Last month, a new learning facility for women only was opened by King Abdullah just outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to the Guardian.
The Princess Nora bin Abdulrahman University will accommodate between 40,000 and 50,000 students. Some Saudi officials, including education Minister Khaled al-Anqari, have said the university is a milestone for female empowerment, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The opening of the university has brought attention to the King’s role in supporting women’s rights and has initiated debate on the future of gender issues in the country among students at Carleton as well.
Meaghan Smith, a recent Carleton public affairs and policy management graduate, finds the university to be an inadequate solution to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights track record.
“It doesn’t achieve the end goal of gender equality. Women are still segregated . . . why can’t they have the opportunity to learn with male peers?” Smith questionned.
Still, to others, the new university offers a sliver of hope for Saudi women looking for access to information and education. Julian Barbieri, a Carleton political science graduate, suggests that more universities for women are beneficial, even if they are segregated.
“Any opportunity for higher education is a good thing. It means that women are given a chance to become more informed, and that may allow them to organize around human rights issues better,” said Barbieri.
“It might actually give them a better chance of becoming politically mobilized, though it clearly doesn’t address the immediate issue of women’s rights.”
Another issue that has generated many doubts on the university’s impact on women is gender biased employment. In Saudi Arabia, only 15 per cent of the workforce is comprised of women, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“The university just perpetuates gender segregation, and that is not equality,” Smith said. “Just because women have a chance to go to university doesn’t necessarily mean they will be able to have better jobs afterwards.”