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University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL POLICY & APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES Social Sciences Between Obedience and Rebellion: A Field Study on the Young Women of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by Sahar Aljaouhari Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2013 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL POLICY & APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES Social Sciences Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy BETWEEN OBEDIENCE AND REBELLION: A FIELD STUDY ON THE YOUNG WOMEN OF JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA Sahar Aljaouhari This research explores the perceptions young Saudi women in Jeddah have of their lives. It seeks to uncover the role and different degrees that obedience and rebellion feature in the everyday lives of the young Saudi women in Jeddah. The subjects of the research were young Saudi women aged 16-21, all living in Jeddah at the time of the study and studying at either high school or university. The study employed a qualitative methodology to identify the extent of obedience and rebellion and their manifestations in the young women’s daily lives. The research relied on in-depth semi-structured interviews as the principal data collection method. By analysing the data derived from this process, I sought to explore the range, subtleties and continuum of rebellion and obedience in terms of three major themes: Hijab, gender relations, and young women’s private spaces. The study found that the participants associated Hijab with high social and religious values and had great respect for it. The conceptualization and practice of wearing Hijab, was associated with freedom and access to ‘the public sphere’ for many participants. In contrast, the study found that Qiwama (Guardianship), a religious Islamic concept that regulates family life, was much less respected by the participants, at least in its traditionalist incarnation that prevails in Saudi Arabia. The traditional Qiwama, per the findings, is a patriarchal structure that results in the reproduction of the social reality that marginalizes women, relegating them to follower status. The female participants rejected this as an incorrect interpretation of religious text. A majority of participants also pointed out that the definition of rebellion differs from one generation to the next. In fact, the participants noted that the actions of young Saudi women that are often classified as rebellious are actually demands for personal rights and an attempt to remove some of the restrictions they face in a subtle way that does not directly clash with family, religion and state policy. This study is important because it represents the unique contribution of giving a voice to young Saudi women to narrate their experiences and explore their ways of subtly negotiating with or conforming to social realities and by so doing enables the examination of the connections between obedience, rebellion, or subtle negotiation. Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... i Contents ............................................................................................. i DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ........................................................... v Acknowledgements .......................................................................... vii Glossary ......................................................................................... viii Definitions ....................................................................................... xv 1. Chapter One: Research Aims and Procedures ................................1 1.1 Significance of the Study ............................................................. 1 1.2 Research question ...................................................................... 3 1.3 Aims and objectives .................................................................... 3 1.4 Scope and Limitations of the Study ............................................. 4 1.5 The Structure of the Study .......................................................... 4 2. Chapter Two: Background to the Study .........................................7 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 7 2.2 Geographical Background ........................................................... 7 2.3 Historical Background ................................................................. 8 2.4 The City of Jeddah .................................................................... 10 2.5 Wahhabism ............................................................................... 12 2.6 New found wealth and the advent of education ......................... 13 2.6.1 The Saudi Female Education System Today ............................... 15 2.7 The restrictions placed on women’s lives in Saudi Arabia .......... 18 2.7.1 Religious Law in Saudi Arabia .................................................... 18 2.7.2 The Relationship between women and Al-Faqih ........................ 20 2.7.3 Women’s role and status in Saudi society .................................. 24 2.7.4 Conclusion ................................................................................ 31 i 3. Chapter Three: Literature Review ............................................... 33 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 33 3.2 Conservative Islamic Thoughts .................................................. 34 3.3 Criticisms of Conservative Islamic Thought ............................... 38 3.4 Feminist Perspectives ................................................................ 43 3.4.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 43 3.4.2 Islamic Liberal Feminism ........................................................... 43 3.4.3 Criticisms of Islamic Liberal Feminist Thought ........................... 54 3.4.4 The Modern Arab Liberal Feminist Perspective ........................... 56 3.4.5 Criticism of Modern Arab Liberal Feminist Theory ..................... 58 3.5 The impact of cultural factors on the young Saudi woman’s daily life ............................................................................................ 61 3.5.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 61 3.5.2 The Conceptual Framework ....................................................... 65 3.5.3 The Reality of Arab Muslim Women’s Lives ................................ 73 3.5.4 The Concepts of Obedience and Rebellion ................................. 78 3.5.5 Resistance through ideology ..................................................... 81 3.5.6 Deceit as a Form of Resistance .................................................. 84 3.5.7 Cultural Criminology ................................................................. 86 3.5.8 Studies into Female Deviation in Saudi Arabia ........................... 99 3.5.9 Conclusion .............................................................................. 102 4. Chapter Four: Research Methodology ....................................... 105 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................ 105 4.2 Assumptions about the Nature of Social Science Research and the Nature of Social Behaviour ....................................................... 105 4.2.1 Ontological Considerations ..................................................... 106 4.2.2 Epistemological Considerations ............................................... 107 4.2.3 Assumptions about Human Nature .......................................... 107 4.3 Methodology ........................................................................... 108 4.4 Methods of Data Collection ..................................................... 112 4.5 Interviews ............................................................................... 113 ii 4.6 The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Semi-Structured Interview ................................................................................. 113 4.7 Protocol for Interviews ............................................................ 114 4.8 The Interview Sample .............................................................. 116 4.9 Validity and Reliability of the Research .................................... 117 4.10 Subjectivity, Objectivity and the Position of the Researcher ..... 121 4.11 The Pilot Study ........................................................................ 122 4.12 Data Analysis Technique ......................................................... 123 4.13 Interview Questions ...............................................................