani, M.A., Ph. D. who has helped me with her suggestions in order to improve the content in my thesis.
ix
I want to say thanks to all of my best friends in campus who always support me all the time and always be by my side whenever I need them: Sinta, Diyan, Indy, Mba Aul, Mba Momon, Mba Pucil, Mba Pipi, Pinta, and
Michael. Last but not least, thanks to my high school friends and play mate, because they are the one who can always make me laugh, with whom I can forget all problems I m facing :AOETISS 2010,Fassa, Neza, ConyandNadia.
In addition, I thank everyone who might not realize their role in my life especially during the hard time I was working on my thesis who I cannot mention each of them.
x
C. Objectives of the Study .
D. Definition of Terms ...
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE . A. Review of Related Studies..
B. Review of Related Theories ...
1. Character and Characterization . ...
2. Gender Discrimination ..
3. Feminism ..
4. Women s Rights in Saudi Arabia ..
5. Literature and Society ...
A. The Descriptions of Major Characters ..
1. The Description of Gamrah .. .
xi
B. The Gender Discrimination Revealed in the Novel
1. Social Life .. .
2. Domestic Life ..
3. Discrimination in Law ..
4. Discrimination in Politics
C. The Struggle of Women toward Gender Discrimination 1. Struggle Shown through Action ...
2. Struggle Shown through Speech ... ...
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..
xii
ABSTRACT
Putri Riskya Iriani. The Struggle of Women Against Gender Discriminations in Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Al-Sanea. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2014.
In some societies women are often seen as inferior human beings. Women are treated unequally and are often discriminated while men have the power to control women. Eventually, women realize about their rights and they fight to get the equal treatment as what men get. Saudi Arabia is one of the patriarchal society where women are not treated equally. There are many rules that prohibit women s mobility while men can have more freedom. The phenomenon of the conservative patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia can be seen in the novel Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Al-Sanea. The novel reveals the struggle of Arab women in order to fight for their rights as women. The writer analyzes the characteristics of the characters in the novel and also the discriminations that they experienced in order to see how women in Saudi Arabia are struggling toward the gender discrimination.
There are three problems that have to be answered in order to see how women in Saudi Arabia are struggling toward the gender discrimination. The problems are (1) How are the major characters described? (2) What are the gender discriminations revealed in the novel? (3) How is the struggle of women toward gender discrimination revealed?
The method of the study that is used is library research. The primary source of the study is the novel Girls of Riyadh while the secondary sources are the books that are related to the study and also internet sources. Feminist approach is used in the study since the study discusses women and the struggle of women to get equality.
xiii ABSTRAK
Putri Riskya Iriani. The Struggle of Women Against Gender Discriminations in Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Al-Sanea. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2014.
Di beberapa kelompok masyarakat, perempuan sering dianggap sebagai makhluk yang rendah. Perempuan diperlakukan tidak adil dan mendapat diskriminasi, sementara lelaki memiliki kebebasan untuk mengontrol perempuan. Pada akhirnya para perempuan menyadari hak-hak mereka dan mereka berjuang untuk mendapatkan perlakuan yang sama seperti yang didapat oleh pria. Fenomena dari sebuah masyarakat patriarkal Arab Saudi yang konservatif bisa dilihat di dalam novel Girls of Riyadh karya Rajaa Al-Sanea. Novel ini mengungkap perjuangan perempuan Arab dalam berjuang atas hak-hak mereka sebagai perempuan. Penulis menganalisis karakter dari tokoh-tokoh di dalam novel dan juga diskriminasi-diskriminasi yang mereka alami agar dapat melihat bagaimana perempuan di Arab Saudi berjuang untuk melawan diskriminasi gender.
Ada tiga pertanyaan yang perlu dijawab untuk melihat bagaimana perempuan-perempuan di Arab Saudi berjuang melawan diskriminasi gender. Pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut ialah (1) Bagaimanakah tokoh-tokoh utama digambarkan? (2) Diskriminasi-diskriminasi gender apa saja yang diungkap dalam novel? (3) Bagaimanakah perjuangan perempuan melawan diskriminasi genderterungkap?
Metode yang digunakan pada studi ini adalah metode studi pustaka. Sumber utamanya adalah novel Girls of Riyadh. Sedangkan sumber tambahan adalah dari buku-buku yang berkaitan dengan studi ini dan juga dari internet. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah pendekatan feminis karena studi ini berkaitan dengan perempuan dan perjuangannya untuk mendapatkan kesetaraan.
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the study
Many aspects of life are dominated by men, whether economically or socially. The patriarchy system seems to limit the freedom of women. Women are often seen as inferior human beings that they are discriminated and even oppressed. This is then what is called gender-discrimination. In many societies, whether in the west or in the east, gender discrimination is something common. In some countries, especially in the east, women are discriminated in many aspects of life. They are seen as objects that should stay at home and be responsible for any household matters while men are the one responsible of any matters outside the house.
In almost all societies, women and men perform different activities, although the nature and range of these activities vary across classes and across communities. They have also changed over time. Women are typically responsible for childcare and household work, but they also engage in producing goods for household consumption or for the market. Men are typically responsible for meeting the household's needs for food and resources (Ravindran, 2001: 55).
Sometimes women find it difficult to express their thoughts, and they are oppressed by the patriarchal system in the society since they do not have the same opportunities as men have.
For example, in order to take care of official tasks such as legal matters with bank and other offices, women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to do the official tasks themselves. Things related to them should be done by their male guardians, preferably family.
The relationship between man and woman who are not family is also regulated by law. Those who are not family or relatives cannot interact in public places freely. If a man and a woman who are not relatives are caught having interaction in public places, they will definitely be punished because it is considered a crime.
One crime for which women are especially targeted is khulwa (the illegal mixing of unrelated men and women), which can occur whether men and women are dining together in a restaurant, riding in a taxi, or meeting for business (2010:429).
Even though the regulations seem to take the freedom of women in Saudi Arabia, the majority of Saudi Arabian do not see it as a discrimination, instead they see it as equivalence.It is stated by Kelly that
A healthy majority of Saudi citizens agree with the social agenda of the ulema, and would not view the inequalities between men and women as discrimination, but as equivalence (Kelly, 2010: 425).
The awareness of some people especially women in Saudi Arabia about the gender inequality that is caused by society then lead some of these women to criticize it. Hamdan said that Saudi women devise their own strategies to challenge gender inequality and achieve social justice not only in education but in all life matters (2005: 45).
Rajaa Al-Saena as a writer shows her awareness through her writings. In order to criticize the strong patriarchal system in Saudi Arabia society, she shows the phenomenon of discrimination towards women in Saudi Arabia that is portrayed in her novelGirls of Riyadh.In the novel she reveals the life of women in Saudi Arabia especially in Riyadh. She makes a close up view of the patriarchal society in which women seem to have no choice but to accept their destiny built by the culture and the society. Yet these women still have a wish for a reformation. Al-Saenawants to show the reader that some women in Saudi Arabia are wishing for a reform without destroying their religion and cultural values. As she said in her note in the novel,
I hope you will see, too, that little by little some of these women are beginning to carve out their own way not the Western way, but one that keeps what is good about the values of their religion and culture, while allowing for reform (2005: viii)
Deep inside, these four women are against all rules of the society and culture. They want to be free in living their life, and choose their life partner. Each character shows a different reaction toward the discrimination that they experience. Some of them show a frontal reaction towards the discriminations, while another shows their reaction through their speech.
B. Problem Formulation
The background above leads the writer to formulate several questions to be analyzed further. The writer then formulates the questions as follows.
1. How are the major characters described?
2. What are the gender discriminations revealed in the novel?
3. How is struggle of women toward gender discriminations revealed?
C. Objectives of the Study
In the story, there are four main women characters who are friends and experiencing different yet similar problems in their life and willing to pursuit their happiness in the middle of patriarchal society and strict rules of their country Saudi Arabia. Yet, the study will only focus on two characters who are Gamrah and Michelle because they are the ones who brave enough to show resistance toward gender discrimination in the story.
of Riyadh. The discriminations will be categorized, whether it is social, domestic, political, or law discriminations.
After identifying the gender-discrimination that happen in the story, the struggle of women toward the discrimination will be identified through the characteristics of the major characters. The way the women struggle toward the gender discrimination depends on the characteristics of the character, thus each character might have their own way of struggle.
D. Definition of Terms
There are terms that should be explained clearly in order to avoid misunderstanding.
1. Characters
According to A Glossary of Literary Terms by M.H Abrams, characters are,
The persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as possessing particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it--the dialogue--and from what they do--the action (2009: 42).
The writer concludes that character is a person in a literary work such as novel or other narrative work whose qualities can be seen or identified from the descriptions about the character, the dialogue, what other characters say about another characters, and the way the character react toward a certain situations.
2. Gender
A line of demarcation between biological sex differences and the way these are used to inform behaviours and competencies, which are then assigned as either masculine or feminine .
It can be said that gender is a way to differentiate two sexes based on their biological characteristics. These characteristics will define the nature of the two sexes whether it is masculine or feminine .
3. Discrimination
Based on Eurofond website discrimination is defined as,
Different treatment of individuals or groups based on arbitrary ascriptive or acquired criteria such as sex, race, religion, age, marital or parental status, disability, sexual orientation, political opinions, socio-economic background, and trade union membership and activities. (http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/industrialrelations/dictionary/defin itions/discrimination.htm)
Gender discrimination is the inequal treatment to individual or groups that based on some aspects such as sex, religion, age, etc. Discrimination might cause a person or a group live in limitations or without full freedom.
4. Patriarchy
As stated by Madsen in Feminist Theory and Literary Practice, patriarchy is,
a cultural (ideological) system that privileges men and all things masculine, and a political system that places power in the hands of men and thus serves male interests at the expense of women (2000:xii).
7
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE A. Review of Related Studies
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Sanea was released in 2005 in Arabic as Al-Sanea s debut as a writer. Girls of Riyadh is a sensational novel that caused a controversy and was banned in Saudi Arabia.
There are already some studies done by some other researchers on the novel Girls of Riyadh. The first study is done by Eska Dwi Palupi. In her undergraduate study entitled The Roles of Family and Women on Saudi Arabia Tradition of Marriage as Revealed in Rajaa Al-Sanea s Girls of Riyadh, Palupi analyzes the phenomenon that happen in the novel through the social-cultural point of view. She focuses on the phenomenon of marriage in the relation of the roles of family and women in Saudi Arabia society that is revealed in the novel.
In Saudi Arabia society, marriage is controlled or arranged by the family. Meaning to say that men and women can only get married under the approval of the family. As Palupi states that
The other roles of family on marriage can be seen on when the family becomes the decision maker on who marries who and whether a couple can get married or not. The guardian or wali father or other close male family member is the one who has responsibility in selecting a family member s marriage partner. It also can be seen that family s approval is the most important license to get married. When their family rejects their partner, there is nothing they can do but accept it (2010: 48).
role in the family. Mother becomes the decisive voice related to the household expenditures, the upbringing and education for children, and sometimes in the marriage arrangements. Woman as a husband s companion is demanded to be a good wife. She should devote her life for her husband (2010: 48). Even though the Saudi Arabia society is a patriarchal society, which means the absolute power is in the hand of men, women in family have their own place to control some matters that they also have power over some things in their family.
Another study about Girls of Riyadh is by Moneera Al-Ghadeer. In her article Girls of Riyadh: A New Technology Writing or Chick Lit Defiance Banat al-Riyad (Girls of Riyadh,Al-Ghadeer analyzes the way the text is written in the form of emails as the other of literature . The chick writing style is used by the narrator in order to reveal the phenomenon of youth especially young women in Saudi Arabia. It becomes a media to see the hidden circumstance among youngsters there. Al-Ghadeer states that
The narrative is a peephole into what a young woman sees in her society and captures what goes inside the hearts and minds of her girlfriends, the younger generation (2006: 299).
Consequently, the e-narrator evokes the echoing and referential effects of her narrative, striking fear of semblance in women readers who apparently assume that the e-narrator is exposing their stories, just like the proliferation of gossip in chat rooms or the blogosphere (2006: 298). This undergraduate thesis tries to develop another studies that have been done by another researchers as mentioned above. The first study by Eka Dwi Palupi focuses on the role of family and women in marriage life by using socio-cultural perspective while the study by Muneera Al-Gadheer focuses on the way the text is narrated and the effect of using internet as the medium to reveal a phenomenon. Unlike the previous studies, this undergraduate thesis focuses on the struggle of women against the gender discrimination by analyzing some of the major women characters as seen inGirls of Riyadhby Rajaa Al-Sanea.
B. Review of Related Theories
The theories that are used here are the theory of character and characterization, the theory of gender discrimination, the theory of feminism, theory of literature and society and some information about the women s rights in Saudi Arabia. These theories help the writer reveals the struggle of women toward gender discrimination as seen in Rajaa Al-Sanea sGirls of Riyadh.
1. Character & Characterization
One of the important elements in a literary work is character. According to A Glossary of Literary Termsby M.H Abrams,it is stated
What is possessed by characters could be interpreted by the reader by identifying what the persons says and the way they say it, whether through the dialogue or through their acts. Another thing that is also important to analyze characters is by understanding their motivation which is as also stated in A Glossary of Literary Terms, are the grounds in the characters temperament, desire, and moral nature for their speech and actions (2009: 42).
In Understanding Unseens by Murphy, there are 9 ways to identify the characteristics of characters in literary works. Yet only 5 ways that are used by the author to characterize the character in the novel. They are:
1. Personal Description
The author describes the character s physical appearance such as skin color, height, face, hair, etc. It s the reader mind s eye that work to figure out the characteristics of the character.
2. Character as Seen by Another
The author does not describe the qualities of a character directly but he/she uses other characters opinion. The reader will see the characteristics of a certain character through the eyes of another characters.
3. Speech
4. Reactions
By analyzing the way the character react toward certain situations, the reader will have another clues about his/her characteristics.
5. Direct Comment
The author might also describe the character in the novel directly through his/her narration (1972: 161-170).
2. Gender Discrimination
Based on Bernard E. Whitley Jr. in The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination, discrimination in general is a behavior which deals with the way people act toward members of other groups and it consists of behaving differently toward people based solely on their membership in a social group. The term discrimination usually refers to acting in an unfair or demeaning manner or to giving someone an undeserved advantage (2010: 370).
Even in this modern era gender inequalities remain stubbornly entrenched in all regions of the world whether in the rich or poor countries, the phenomenon
of gender inequality is still happening
(http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/docs/sowc07_panel_1_2. pdf).
Any acts that limit the rights of a person based on the sexual difference is considered as gender discrimination that make a person cannot have the full freedom to do anything he/she likes in many aspects of life.
3. Feminism
In An Introduction to Literary Criticism, Bressler makes an assumption that in this masculine world, the feminists declare that it is men who defines what it means to be human, not women (1999: 189). As women realize that the life is dominated by men while women are only seen as inferior human beings compared to men, some critical thoughts arose and use the literature as one of the medium to transfer their ideas. Bressler also explained that in 1972 Judith Viorst recreates Cinderella story which aim is, as Bressler said, to crystallizes the central issue of feminism which are:
1. Men, either unconsciously or consciously, have oppressed women, allowing them little or no voice in the political, social, or economic issues of their society.
3. In effect, men have made woman the insignificant other (Bressler, 1999: 180)
Viorst recreates the characteristics of Cinderella as a woman who has her own opinions. As we know that the ending of the original Cinderella story is that Cinderella ends up marries the prince, but in Viorst new creation of the story, she decides not to marry the prince because she finds the prince no more attractive that she pretends that the glass shoe does not fit her foot. Bressler pointed out,
This new Cinderella refuses to be defined as the nonsignificant other. Unlike the old Cinderella, she will not allow herself to be shaped by her society. She realizes that her culture has all too often presented her with stereotypes that she and many others like her have so blindly accepted (1999: 179)
The old Cinderella character tends to accept the commandments of their patriarchal society but Viorst see it differently (1999: 179).
The position of women that is seen as inferior, triggered the emergence of feminist movement, a movement in which women are fighting for gender equality and to be seen as significant and valuable. Maggie Humm in Feminism: A Reader states,
The emergence of feminist ideas and feminist politics depends on the understanding that, in all societies which divide the sexes into differing cultural, economic or political spheres, women are less valued than men. (Humm, 1992: 1)
equally valued, women have to define themselves and assert their own voices in the arenas of politics, society, education and the arts (1999: 180).
Another opinion about the important of fighting for equality for women is by Simone de Beauvoir a French writer. As stated by Bressler,
According to Beauvoir, a woman must break the bonds of her patriarchal society and define herself if she wishes to become a significant human being in her own right and defy male classification as the Other (1999: 182).
In order to have the same rights as men have, women should break the notion in the society that women and men are not equal and women are lower than men.
A particular movement of feminism is radical feminism. Specifically, radical feminism occurs because it is believed that women form a sex-class . Women are seen as the fundamentally oppressed class. Radical feminism recognizes that the foundation of social inequality is the domination of women by men. The patriarchal system is the root of all oppression of women as what Madsen says that the sexual oppression of women is seen to underlie the economic, cultural and social subordination of women (Madsen, 2000:152-153). Radical feminist is against the standard gender role that put women as inferior. Thus, radical feminism intends to destroy the sex-class system in order to make a change and stops the oppression in the society so that women can have freedom in living their life without being restricted by any restriction under the domination of men in the patriarchal society.
4. Women s Rights in Saudi Arabia
Women and education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and achievements, explains that Saudi women were considered as extension of their male guardians and in Saudi society in general, it is believed that the role of women was basic to maintaining the structure of the family and therefore of society (2005: 45)
Some of the restrictions for women in Saudi Arabia are regulated. The government use Al- Quran and Sunnah as a based of the kingdom law. As Kelly said in her book Women s Rights in The Middle East and North Africa, that The Basic Law of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not guarantee gender equality (2010: 425).
Women in Saudi Arabia cannot have full freedom for their mobility, as Kelly said that the social and cultural rights of women are limited by the same sex-segregation values that automatically limit the expression of all other forms of women s activities (2010: 447).
Most marriages that currently take place in Muslim societies are arranged unions, during which force and intimidation are quite often employed to obtain the girl s consent (1998: 38).
Arrange marriage system is something common that also take place in Saudi Arabia society as an Islamic state.
Women in Saudi Arabia often lacks in choices regarding fundamental life decisions such as marriage, childbearing, and whether to work outside the home. They are under the legal control of their closest male relative (mahram) (Kelly, 2010: 449). Women do not have many choices in order to work, most of the job fields are for men.
The everyday mobility of women in Saudi Arabia is also limited. Women are not permitted to drive a car by themselves. They are also not allowed to take care of any legal matters with bank or any other offices by themselves. For example, until 2005, in order to obtain a commercial license for a business, a woman should proves that she had already hired a male manager and she needed permission from her guardian to go into business or take out a bank loan (Kelly, 2010:438). Without a male manager, a woman could never be able to run a business in Saudi Arabia because men and women cannot interact freely so that a male manager is needed to take care of many things related to official tasks.
conservative patriarchal society has so many legal constraints and social controls that limits the freedom of movement of all women in Saudi Arabia (Kelly, 2010: 431).
5. Literature and Society
A writer is a social being since he/she lives in a society. A society in which a writer lives can give a big influence toward his/her writing. Rene Wellek inTheory of Literatureexplains the relation of literature and society. She states
Literature represents life and life is, in large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual have also been objects of literary imitation (1956: 94)
Literature is often used by authors as a representation of their life, it is an expression of society (1956: 95). The aspects of society such as social, economy, or even political aspect in which an author lives, can bring influences in his/her literary work.
A novel, for example can be a description about a certain society in which the author lives, it can represent many aspects of the author s society that he/she puts in the story as an imitation of the real world.
C. Theoretical Framework
As mentioned in the previous part, there are three problem formulation regarding to this research. Each problem needs a theory in order to be answered. All theories help to analyze the struggle of women in a patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia as seen inGirls of Riyadhby Rajaa Al-Sanea.
way she speaks and what she does, her way of thinking, what other characters say about her, etc. Even though there are four major characters in the novel, the writer only focuses on two characters, they are Gamrah and Michelle. Once the qualities of the characters are revealed, the writer applies the theory of gender discrimination to see phenomenon of discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia society and the effect toward the characters.
Secondly, the theory of gender discrimination is used by the writer to identifying the discrimination against women that occur in the novel whether it is a domestic or social discrimination that cause a struggle for women characters in the novel. The writer will also use the information about women s rights in Saudi Arabia in order to get a deeper analysis on the gender discrimination issue.
19
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study
The novelGirls of Riyadhwas written by Rajaa Al-Sanea, a young woman doctor who grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The novel was first published in 2005 in Arabic language in Lebanon with the original title Banat Al-Riyadh. It was prohibited to be published in Saudi Arabia due to the controversial content since Saudi Arabia is very strict with things related to sex segregation. In 2007, the novel was translated into English and published by The Penguin Press New York and finally available in many bookstores in Saudi Arabia. The novel consists of 286 pages and divided into 50 chapters.
The novel which is written in the form of emails by a woman narrator tells about the life of four Riyadh young women. They are, Gamrah, Michelle, Lamees, and Sadeem. The narrator herself is the friend of these four women. She discovers the life of her friends by sending emails every week to the internet subscriber in Saudi Arabia.
causes a depression for Gamrah but she eventually is able to move on with her life.
Michelle whose real name is Mashael is half American. Her father married her mother who is an American. She cannot have a happy ending love story with her boyfriend Faisal since Faisal s mother refuses to let Faisal to marry Michelle due to family pride. Nothing hurts Michelle more than the reason behind Faisal s mother refusal, she just cannot accept the very conservative way of thinking of the Saudi Arabia society that in order to choose a right partner for their children a family background is very important, rich people will only marry rich people. At the end Michelle and her family move to Dubai where she is able to live a better life in a more liberal society.
A bit different from Michelle and Gamrah, Sadeem who already signed the marriage contract with Waleed ends up being divorced by him. He left her without a word, even before their wedding celebration was conducted. The reason why Waleed divorces her is simply because she sleeps with Waleed before she moves in with him. Even though it is not forbidden since they are already legally married, he is shocked by Sadeem s interest in sex. At the end, Sadeem end up marrying her cousin.
The last is Lamees, she is the one who has the happy ending love story, she marries Nizar, a friend that she loves and obviously loves her. Unlike her other friends, they live happily after marriage.
dominance. The novel reveals many things about women In Saudi Arabia and the discrimination that they experienced, it also shows how they are struggling to get their freedom without leaving their religious values.
B. Approach of the Study
The approach that is used in order to analyze this study is feminist approach. The study focuses on the struggle of women who live in a patriarchal society, so the writer uses the feminist point of view in order to analyze the women struggle.
Elizabeth Kowaleski Wallace in Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary explains that feminist implies an intellectual commitment to achieving gender, class, and racial equality, and it often see all aspects of culture, especially literature as the site to transfer the ideas and as a means of eventual change (2009: vii).
In Women: A Feminist Perspective, Jo Freeman said that feminist perspective starts from the premise that women and men are constitutionally equal. They share the same human capabilities and that is why it demands a critical analysis of the social institutions that cause the inequality (1984: 553).
C. Method of the Study
The method that is used by the writer in this undergraduate thesis is the library research. The writer uses sources from both books and Internet. The writer only uses reliable sources from Internet to support the study. The primary source of the study isGirls of Riyadhby Rajaa Al-Sanea.
The second sources of the study are from books and Internet. For this thesis, the writer used A Glossary of Literary Terms by Abrams, Bresslers s An Introduction to Literary Criticism, Understanding Unseens by Murphy, Maggie Humm sFeminism, A Reader, Deborah L. Madsen s Feminist Theory and Literary Practice, and some other books to find related information on discrimination and women s rights in Saudi Arabia.
In conducting this research, the writer used several steps. The first is by reading the novel and understanding the content. The writer focuses on the two major characters in order to analyze the struggle of women toward gender discrimination. After reading and understanding the novel, the writer formulated some problem formulations that can be used as the writing guidelines.
The second step was finding and understanding a theory on characterization to be applied in the study. This theory was used by the writer to analyze further the character in the novel in order to answer the first problem formulation.
struggle of the women as objects in the conservative patriarchal society where men are dominating.
The theory of the relation of literature and society also added by the writer in order to understand the function of literature and its significant related to society. The writer also studying about the gender discrimination and women s rights in Saudi Arabia in order to find more information related to the discrimination experienced by women in Saudi Arabia and their limitation of human rights.
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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter discusses the three problems as stated in the first chapter. The first part discusses the first problem which is about the description of two major characters in the novel and how they are described. Secondly, the focus is to answer the second problem about the gender discriminations that are experienced by women in the novel. The last part is to answer the last problem about the how the struggle against the gender discrimination revealed in the story.
A. The Descriptions Major Characters
There are only two characters that is analyzed in the study and in order to understand the characteristics the characters the writer uses Murphy s theory on character and characterization. There are only 5 ways used here from the 9 ways that Murphy has. They are, personal description, character as seen by another, speech, reactions, and direct comments. Through characteristics of the characters, the writer tries to reveal the struggle of women toward gender discrimination in Girls of Riyadhby Rajaa Al-Sanea.
1. Gamrah a. Hardworking
responsible for the business Riyadh. Gamrah does not let such opportunity to be wasted. Gamrah works very hard even though she had to work until late at night.
Gamrah wouldn t get home before two or three in the morning, although during the final third of the month she would return an hour or two earlier, in time to do the Qiyam prayers** at the mosque with her mother and sisters (Al-Sanea: 2005: 233).
Gamrah who lives in isolation after her divorce can finally prove to her mother that she can be independent by her hard work, and does not need to be protected like a little child anymore. Her mother can finally let her daughter to go out of the house without the companion of her brothers. Gamrah also proves to her mother that she works really hard by get her mother impressed with the profit she gets from the business.
At first, Gamrah s mother wouldn t let her go out on these work missions alone, but she began going easier on her daughter when she noticed how seriously Gamrah took it all. What most impressed Um Gamrah was when she saw her daughter make her first profit for arranging a dinner party in the home of one of Sadeem s professors at the university (Al-Sanea: 2005: 233-234).
As a widow, Gamrah s hardworking characteristic can be a way for her to struggle and fight against the discrimination against women in order to get equality. She proves that a woman can be independent and survive without the help of a man. She could break the rules in her family and show that being a widow is not a disgrace.
b. Brave
a long consideration, she decides to call Kari who is Rashid s affair and she asks her to meet up. Even though Gamrah s English speaking ability is very poor that she might find difficulties in communicating with Kari, she still has the courage to call her and meet her.
Gamrah called Kari at the second number and asked to meet her. She introduced herself first. Kari answered calmly, saying she was willing and ready to come to Chicago to see her at the next available opportunity (Al-Sanea, 2005: 80)
Gamrah, who had never expected an offensive such as this, found that the cat had gotten hold of her tongue. Even without understanding Kari s speech completely, what Gamrah did absorb was enough to make her suddenly snap out of her stunned silence and explode in Kari s face, cursing in weak English and in Arabic, too (Al-Sanea, 2005: 83)
Secondly, during the two months interval before Gamrah meets Kari, she needs to make sure that she is pregnant, knowing that her husband forbids her to get pregnant by always asking her to take certain pills to avoid pregnancy. Gamrah knows that it is just her husband trick because he is cheating on her, and that a child in their marriage will only get their bond stronger and make things more difficult for her husband.
During those two months, Gamrah stopped taking pills without consulting her mother, whose opinion she knew anyway: All you ve got is your children, my dear. Children are the only way to tie a man. (Al-Sanea, 2005: 80)
Her husband got so angry when Gamrah told him about her pregnancy. It is a brave action she takes in order to get her marriage continues even though she has to face the oppression toward her.
The second slap came and she fell to the floor, sobbing painfully. Rashid left the apartment to run into the arms of the unworthy one, leaving Gamrah cursing and slapping her cheeks and spitting at him, in a state of hysteria, close to madness (Al-Sanea, 2005: 85).
Gamrah realizes that she has the right of herself and her body, thus her brave characteristic helps her to get her rights as a women no matter what consequences that she should face. Without her bravery she will not be able to resist her husband s oppression towards her.
2. Michelle a. Tough
Michelle is a tough person because no matter how hard the problem she is facing she is always able to overcome it. For example when she has to face the fact that Faisal, her boyfriend should leave her and marry another woman since it is a family decision she is able to survive by not letting herself drawn to the sadness. When Faisal tries to pursue her again, she makes a firm decision not to fall to any of the attractions of Faisal and that she has to be strong. Her toughness can be seen in one of her speeches when he talks about Faisal to her friend.
That s why I went on refusing him and denying my feelings and not letting myself be sucked into his weakness. One of us had to be the strong one. I decided it was going to be me (Al-Sanea, 2005: 269).
Marriage is a very sensitive matter in Saudi society. One cannot decide who he/she wants to marry because family is the institution that will decide such matter. Yet, not matter how hard the problem she is facing, she stays strong and she is able to overcome any problems, she says it herself I know I can face whatever hassles stand in my way (Al-Sanea, 2005: 269) .
The tough characteristic of Michelle is also proven by her friend s opinion about her. She is seen as a strong person by her friend. Gamrah really wished that she could draw strength from Michelle (Al-Sanea, 2005: 175) .
b. Critical
As a person who used to study in America, Michelle s characteristic is influenced by American culture. As explained by Hamdan that Saudi women and men who have been educated in the West return to the country with different visions for the future, they see their society differently. Those who support women s rights tend to seek and implement change (Hamdan, 2005: 55)
I have complete confidence in my-self, and I know I can face whatever hassles stand in my way, but frankly I don t have the same confidence in Faisal or in any other guy in our sick society (Al-Sanea 2005: 269)
Michelle s critical characteristic can also be seen in her speech when she talks about women. In her opinion, women in the society never tried to become strong, women in her society tends to keep silence that they always accept everything, they are defeated by the society around them and never show their opinion.
We always act the role of the helpless females, completely overcome by circumstances, and as if we don t have a say in anything or opinions of our own! Utterly passive! How long are we going to keep on being such cowards, and not have even the courage to see our choices through, whether they re right or wrong? ( Al-Sanea, 2005: 125).
When she talks about men, she is also critical. It can be seen in her reaction toward Gamrah when they talk about Nizar who is Sadeem s husband, Gamrah thinks that Nizar is very considerate by letting Sadeem to stay in Riyadh to finish her study until she graduates. Gamrah is amazed by Nizar s decision because it is so uncommon. Yet, Michelle argues her, she agrees that Nizar is quite considerate but it is not something that is surprising.
This isherlife, and she s free to run it as she wants, just as he s free to run his as he wants. Our problem hereis that we let men be bigger deals than they really are. We need to realize assume, even right from the start that things like letting us graduate are not even optional, it s just what makes sense, and our eyes should not fly out of our heads if one of these men actually does something right! (Al-Sanea 2005: 235)
characteristic can reveal the gender discrimination in her society and also shows that deep inside, a woman realizes that she has to fight for the equality.
c. Brave
Michelle is not afraid of saying what is right in her opinion and also do something which for some people is risky. Michelle is always questioning the Saudi Arabia society which in her opinion is sick . Sometimes her brave characteristic scares her friends. Her braveness can be seen from the direct comment about her.
Michelle had become truly frightening lately, the way she talked about freedom and women s rights, the bonds of religion, conventions imposed by society and her philosophy on relations between the sexes (Al-Sanea, 2005: 175).
She is not afraid to talk about things that are actually taboo to be talked about in Saudi society. Women s rights and religion matter are sensitive matters in the society.
Michelle s brave characteristic can also be seen in the way she reacts toward a situation during Gamrah s wedding celebration. In Saudi Arabia, the wedding celebration separates men and women in different rooms before the groom can finally join the bride. In women room, all women can dress up as they like that they do not need to cover their body withhijabor veil. Once the groom and all other men join the women room to get the bride and the groom meet each other, all women should cover their body in order to protect them from the sight of men. Yet, Michelle prefer to stay as the way she is, she does not care whether men can see her body shape in her gown.
Michelle braveness can also be seen in her decision to drive a car and dresses up like a man. In Saudi Arabia, it is forbidden for a woman to drive a car even if the person owns an international driving license. What Michelle did is actually a crime due to the law in Saudi Arabia and she might be accused for driving. Yet, Michelle is brave enough to still drive and to avoid being caught by the religious police of Saudi Arabia, she dresses up like a man.
The hostess greeted them wearing baggy trousers with lots of pockets and an oversized jacket gear that artfully concealed any sign of femininity plus a bandanna that hid her hair. To top it all off, she had on a pair of colored sunglasses that gave her the appearance of an adolescent boy who has escaped parental surveillance (2005: 14)
Wearing man s clothes is inappropriate and against the law of Islam that become the base of law in Saudi Arabia. The risk of being accused for driving by the religious police of Saudi Arabia, shows how brave Michelle is.
d. Educated
Michelle and her family live in and her family moved to Riyadh when she is in the second year of middle school. Since at that time Michelle did not have the ability of speaking Arabic, she studies in a school that all the classes are taught in English. After graduated from high school, Michelle continues her study in King Saud University and studied computer science there.
anyone who will marry them when they go back to Saudi and bad rumors about her will spread.
Her father s nosy sisters had really gone out of their way in this case to stuff her open-minded father s head with retrograde ideas. They warned him of the likely consequences of letting her go abroad all by herself to study. Girls who traveled out of the kingdom to study, the aunties argued, found lots of unflattering talk swirling around them when they returned. And then they couldn t find anyone who would marry them (Al-Sanea, 2005:46)
Her father who is actually an open-minded person, got the influence from his sisters who are very conservative. On the other hand, while Michelle is not allowed to study abroad by herself, her little brother Meshaal is allowed to go for summer boarding school in Switzerland.
The atmosphere of their home had become very bleak with her depression and the departure of her brother Meshaal to Switzerland for his summer boarding school (Al-Sanea, 2005: 112).
In Saudi society, it was a hard battle for a woman to get formal education, they only got religious education in the past. Thus, even now many conservative Saudi people see that education for women is not needed. Amani Hamdan in his article Women and Education in Saudi Arabia,says that the struggle for women education in Saudi Arabia is an ongoing battle (Hamdan, 2010: 47)
Eventually, Michelle is able to study abroad. She is depressed after break up with Faisal that she asks her father to let her go and study in the US. This time her father let her go as a way to cure her broken heart. Her father does not give spontaneous refusal because he knows that Michelle is in a bad psychological condition.
weight she had lost and the paleness that taken hold of her face in recent weeks had an effect on his decision (2005: 112)
Michelle continues her study at the University of California in San Francisco major in communication. In San Francisco she met her cousin Matty who helps her taking care of anything related to her study there. Later Michelle find herself have a crush in Matty but when she tells her father, he cannot accept it since Matty is not a Moslem.
Michelle does not finish her study in University of California, she only spent two years there because her father decided to move to Dubai, UAE. It was her father s plan from the beginning, moreover after knowing that her daughter loves her non-Moslem cousin (Al-Sanea, 2005: 135)
In Dubai, she still continued her study in communication. She entered the Departement of Visual Communication at the American University in Dubai so that her two years in San Francisco will not go to a waste. Major in communication is a way that leads her way to success. Later she gets a chance to work in a famous TV station in Dubai and become a producer for her own TV program (Al-Sanea, 2005: 185).
Through the description about her, it can also be seen that Michelle is an educated woman. Her education also influences her way of thinking because she can see things from the Eastern and Western perspective at the same time.
B. The Gender Discriminations Revealed in the Novel
In this section, the gender discrimination in the novelGirls of Riyadh will be revealed. The discriminations are categorized into 4 categories. The first is discrimination in social life, which reveals any discriminations against women in their interaction with people outside the house. The second is discrimination in domestic life where women are discriminated in their home even by their own parents. The third is the discrimination in law where women cannot have the same rights as men have in the aspect of law. The last is discrimination in politics, the freedom of women in Saudi Arabia in political life is very limited due to the Kingdom s regulation.
1. Social Life
Social life is a combination of some components which are interactions, people, and places outside the house. A social interaction, as explained by Jos e A. Scheinkman in his journal, Social Interactions, refers to particular forms of externalities, in which the actions of a reference group affect an individual s preferences (https://www.princeton.edu/~joses/wp/socialinteractions.pdf).
depend on their mahram (male guardian), it could be their fathers, brothers, or husbands. Women in Saudi Arabia is a full dependant of their mahram. Lastly, the extreme patriarchal society of Saudi will challenge the education of women.
Women especially the youth who are not yet married are expected to behave with instruction especially during social gatherings because the way they behave will influence their life. Such phenomenon can be seen in Girls of Riyadh
during a gathering where many women gather.
You barely walk,you barely talk, you barely smile, you barely dance, be mature and wise, you always think before you act, you measure your words carefully before you speak and you do not behave like a child. (Al-Sanea, 2005: 6)
From the quotation above, it can be seen that the freedom of women in Saudi Arabia is limited. They should act and behave according to instructions, they are not free to do anything they like and cannot be just the way they are.
Another discrimination is the prohibition to drive for women. Actually there is no written regulation about the prohibition of women to drive. Yet, the government do not allow women to get a driving license. In order to have a driving license, some women will go abroad and apply for international driving license. As mentioned before that women need to fully depend on their mahram, it means that wherever they go they should be accompanied by their mahram. That is why it is taught that women do not need to drive because by driving, it might threaten their guardian system (http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24691034).
often break the rules and they still drive, and in order to avoid being accused, they dress up like a man. As said by Mohammed Jamjoom in CNN news, some women would find it (dresses up like a man) as the only solution for them in order to drive a car and not being caught (http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/meast/saudi-women-drivers-jamjoom/).
As seen in Girls of Riyadh, Michelle has the courage to drive a car, she owns an international driving license that she applied abroad and in order to avoid being accused, she disguises herself by dress up like a man so that the religious police will not recognize her as a woman.
The hostess greeted them wearing baggy trousers with lots of pockets and an oversized jacket gear that artfully concealed any sign of femininity plus a bandanna that hid her hair. To top it all off, she had on a pair of colored sunglasses that gave her the appearance of an adolescent boy who has escaped parental surveillance (Al-Sanea, 2005: 14)
Another discrimination related to gender is that women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to take care of any official tasks by themselves. For example when they need to take care of things related to a bank or any other offices, they need a male guardian to help them. Also in running a business, a woman needs a permission from her guardian and a male manager to conduct the business. In this case, the function of the manager is as mention before to take care of things related to official task, such as to take a bank loan, etc.
the business she needs to take care of many legal matters and in order to do so, she hired her cousin, Tariq, to help her with anything related to official task.
Tariq, Sadeem s cousin, helped them take care of official tasks, obtaining a commercial license and other necessary documents. Since women are not always permitted to take care of legal matters with banks and other offices themselves, Sadeem made him their official agent for legal affairs (Al-Sanea, 2005: 226)
Even though this matter is not regulated, without a man hired by a woman to be a manager, women in Saudi Arabia will never be able to run a business because it is kind of impossible for them to interact with people especially men in order to deal with official tasks, since men and women relationship is very restricted. This is a discrimination that limits the mobility of women.
The patriarchal system in Saudi Arabia which gives the power in the hands of men, also resulted in the chance to get married for women which has something to do with their education. Even though women in Saudi Arabia are no longer forbidden to get a proper formal education and that formal schools for women are already provided by the Kingdom, but still by having a high education or only a modest one can influence a woman s life. It will be one of the most important considerations for a man to marry a woman. As Hamdan said in his article that women s education did not change the patriarchal nature of Saudi society. Women in every field are subordinate to men (2005: 48).
question that none of her friends can answer. Sadeem finds out that many men in Saudi society would prefer to marry a woman who has a modest education.
when it came down to searching for a suitable bride, young and naïve girls tended to hold more of an attraction than girls who had attained an advanced level of knowledge and had a more sophisticated understanding of the world (Al-Sanea 2005: 246).
The men are afraid that by marrying educated women might present a challenge to their capabilities so they will choose women whose education is lower than theirs. By doing so, it will be easier for them to take control of their wives by being a teacher who will teach their wives whatever they want and forming them into whatever they wish (2005: 246)
Another gender discrimination in Saudi society is in the way the people treat a divorcee. The society always looks down on a divorced women. Totally different from the way they see a divorced man.
So why should I take someone who is divorced when I haven t ever been married? Even divorced men are looking for girls who haven t been married, so why would I end up with a woman who has been previously married? (Al-Sanea, 2005-181)
The traditions in Saudi Arabia society have put women in a disadvantage because it causes many gender discriminations against women. Their movement and every day mobility is limited by various rules and norms.
2. Domestic Life
Not only in social life, the gender discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia also occurs in their domestic life. As Kelly stated that Saudi Arabia is an extreme patriarchal society that it provides privileges to men over women (Kelly, 2010: 427). Women in Saudi Arabia are often seen as inferior as men have a full control of them, their voice are almost never heard even in their own home. In
Girls of Riyadh, it is revealed that many women experience inequalities in their own home. Even though they realize that women have their own responsibility as a wife or a daughter yet they are longing to voice their thought and be heard.
In choosing women as life partner, men in Saudi Arabia tend to choose the one that in their opinion is a shut-up woman. It seems like a tradition that they are following their ancestor because they see that the marriage of the men before them always succeeded. In Girls of Riyadh, such a phenomenon is revealed by Michelle, she explains the way men in the society think, it is the way they consider women to be their wife.
Many men in Saudi Society will do what their ancestors have done, they learn from them so that they will have the same success in their marriage. By having women who do not speak much it will be easier for them. Finally, in marriage life, women will be inferior, their voices are often ignored. They live their life as what their husband want. Every one of them lives huddled in the shadow of a man, or a wall, or a man who is a wall, or simply stays put in the darkness (Al-Sanea 2005: 2)
Not only as a wife, as a daughter, women in Saudi Arabia society also have limited freedom. Gamrah, who is already divorced with her husband, should live a miserable life in her own home. Just because she is a divorcee, it seems like she has no more rights in making decision for her life. She cannot easily get permission to get out of the house and if she happens to go out, she has to be accompanied by her brother.
But wasn t that painful enough without having her freedom so horribly curtailed? ... Believe it or not, this was the first day that she had been allowed to leave the house since her return from America three weeks before (Al-Sanea, 2005: 123)
Not only the freedom to enjoy the life outside the house, Gamrah s future is also decided by the men in the family. In order to protect the whole family from a bad image in the society, Gamrah is forced to remarried. Yet her opinion is not even considered, whether she agrees or not. When there is a man who is chosen by her uncle to marry her, Gamrah feels so inferior as if she does not exist in the family that she should accept anything said by her uncle and her father.
Gamrah, yet her presence was ignored, the men in the family talk about conditions related to the marriage without asking her opinion even a bit.
Gamrah was shifting her gaze from her father to her uncle to Abu Musa ed. It hadn t occurred to any of these men to consult the person who had the biggest stake in this, and who happened to be sitting there in front of them, even if she was as silent and stiff as a wooden plank (Al-Sanea, 2005: 191)
In Islam the decision to get married for a divorcee or a widow is in the hand of the divorcee herself, as suggested by the Prophet Muhammad SAW in a hadith:
The Prophet, God s blessings and peace be upon him, said: The virgin s agreement to a marriage must be sought by her guardian, but the widow or divorcee has more right to her own person than does her guardian-The hadith collection of Sahih Muslim, verse 3477 (Al-Sanea, 2005: 188) What happens to Gamrah show that the patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia put women in a disadvantage and they are seen as inferiors. In making a decision men in Saudi Arabia usually do not care about the opinion of women, they decide it themselves. Women should obey what men say, especially their husband or their father.
Not only in marriage life, another discrimination also occurs every time it comes to life decision such as choosing a job. Actually it is still very rare to see women working in Saudi Arabia because most sectors are dominated by men, women can only work in a very limited sectors.
media, it is not easy for her to develop, because all matters should be under the agreement of her father.
Michelle was officially made a producer of the program. Then she got her own show to produce. They asked her to be the on-air presenter, but Michelle s father refused to allow her to host a show that would be broadcast in the homes of his relatives in Saudi Arabia (Al-Sanea, 2005: 207)
Even though they are no longer living in Saudi Arabia but the strong patriarchal system is still influencing their life. She is not allowed to be the on-air presenter for her own program because the program will be aired in Saudi Arabia. If her face happens to occur on TV, bad rumors about her will definitely spread.
3. Discrimination in Law
Not only Gamrah and Michelle, one of their friends, Sadeem also experience a discrimination. On the day of her official marriage ceremony, during the official proceeding when the marriage contract is about to be signed, Sadeem can only put her fingerprint on the contract. Even though Sadeem insists to also put her signature, she is still not allowed. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to put their signature on any officials letters, it is only men who can have their signatures on such papers.
During the official proceedings Sadeem pressed her fingerprint onto the page in the enormous registry book after her protest about not being allowed to sign her name was dismissed. My girl, said her aunt, just stamp it with your fingerprint and call it a day. The sheikh says fingerprint, not signature. The men are the only ones who sign their names. (Al-Sanea, 2005: 30)
they sign their marriage contract, yet, they still cannot live together until the wedding celebration is held. During the time before the wedding celebration is held, Waleed always comes to visit Sadeem every day, he will come at night or afternoon and will go home at dawn. One day in his regular visit to Sadeem, Sadeem decides to give herself to Waleed and they have an intimate relationship for the first time, despite the fact that their wedding celebration has not been conducted yet. The next day, Waleed disappears and stop contacting Sadeem. She is dying to know what happens but all she got in return is a divorce paper.
Sadeem was afloat in a state of bewilderment, waiting for a call or visit from Waleed, dreaming that he would come to her on his knees begging for forgiveness. But he didn t visit and he didn t call. Her father asked her what was wrong, but she had no answer for him. An answer did come from Waleed three weeks later, though: divorce papers! (Al-Sanea, 2005: 34-35).
In Saudi Arabia, a man can easily divorce a woman without explanation, but for a woman, she has to go to court and give the cause of why she asks to get divorce to the judges. Such discrimination makes women always be in a difficult condition, because they are seems insignificant.
4. Discrimination in Politics
The phenomenon of marginalizing women in political life can also be seen inGirls of Riyadh,during the time when all the Arab nations were protesting to support the Palestinian Intifada and the Al-Aqsa Mosque uprising, Sadeem and her friends were prohibited to join the demonstration (Al-Sanea, 2005: 65).
Sadeem all of her classmates and everyone at their age were on the margins when it came to political life. They had no role, no importance. If only she understood politics (Al-Sanea, 2005: 65).
It can be seen that the basic rights to participate in politics and the rights to express opinion are taken away from women in Saudi Arabia, their existence seems has no significant at all in the political aspect.
C. The Struggle of Women toward Gender Discrimination
This section shows how the women in the novel are struggling by relating the way they struggle with the characteristics of the characters. The struggle of women in the novel is revealed through the way they react toward situations that put them in disadvantages. In the previous part, the characteristics of the characters have been analyzed. Those characteristics have important role for these women in order to struggle towards gender discrimination, every characteristic determines the way they struggle. There are two kinds of struggle reveals in the novel, the struggle can be seen and through their action trough the speech of the characters
1. Struggle Shown Through Action
