In January, I had the privilege of spending two weeks in the Persian Gulf (although they call it the Arabian Gulf), touring Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The trip was thanks to a Kuwaiti woman I met initially in 2008 when she was a Fulbright Scholar at Whittier College, where I was teaching at the time. I worked with another faculty colleague to apply for the Fulbright scholar as part of a new program created after 9/11 called “Outreach to the Islamic World.” The goal of the program was to foster better understanding between the United States and scholars in the Islamic world, broadly defined. We specifically requested a woman who could teach about Islam with a special focus on women and Islam. It turned out Alanoud Alsharekh was the perfect fit. Alanoud spent a semester on campus and then returned as a Visiting Scholar in 2017 under the auspices of the Center for Engagement with Communities at the College when I was the Director. Alanoud had often invited me to visit Kuwait, but the time was never right. This year, in January 2025, the stars aligned.

During my time in the region, we did many of the “usual” tourist things, but the part that to me was most interesting was what I learned about women in the region.  I knew that Alanoud was a feminist who had long fought for rights for women in the region in general and Kuwait in particular. When she was in Whittier in 2017, she spoke about her work co-directing the Abolish 153 campaign to end honor killing legislation in Kuwait and the GCC, a project to which she remained committed. The good news is that in March 2025 Kuwait abolished the “honor killing” law and officially raised the legal minimum marriage age from 16 to 18 to prevent child marriages, aligning with international child protection laws and providing young girls the chance to focus on personal development. The new decree states that marriage contracts cannot be ratified if either party is under 18 and is in line with Kuwait’s constitution, which guarantees “protection of the family, motherhood and childhood, in accordance with the Islamic sharia.” In December, 2016, Alanoud was awarded “Knighthood”, Chevalier of the National Order of Honor by the Republic of France for her work in defending women’s rights, so I knew of Alanoud’s activism. I also learned that her mother was one of the founders of the first women’s organization in Kuwait, and remains on the Board of that organization.

Because of my interest in studying women, we explored opportunities to learn more about women beyond just being a tourist. For example, in Dubai, which is the land of excess in many ways, we found the Women’s Museum in the heart of the gold souk (market). In the midst of the glitter and bling of the gold souk, the Women’s Museum was in a small and undistinguished looking house, but it stood as a monument to the role of women in the Emirates. A placard introducing the Museum notes “Historical records show that distinguished women, through their wisdom and strength of character, influenced political life in the Emirates from the 19th century.” And then each section of the Museum documented some of the roles that women played. “Women in the Emirates have engaged in political life in many ways: supporting the struggle for independence and Arab nationalism, seeking their own rights, and as government ministers and diplomats.” Each room highlighted different facets of women’s work with pictures and narrative descriptions. One section was dedicated to “New Non-Profit Organizations established by women,” with the description “By the beginning of the 1990s, women in the UAE were starting to take the initiative by establishing civil institutions to promote their cultural and social development.” It continues: “These groups advocated innovative roles for women in order to give them more of a say in society.” The descriptions also noted that “From the 1960s on, women in the region began forming associations promoting literacy, health and cultural activities outside their homes. These groups led to the founding of the Federal Women’s Association in 1976, which gave women a united voice to represent their interests, develop their skills and foster their rights.” And one of the last displays listed the percentage of women in the UAW workforce. A partial list includes: 22.5 percent of the National Assembly; 66 percent of the government sector; 25 percent of the workforce; with more than 11,000 women in business. This was a pleasant surprise to me, given my perception that women were far from equal members of the society in the region, an assumption on my part that was proven wrong.

Saudi Arabia was another country in which I was surprised by the role of women. Because of oil wealth, the government made public education from elementary school through college available to every citizen of Saudi Arabia. The government will pay for anyone who wants to go to college or graduate school in or outside the country, and if a woman wants to bring a chaperone for religious reasons, they will pay for her as well. There is a strong emphasis on science and the data show that 38 percent of STEM graduates are women, higher than the global average of 18 percent.

While many of us in the US have a negative perception of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), because of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the people I spoke to there, especially the women, have a very different perception because of how much the laws have been liberalized under him. In December 2015, women were allowed to vote in municipal elections and stand as candidates. On June 24, 2018, the government lifted the ban on women driving in that country and in 2019, women could register to marry and divorce without the permission of a guardian. While the women in the country have not achieved gender equality, according to the World Bank, since 2017 Saudi Arabia has been making significant improvements to women’s working conditions, addressing issues of mobility, sexual harassment, pensions, and workplace rights including employment discrimination protection.

One of the women I met in Saudi Arabia was an endocrinologist who is a principal scientist on a major cross-national study, with scientists at Harvard and the University of Michigan among other places, examining attitudes toward mental health and how to address the mental health crisis that most countries are experiencing.  While she looks fairly traditional in that she wears an abaya and a headscarf, talking to her it is impossible not to realize how she is far from traditional in so many ways, and is an example of the advances that women have experienced in Saudi Arabia.

In short, my trip to the region was eye opening for all I learned about women, and because I was able to meet and talk with some outstanding women.

For more information on the status of women and girls in the region in general, see “Regional Report Implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the Arab Region,” (United Nations, 2023).

Author: Joyce P. Kaufman
Director, Women, Peace and Security Program
Institute of World Affairs