The daughter of Saudi Arabia's former king has called on rulers to implement a new constitution giving men and women equal rights in kingdom in an interview with the BBC's World Service.
She said she was "saddened to say that my beloved country today has not fulfilled that early promise".
She lists five key changes she would like to see - to the constitution, divorce laws, education system, social services and the roll of the mahram (chaperone).
“We lack, and urgently need, fundamental civil laws with which to govern our society.”
“I would like to see a proper constitution that treats all men and women on an equal footing before the law but that also serves as a guide to our civil laws and political culture,” Basma, who lives with her children in London, told BBC.
For example, she said, today in Saudi courts, all decisions are made according to the individual judge's interpretation of the holy Koran. “This is entirely dependent on his own personal beliefs and upbringing rather than universally agreed principles or a written constitution as a guide. I am not calling for a western system but an adaptation of that system to suit our needs and culture.”
“I strongly believe that current divorce laws are abusive,” she added.
Concerning the overhaul of the Saudi educational system, she said: The way women today are treated in Saudi Arabia is a direct result of the education our children, boys and girls, receive at school. The content of the syllabus is extremely dangerous. For one, our young are taught that a woman's position in society is inferior. Her role is strictly limited to serving her family and raising children. They are actually taught that if a woman has to worship anyone other than God it should be her husband. I consider these ideologies to be inherently abusive.
“The ministry of social affairs not only abuses women's rights but is also one of the reasons poverty is rife in the kingdom,” she indicated. A corrupt system that lacks transparency has meant that more than 50% of our population is poor and needy even though we are one of the wealthiest countries on earth, she added.
Concerning women driving in the kingdom, she said:
I am definitely for women driving but I don't think this is the right time for a reversal of this law. In the current climate if a woman drives, she could be stopped, harassed beaten or worse to teach her a lesson. This is why I am against women driving until we are educated enough and until we have the necessary laws to protect us from such madness. Otherwise we might as well hand out a license to the extremists to abuse us further. If as drivers we get harassed, they will say to the Islamic world "see what happens when women drive, they get harassed they get beaten" and they will call for even more stringent laws to control women. This is something we can't afford. Fundamental changes in the law and its attitude to women are needed before we take this step.
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