Saudi Arabian Female Students in America: Does Attending Gender-Mixed University Change their Perceived Roles in Saudi Society
Open AccessSaudi Arabia is a country dominated by gender segregated spaces. This thesis studies one aspect of a woman’s life in Saudi Arabia: gender segregation in education and how it impacts a woman’s role in society. The purpose of this thesis is to determine what happens when these women who are products of a gender segregated society enter a gender mixed environment for their higher education. Is their definition of womanhood impacted by studying in a gender mixed environment? By conducting qualitative interviews with 10 Saudi female students who have studied or are studying in at George Washington University, a gender mixed university, this these concludes several arguments: 1) gender segregation provides spaces to empower women that would not necessarily exist if society was gender mixed, 2) the appropriate level of gender segregation in Saudi Arabia and the United States is defined by the individual, and when given the choice to gender segregate or gender mix, Saudi women differ in their experiences and preferences, even upon returning to Saudi Arabia, 3) Gender segregation is an individual phenomena and cannot be understood as simply “wrong” or right” or “oppressive” or “empowering”. If there is one takeaway from the women of this study, it is that women can empower themselves regardless of circumstances. Saudi women are powerful and creative, and they empower each other.
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