Literature
Review
Since the 1960s, there has been increased pressure from the United
Nations on Saudi Arabia on the issue of women’s rights. Beginning in the 1980s,
Doumato (2010) noted that women have been establishing a ‘voice’ in Saudi Arabian
Society. For example, ‘The Saudi Arabian Women’s Rights Organisation’ and ‘The
Saudi Arabian Women’s Mosque Movement’ were officially recognised and funded by
the government in 2010.
Changes have also been
witnessed in the context of education and employment (Booz and Company, 2010). According
to the Ministry of Education (2009), female participation in
higher education has increased
by 48% from 1990 to 2009. Booz and Company
(2010) note that women
have also started to participate in the labour market. Since 1995, the
participation of Saudi national women in the workforce has tripled, reaching 14.4%.
However Dawood (2013), an ultra-right cleric,
argues that the Saudi Government’s equal opportunities agenda encouraging women’s
engagement in higher education and employment has given them greater independence,
and this has made them more assertive towards males. Adler (1975) in her analysis of
American society in the 1960s argued that work place equal opportunities in
America encouraged women to become more assertive in order to compete with
males. For example, she argued that
women had become more competitive, assertive and individualistic in their
social life because these were values that were encouraged in the work
environment, and expected from males.
.
Professor
Huwailah (2011) stated that the crimes against men by women in Kuwait are increasing
as an indirect result of the integration of women in the circle of social
activity. He argues that women’s liberation movements have actually given women
the idea that they should act like men, and if women are given more freedoms
within the Middle East, women’s assertiveness will continue to increase.
that In her study in India, Krishnan
(2006), an Indian feminist, found that women who were unemployed on her first visit,
and began employment by her next visit, had eighty per-cent higher odds of
violence against their husbands. She argues that employment reduces women's
dependence on their husbands, and this enhances their ‘power’ within households,
due to their new found financial status in the family. Therefore, some women
use their financial status as a form of empowerment.
Gandhi (2008), also from a feminist
perspective, undertook a study in New Delhi and found a correlation between
education and domestic violence. She argues that working wives started to
assert their rights when they became more financially independent, and if a
threat to their financial and social independence was posed by their husbands they
would use violence to re-assert their rights.
Although Dawood (2013) and Huwailah
(2011) offer interesting perspectives, these need further enquiry; for example,
the model of equal opportunities and independence needs to be contextualised
within the social, political and cultural context of Saudi Arabia. Krishnan
(2006) and Gandhi (2008) also offer interesting outlines on how financial power
grounds female against male violence. However this requires greater analysis in the context of Saudi Arabian society.
First, the Saudi Arabian legal and political systems are based on a Saudi
Arabian Islamic Sharia context; therefore, legally and politically, women are
regarded as ‘second class citizens’, and less likely to be employed with the
same pay rights as men. So, can their analysis of ‘financial gender power’ be
applicable in Saudi Arabia considering that women are ‘new’ to the role of
employment outside of the home, and unequal pay between males and females?
Also, though India and Saudi Arabia may share
some cultural traits, such as extended family households. The distinction is
Saudi Arabia is governed by Sharia law where women’s participation in social
and economic life is accorded to religious governance. Whereas, in India it is potentially open to
Western cultural influences. So therefore, what impact does Sharia have on
women on male domestic violence?
In addition, these studies do not
specifically state the ethnic, cultural and religious demographics; therefore,
it is important to consider how the ethnic, cultural and religious influences reflect
on household status. In Saudi Arabia, polygamy has constitutional recognition
and cultural acceptance whereas, in India it has only a community acceptance, so therefore, is not fully accepted
by all religious, ethnic and cultural communities So therefore, it is important
to analyse how polygamy, through its legal and cultural status impacts power
relationships in Saudi domestic households.
As Elbedour et al (2007) note in their
study of polygamous marriages in Saudi Arabia that aggression and violence
between married wives, children and their husband/ father was a common
occurrence, as members of the families fought over the husband’s betrayals of
re-marrying and ‘fatherhood’, sharing of husband’s ‘values’, ‘privilege’ and their
hierarchical position in the family.
While the Elbedour et al. (2007) study was based on ‘domestic power
positions’ it would be interesting to explore what impact education and
employment of married wives have on the context of polygamous relationships?
Elbedour et al (2007) study focused on Bedouin tribes where women had no
opportunity to gain an education and employment due to their nomadic culture.
So what influence could education and employment have on polygamous
relationships in non-nomadic cultures?
Also, could education and employment power of women threaten the
husband’s position within the household, and if violence is employed, as a
‘control’ tactic, could wives be reacting as a means of ‘self-defence’ rather
than betrayal? So therefore, is women’s
violence an empowering self-protective mechanism? There are some interesting
dynamics in the context of women’s status and polygamous relationships that
need further exploration.
This research will explore the processes involved in female on male
violence in Saudi family homes due to
changes in female engagement and independence gained via higher education
and/or employment. If this is the case, how can it be explained in a social, ,
cultural and religious context specific to Saudi Arabia?
As outlined above, the research will make a valuable
contribution to exploring in greater depth the social, cultural and religious factors associated
with women gaining higher education and/or employment, and if this has or has
not influenced female toward male violence in domestic relationships.
In addition to some of the points raised
above, the researcher has come to recognise that academic literature on
domestic violence focuses on non-Islamic and non-Arab countries, and therefore,
by analysing and exploring Saudi Arabian society, this study will add a
contribution in the context of domestic violence being studied in an Islamic
country that is constituted in Sharia law.
Research
Objectives
The aim of this research is to
understand what is the relationship between women’s independence in education
and the labour market and their propensity to be violent to their husband’s. And,
if so, what are the main drivers for women’s violence? This research study will
try to meet the following objectives:
a) To
explore the relationship between women’s education level and the use of
violence at home.
b) To
explore the relationship between women in employment and the use of violence at
home.
c) To
explore the context of polygamy when women are educated and married, and the
dynamics of ‘male family abuse’
Methodology
This research study will be undertaken
at Riyadh Women’s Prison. The reasons for choosing this research site are that
all women who are convicted of violent crimes are incarcerated in Riyadh Prison.
Also, since Saudi Arabia offers no ‘correctional community provisions’ such as
fines, community orders, a probation service this makes it difficult to find both
gate-keepers and respondents in the community.
Since this study will be carried out in
the researcher’s hometown, there are no language barriers for conducting the interviews.
More importantly, the researcher has a good network of support for assessing
suitable respondents and arranging interviews; access has been discussed with a
number of key officials in Saudi Arabia, and the researcher was promised access
for the interviews.
Sampling
From the female prisoner population, the
researcher will select those who committed domestic violence against men in
their families. The
women convicted will be categorized into five sample groups:
1) Ten
employed at time of conviction
2) Ten
non-employed at time of conviction
3) Ten
non HE educated
4) Ten
HE educated
5) Ten
in polygamous marriages at time of conviction
This selection process will be grounded
through the use of gate-keepers in the prison, and verified by reading the
background information and case files of the respondents.
. The
researcher is planning to interview fifty
respondents (women convicted for violence against male family members). As
Flick (2011) argues, qualitative samples are usually fewer than fifty, and
almost no new evidence will appear after interviewing 20 participants. Alongside, interviews information will be
collated by looking at the case files of female prisoners to gather information
on offence and evidence for conviction. The reason for this being is to gather
information pre-determining conviction. For example, is double deviancy
determining sentence rather than offence and evidence? If this is the case then
how does education and employment of women determine sentencing? Finally, the researcher will use purposive
sampling, because the research is selective with regard to the respondents, the
status of respondents and the offence type, as described above. This sampling
technique is in line with how Nachmias (1996) suggests that the research
respondent population is specifically selected, due to research variables.
Data
Collection
Since this study is
explanatory in nature, the qualitative approach fits its description. The
primary aim of qualitative research is to provide a complete, detailed
description of the research topic (Silverman, 2006). In the case of this study,
these methods will uncover the drivers behind women’s violence towards their
male family members in Saudi Arabia. Semi-structured in-depth interviews will
be used to collect qualitative data about domestic violence committed by women
in households against men. For
example, themes such, as family structure, age, income, status, self-defence
will be explored in the context of female on male family member domestic
violence. The advantage of semi-structured interviews is that they allow
respondents to ‘reflect on their own personal stories’.
This semi-structured
approach allows the researcher to control the interview environment. For
example, if statements need further clarification, the researcher can prompt
for clarity. Also, the interview themes are flexible, therefore, questions can
be re-organised, or returned to at a later stage within the interview. Flick
(2011) outlines that semi-structured interviews help researchers in ‘managing’
their research context, and offer them flexibility in ‘managing’ their
respondents to ensure the fluidity of conversation.
The interview includes two
sections.
Section one is composed of structured questions aimed at exploring women’s
educational and employment status. Section two includes guided questions, exploring the process of the respondents using
violence against men, and the role of the mentioned factors in shaping the
respondents’ values, as well as their power relationships with male members in
the family.
Analysis
The researcher will use a
coding method of transcribing the data into both themes and emerging themes. The
NVivo program will be used to link, annotate and create relationships between
common themes. In order to maintain the meaning of the sentences, the
researcher will use Arabic during the analysis process. Once the analysis is
completed, the themes will be translated into English, and then from English
back to Arabic to ensure that the data remains authentic, and as stated by the
respondents.
It is hoped that the
research will gather information that is specific to the social, political,
cultural and religious contexts of Saudi Arabian society. As suggested above,
much of the literature on domestic violence stems from non-Islamic Sharia
constitutions, and it would be important to consider domestic violence from
such a platform. Additionally, it will explore female toward male domestic
violence, and highlight whether such incidences are occurring due to such ‘socio-economic’
factors (such as women’s employment and educational status).
Research Ethics
Ethical approval will be
sought from the Nottingham Trent University Ethics committee, and the
researcher will work in accordance with the guidelines set out by the code of
conduct for researchers in accordance with the British Sociological Association
and the British Psychological Society. Ethical considerations will ensure that the
participants will be provided with sufficient opportunities to understand the
research and any foreseeable consequences of their participation. Confidentiality
and anonymity will be assured by ensuring that all confidential information is
secured and kept away from the research site. Also, all respondents will be
codified (by letter and number), and only the researcher will have access to
these codes. These codes will be securely locked away in the
researcher’s locker. Once all of the data has been
used for research purposes, it will be destroyed in accordance with the
guidelines set out by the Nottingham Trent University Ethics Committee. During the research process, if disclosures
are made, the respondents will be made fully aware of counselling services and referred
to appropriate support services.
Research Schedule
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Literature review
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Research planning
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Undertaking research
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Data analysis
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Writing up
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Editing
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References
Archer, J.
2000. ‘Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: a meta
analytic review’. Psychological Bulletin,
126, 651-680. (2000). Sex differences in
Bell, J. 1993. Doing your research project: A guide for
first-time researchers in education and social science. 2nd ed. Buckingham:
Open University Press.
Booz, A. and Company, G. 2010. Women’s
employment in Saudi Arabia a major challenge. New York: Sage Publications.
Browne,
A. 1987. When battered women kill. New York: Free Press.
Dawood, A. 2013. Saudi cleric
faces backlash over harassment. BBC Online. 25th September.
Available at: http://www.bbcnewsonline.uk/news/uk/article113890.
Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. 2003. Collecting and interpreting
qualitative materials. New York: Sage.
Dobash, R. P. and Dobash, R. E. 2004. ‘Women's violence to men in
intimate relationships: Working on a puzzle’. British Journal of Criminology (44), 324-349.
Doumato,
K. 2010. Social institutions and gender
index. United Nations.
Elbedour,
S., Bart, W. and Hektner, J. 2007. ‘Relationship between monogamous/ polygamous
family structure and the mental health of Bedouin Arab adolescents’. Journal of Adolescence (30), 213-230.
Flick, U. 2011. Introducing research methodology. Hamburg: Sage.
Gandhi, M. 2008. Impact of education
on domestic violence and development of women through education.
Available at: http://
www.domesticviolences.com/impact-of-education-on-domestic-violence-and-development-of-women-through-education/
Krishnan, S. 2010. ‘Do changes in spousal employment status lead
to domestic violence? Insights from a prospective study in Bangalore, India’. Social Science India 2006 (70), 136-43.
Nachmias, D. 1996. Research methods
in the social sciences. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Silverman,
D. 2006. Interpreting qualitative data: Methods for analysing talk, text and
interaction. 3rd ed. London: Sage.
Swan, S. C. and Snow, O. L. 2002. ‘A typology of women’s use of violence
in intimate relationships’. Violence against Women 8 (3), 286-319.
