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4 - The Quest for Cosmopolitan Modernity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2013

Madawi Al-Rasheed
Madawi Al-Rasheed
Affiliation:
University of London
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Summary

The glorification of the feminine character implies the humiliation of all who bear it.

Theodor Adorno

The publication of my photo in the press angered me a lot. I do not know where they found it. I have been asked for a photo but I refused. I am a Saudi Najdi monaqaba [one who wears niqab] and I do not accept the press publishing my photos.

Mrs Nura al-Faiz, Deputy Minister of Education

Since 9/11, educated women have been called upon to serve the state's economic, social, and ideological needs. Educated women give the regime a soft and sophisticated modern face. While invisible Saudi women had previously been visible signs of state piety, their recent orchestrated and well-managed appearance in the public sphere is a reflection of the state's quest for a cosmopolitan modernity. Under global and local political pressures, the state is gradually replacing religious scholars in defining gender roles and the status of women in the country. The state singles out gender as a criterion for its new modernity, thus inaugurating a new era that requires the celebration of the achievements of Saudi women and their greater participation in the public sphere.

Type
Chapter
Information
A Most Masculine State
Gender, Politics and Religion in Saudi Arabia
 , pp. 134 - 174
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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