Prince Salman, who shook Saudi Arabia!

Prince Salman, who shook Saudi Arabia by paving the way for women's emancipation, and Erdoğan, who is portrayed as the new caliph of the Middle East!  

We shall see whose vision will be successful.

But the truth is; it is again the “women” who will feel the impact,

Most deeply…

Mohammed bin Salman! 38 years old. The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. He is also the Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs and the Council for Political and Security Affairs. Even before he became prime minister, he won the hearts of Saudi Arabian women. He began to attract attention in 2018, while he was the Minister of Defense.

In Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women were forbidden from driving, he granted women the right to obtain a driver's license.

Until 2018, Saudi women could only obtain a passport with a male guardian's consent, but through a decree, he granted Saudi women who reached the age of 21 the right to obtain a passport on their own.

In addition to the freedom for women to travel alone, he also granted them the right to obtain birth certificates for their children, obtain identification for their children, and apply for marriage and divorce.

Prince Salman, who took the prime ministerial seat in 2022, accelerated his social reforms to dismantle the image of an authoritarian and repressive regime.

He restricted the powers of the religious police.

He enacted regulations that improved women's rights.

He lifted the ban on women entering stadiums. For the first time, a stadium opened its doors without gender segregation. Female football fans were able to watch matches at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah.

He allowed public concerts for young people. He increased the number of movie theaters.

HE REMOVED THE ABAYA, THE SYMBOL OF SHARIA

He granted women the right to join the workforce without their husband's permission, the right to retirement, and the right to open the country to international tourists by introducing an e-visa system. He removed the requirement for female tourists to wear an abaya. He made it no longer mandatory for female students to wear the black abaya during exams.

Recently, within the scope of “Saudi Vision 2030,” Prince Salman said, “Women in Saudi Arabia can choose not to wear the abaya,” and removed the black abaya, a symbol of Sharia, from women's lives.

Does ending the “black abaya,” a symbol of Sharia, also mean implicitly ending Sharia itself? While removing the symbolic garment, Saudi Arabia achieved another first. For the first time, it sent a representative to a beauty pageant.

Against those who claim that Prince Salman's reforms aimed at increasing gender equality are merely superficial, it is said that he stated, “I want to be the Atatürk of Saudi Arabia.” (Our source: Levent Gültekin)

Let us assume this claim is true. On one side, Prince Salman, who wants to be the Atatürk of Saudi Arabia, and on the other, Erdoğan, who is portrayed as the new caliph of the Middle East!

Salman’s “Saudi Vision 2030” and Erdoğan’s “Century of Turkey” vision are very different from each other in terms of social reforms!

While “Saudi Vision 2030” aims to lift women out of the authoritarian system that has settled over them like a dark cloud,

“The Century of Turkey” is withdrawing from international conventions that protect women's right to life. Let us end our article by underlining that 920 women were killed by men between 2020 and 2022, the years we spent without the Istanbul Convention.

If Prince Salman can succeed in his reforms, it will change the fate not only of Saudi Arabia but of the entire Middle East.

Salman, who shook Saudi Arabia by paving the way for women's freedom, and Erdoğan, who is portrayed as the new caliph of the Middle East!  

We shall see whose vision will be successful.

But the truth is; it is again “women” who will feel the impact,

Most deeply…