A movie that tickled my curiosity is the movie Wadjda. The plot of the movie is set in Saudi Arabia, a country culturally different from the USA. The fact that Saudi Arabia is one of the most closed countries in relation to women's rights was the crucial for arousing my interest to watch this movie. The movie Wadjda was released in 2012 and it immediately occupied the interest of the public opinion about the position of women in the Middle East. The main characters of the movie are Wadjda, a young girl, and her mother who is trapped between the culture where she has no rights to make decisions about her life and the restless spirit of her daughter. Wadjda has a friend who lives near to her house and she wants to buy a bicycle so that she can race with him. As the bicycle is expensive, Wadjda decides to participate and wins a competition in learning by heart Qur’an. Even though she won the competition, her principle decides to give the money reward to their "brothers" in Pakistan. The movie presents Wadjda and her struggle with the repressive views of girls and women in Saudi Arabia.
Two major teams that are dominant in the movie are gender and marital relationships. Based on the movie, it is obvious that women are given certain rights in Saudi Arabia as the right to education and work, but it seems that nothing else is done in order to give women larger rights, such as right to choose their husbands, the right to get out without the male companion. The female sexuality is hidden from curious eyes and is reserved to their husbands. In addition to this, it can be noticed based on the situation of the Wadjda's mother, that women are repressed and treated as beings without the right to choose. Her mother is forced to raise her daughter on her own, because Wadjda is a female not a male. Even though Wadjda loves her father very much, she does not see him frequently, because he is in a quest for a new wife, a wife that could give him son. It is a male world, and everything is subordinated to men and their needs.
The major dilemma that is presented in the movie is the Wadjda's desire to ride a bicycle. However, the bicycle can be seen as a symbol of a driving a car in Saudi Arabia, because driving a car is still socially unacceptable for women. Wadjda can be seen as a new generation of Saudi women, who take their chances and destroy invisible barriers that exist in the society by learning how to ride a bicycle, polishing her nails, wearing sneakers, and marking her name on her father’s family tree. On the other hand, Wadjda's mother is a representation of women who are raised to obey rules of the society no matter how unfair and discriminatory they are. According to the Human Rights Watch, "The Saudi guardianship system continues to treat women as minors. Under this discriminatory system, girls and women of all ages are forbidden from traveling, studying, or working without permission from their male guardians." Another important aspect of the movie is marrying at an early age. In the classroom, Wadjda's friend shows the pictures from her wedding even though she is still at school (approximately 12 years old, while her husband is 20. This points out to the fact that even though girls have a right to education, they do not have the rights to marry when they want and with whom they want. "In Saudi Arabia, there is no minimum age for girls to marry. There are more than 5,500 child brides below the age of 14" (Gulf News).
The movie vividly depicts the position of women in modern Saudi Arabia. The deep traditional and patriarchal roots still disable women to be active creators of their future. On the other hand, if a woman does not try to change something, she does not know whether she will succeed or not. The position of women in many countries in the Middle East including the Saudi Arabia has been under the magnifying glass by the rest of the world, but the world has done little to impose the governments to give more right to women and young girls who are used as slaves in feudal society. While the rest of the world has moved forwards regarding the women's position in the society, Saudi Arabia still remains firmly chained to the medieval views on women and sexuality.
Cited works:
Gulf News. "More than 5,000 child brides in Saudi Arabia" 8.November 2014. Web. 30. October 2014. http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/more-than-5-000-child-brides-in-saudi-arabia-1.1101605
Human Rights Watch. World Report 2012: Saudi Arabia. 2012. Web. 30. October 2014. www.hrw.org
Wadjda Directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour. 2012. Web. 30. October 2014.
