Saudi Arabia is pretty notorious for its questionable outlook on human rights. Constitutionally it is an absolute monarchy, meaning that the King is both head of state and head of government. Consequently, the country has suffered decades of strong censorship across all media, including censorship of cinema; this meant that for thirty five years all cinemas were legally shut in a government-enforced ruling which historically came to an end in April of last year.
With the current crown prince's marginally more progressive views aspects of the country are slowly beginning to modernise, including this cinema ban. History was made last year when, for the first time in more than three decades, a cinema was opened in order to show none other than Marvel's 'Black Panther'. It was, of course, still censored to an extent to make it more palatable for the conservative politicians, but even so that only accounted for the kissing scene at the end and other small moments.
However, while this partial lift on censorship is momentous and worth commendation, another issue has risen in light of the newly opened cinemas; the gender inequality regarding access to these screenings is staggering. There are two types of film showings which currently available to the public: Men Only screens, and Families Only screens. Men are able to enjoy the cinema alone or with a group of friends, however if a woman wishes to watch a film on in the theatre she must go to a family screening accompanied by her husband, father, or male relative. This abhorrently infantilising oppression of women's autonomy unfortunately is not unique to cinemas, being common practice in other public spaces such as restaurants. It cannot even be excused a simple matter of gender-based segregation as women aren't provided with any separate space of their, rather they are treated en par with children who must be regulated and kept in check. This refusal to provide women with a spaces in public places is nothing more than a patriarchal tool of control and oppression to mediate a woman's access to information and media.
Even in the painfully paradoxical case of the screening for 'On the Basis of Sex', a film which focuses on the real life battle of US lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) who fought for the equality of the genders throughout her career, the screenings only allowed women to enter if they were accompanied by a suitable male guardian. Apparently the blatant irony didn't translate...
A Long Way to Go
Undoubtedly, progress is (very) slowly being made towards building a slightly less patriarchally oppressive society. While everything from a woman's access to the public sphere and media, to her clothing is still vigilantly regulated by the men in her life, laws are slowly beginning to change. In 2015 women were allowed to vote for the first time in a low-level election which took place, and in 2017 the ban on women driving was finally lifted. There is still a very long way to go before women are equal in the eyes of the law (and even further until they are treated as such on a practical level), but we can remain hopeful that change continues to happen. Perhaps one day soon women will be able to enjoy the simple freedoms we take for granted, like going to the cinema with full autonomous liberty.
