Is guardianship going from men to Saudi women?

In Islam, men are the guardians of women. However, in Saudi society, which follows the principles of Islamic Shariah, the concept of guardianship has undergone some drastic changes. Here, at least in some cases of practical life, women have to take over guardianship of the household. In most such cases, women rise to the occasion in shouldering responsibilities when the male members of the family fail to carry out their designated responsibilities. These women show some masculine features in this respect. They are resolute, resourceful and even magnanimous enough in shouldering such tasks. There are cases of families where women become breadwinners despite the presence of male members who sit idle without performing their responsibilities. The tradition and customs in our society warrant the presence of a man for any activity of a woman in public life. A male legal guardian, for instance, must accompany her when she sets out for a trip or goes to meet any requirements at most government offices. She is not in the position to lease a house or get ownership of a property without the presence of a male guardian. In a nutshell, a Saudi woman’s life is tied up with a man as if she could not lead a life without a male blood relative or husband. However, the current situation in practical life, where the concept of legal guardianship has undergone substantial changes, has led to a serious question that must be answered. Is the presence of a male legal guardian inevitable for women? Arab News cites examples of several Saudi women who play the role of guardian in their households, which is comprised of healthy and young male members. First of all, take the case of Ayesha who plays the role of both father and mother in looking after her five-member family. Ayesha’s children include one son who is suffering from a mental disorder. One of her daughters is a university student who earns her own money to meet education expenses. Another daughter is semi-divorced and has to look after her six-year-old boy. Ayesha’s eldest daughter is working at a hospital and drawing a monthly salary of SR2,700. That daughter shoulders the responsibility of looking after the household, while Ayesha’s husband, who is healthy and capable of doing work, is sitting idle. He runs away from fulfilling his responsibility or at least share part of it. Hence, the women members are forced to carry out that task. Ayesha takes the mantle of household affairs, despite her limitations as a woman in society. Even though she faces all the constraints, Ayesha is resolute to face the hard realities of life by taking up the responsibilities. She takes charge of all maintenance works at home and goes to government offices and shops to handle various household affairs. Similar was the case with 28-year-old Nawal, who shouldered the responsibility of her family. She went out and performed all things at government offices that were otherwise supposed to be done by her ailing father. She traveled widely to take care of his properties, which lay in remote regions. She went out to buy her father’s medicines. She did all these things at a time when her brothers either sat idle at home or went outside simply to pass time. Her father’s death did not constitute an end to Nawal’s ordeal. To the opposite, it further aggravated it. She is now running to complete procedures to partition her father’s estates among the heirs. She gets no help from her brothers, even though she maintains good fraternal relations with them. They are not at all bothering about such matters and are engaged in leading an idle life at the expense of their sister. Speaking to Arab News, 29-year-old Hudail Muhammad shares bitter experiences of her life. “Since the divorce of my parents, I have lived with my mother, brother and sister. Even though I am the eldest daughter, my brother is only one year younger than me. That means he is a grown-up man who is supposed to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of the family,” she said while adding that her brother was lazy and ran away from his responsibilities. According to Hudail, her brother restricts his responsibility to claiming occasionally that one day he will be in charge of the household. “This situation has forced me to carry out all the household affairs. Most often I run to bring in an electrician or plumber whenever there is a need for repair work or maintenance of the water and electricity network. Similarly, I go out to pay all the utility bills as well as to buy food and drinks,” she said. The 33-year-old Rahaf experiences a situation similar to that of Nawal. After the death of her father, she had to nurse her sick mother in addition to looking after her three brothers, who are not lending any helping hand to her. Hence, she is forced to shoulder the entire responsibility of taking care of the family. Every now and then, Rahaf goes out by taxi to purchase essential goods, and none of her brothers are ready to accompany her, according to her.