Misleading reports about Saudi women

For the past couple of weeks, the western press is full of (misleading) reports about Saudi Arabia like “Eleven things women in Saudi Arabia cannot do” etc.
I try to ignore these kinds of stories because they annoy me to no end with their eagerness to stereotype all Saudi women. But my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to go through one of such baseless reports. I was not disappointed. It was everything I had expected with its wild nonsense. So, here’s what I found and here’s the reality:
Falsehood: Saudi women need to be accompanied by a male guardian known as a “mahram” whenever they leave the house.
Truth: This is not a misperception, but just a plain lie. Consider for a moment that if this were true then many women would not be able to go to the supermarket. Her family, especially her husband, would starve. A Saudi family cannot function without the mother going to the market or any store. Imagine if a male guardian was required to leave his work to accompany his wife or mother on errands. Society would grind to a halt. The malls and markets are full of unescorted Saudi women. How do you explain that?
Falsehood: There is no official law that bans women from driving but deeply held religious belief prohibit it.
Truth: Really? Automobiles were around 1,400 years ago at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? Islam addresses women driving a car? Please enlighten me.
Falsehood: The majority of women are forced to wear an abaya — a long black cloak — and headscarf.
Truth: I do not wear the abaya in public probably 60 percent of the time. What I wear is none of your business, but I assure you that I dress modestly according to my religious beliefs. I am not forced to wear anything.
Falsehood: Women are required to limit the amount of time spent with men they are not related to.
Truth: This could easily be “men are required to limit the amount of time spent with women,” but it’s always easier for western writers to put the onus on women. It’s true that offices, banks and universities have separate entrances for men and women, but it’s untrue that we don’t mix. In order for a private company, bank or university to function efficiently there must be interaction between men and women. There is no way around it.
Falsehood: Women can’t compete freely in sports.
Truth: That’s the headline, but then the article gives examples of women freely participating in sports, but must wear “Shariah-compliant sports kit that covered their hair” at the 2012 Olympics. So what is it? Can’t compete freely in sports or must wear specific clothing? Make up your mind. By they way, there are organized women’s sports teams playing football and basketball in Jeddah.
Falsehood: The mere thought of a disrobed woman behind a dressing-room door is apparently too much for men to handle.”
Truth: No, it’s too much for women to handle. Many Saudi women feel uncomfortable disrobing in a department store dressing room (if there is one). Do you have a problem with that?
Falsehood: Women can’t enter a cemetery.
Truth: It’s a religious obligation. Now you are attacking my religion.
Falsehood: Reading an uncensored fashion magazine.
Truth: Honestly, where does this stuff come from? Even if it were true, we have a thing called the Internet. It has all sorts of cool stuff on it.
Falsehood: We can’t buy a Barbie.
Truth: I guess the writer should visit Saudi markets and see with his own eyes shelves full of them.
Journalists can choose to be journalists or propagandists, and this piece floating around the Internet is clearly propaganda to ridicule the customs, traditions and religion of a specific group of people. I blame old-school journalists who have abdicated their role as the gatekeepers of factual reporting in favor of getting more “clicks” on a story to increase readership.
Below are my “Top Five Things Women in the US Cannot Do.” Read it and tell me who has the moral authority to judge my society.
Truth: American women can’t earn a salary equal to men. Women on average earn 71 cents (some studies put it at 80 cents) on the dollar for what every man earns.
Truth: Laws can’t protect women from being murdered by their partner. From 2001 to 2012 husbands or boyfriends killed 11,766 American women.
Truth: American women can’t attend a university without fear of sexual assault. One in five women report that they have been sexually assaulted while attending a university, although the number varies from study to study.
Truth: An American woman can’t take a 12-week leave of absence due to pregnancy under the Family and Medical Leave Act without fear of being denied a promotion or termination from employment.
Truth: Although this year we saw the first full-time female professional coach and first full-time female on-field referee, virtually all American women remain shut out of professional American sports either as players or coaches.