2016年经济学人 沙特阿拉伯的女人们（在线收听）

Women in Saudi Arabia

沙特阿拉伯的女人们

One step forward, one step back

进一步，退一步

Progress for women is going into reverse under the new king

在新任国王的统治下，女性地位的进步又倒退了

WHEN Hind Al-Otaibi went to the Riyadh Personal Status Court to have her father struck out as her wali, or guardian, the judges seemed sympathetic. Her father had raped and bruised her, Ms Otaibi, who was a teenager at the time, told the court. He refused to let her travel abroad, even to her mother's funeral, and when she escaped from home had persuaded social services to send her back. After consideration, the judges determined last year that her father, an imam from the Saudi interior of Nejd, remained her legal guardian; but that a guardian only had powers to approve his ward's marriage. If upheld on appeal, the ruling could topple the legal edifice of male control, depriving walis of their power over whether their women can study, work, travel or open bank accounts. “Emancipation from slavery,” says Ms Otaibi.

当欣德·奥黛比在利雅得的 Personal Status Court（类似于国内的民事法庭，处理离婚等案件）请求去除父亲的斡里或监护人的身份时，法官们似乎很同情。当时还是青少年的奥黛比在法庭上控诉父亲强奸并虐待她。她父亲拒绝让她出国，即使是去母亲的葬礼也不允许。当奥黛比从家中逃出来时，他父亲说服当地社会服务机构将她遣回。她的父亲是沙地中部省份内志的一位伊玛目。在经过慎重考虑之后，去年法官们最终决定保留其父的法定监护人地位。但只是在被监护人的婚姻上拥有监护权。如果法庭支持上诉的话，那么男性控制的法律体系将会颠覆，他们对于女子是否能够学习，工作，旅游或开户的决定权将被剥夺。正如奥黛比说的“从奴役中得到解放”。

In recent years, the lot of Saudi women has improved. An increasing number of malls, gated communities and even private beaches, where women swap burqinis (the all-enveloping swimwear Saudi women must wear) for bikinis, were put off-limits to the prying eyes of the religious police. The government sent tens of thousands of women abroad to study in Western universities, where they could experience the freedom of moving, dressing and driving as they pleased. Those left behind could gawp at the gap between their own world and the virtual one to which many Saudis escape for hours every day.

近年来，沙特阿拉伯女性们的命运有了一定的改善。越来越多的商场，封闭式社区甚至一些私人游泳池也规定那些探头探脑的宗教警察禁止入内，在那里女性可以用比基尼代替全裹泳衣（沙特女性游泳时必须穿的全裹的泳衣）。政府派出了上万的女性去欧洲大学留学，在那里他们可以享受活动自由，穿着和驾车自由。那些留在国内的女性可以想象自己所处的世界和那些沙特人整日整夜幻想的世界的区别。

Armed with doctorates, many have returned to prize open the job market. In 2012 the courts licensed their first female lawyer. Last December women for the first time stood for election to local councils. Bayan al-Zahran, a lawyer in Jeddah, has set up the first female-led law firm, and law faculties in women's colleges churn out fresh attorneys.

很多拥有博士学位的人回国之后得到就业市场的青睐。2012年法院给第一位女性律师颁发了资格证书。去年12月，妇女们第一次参与到当地委员会的竞选当中。吉达的一位律师巴扬·札赫兰成立了第一家女性领导的律师事务所，女子学院的法律系也培养出了大量的新人律师。

The numbers, though, remain paltry. Only 18% of working-age Saudi women work (against 65% of men), one of the world's lowest rates. And for all the headlines, the kingdom has only 67 female lawyers (out of 3,400), and 21 female councillors (out of 3,150). Female lawyers say they have to contend with judges who tell them to sit down when they stand up to represent clients. But over time the taboos on women in public life seem to fraying. “Women are better at representing other women because women natter more than men, and women understand them better,” says Judge Faisal Orani, fresh from sentencing a whisky-drinker to 80 lashes. He opposes the introduction of female judges, he says, “but over time, anything can change. Maybe I'll change too.”

但这些数字微不足道。只有18%正值工龄的妇女在工作（相比之下，男性有65%），这是世界上女性工作最低的比例之一。而且从各大新闻标题中可以看到，这个国家只有67名女性律师（共有3400名律师），21为女性议员（共有3150名议员）。女性律师说道，当她们需要代表辩护人站起来申诉时，法官却告诉她们必须坐着，为此女律师不得不与法官作斗争。但是随着时间的推移，女性在公众生活上的一些禁忌似乎渐渐削弱。刚刚判处一名饮威士忌的市民80鞭刑的法官费萨尔·奥拉尼说道：“妇女是代表他们自己的不二人选，因为她们比男人唠叨，而且她们更了解女人。我反对启用女法官。但是时间一长任何事情都会改变，也许我自己也会改变。”

The kingdom's joyless gender segregation persists. Banks maintain separate entrances for men and women, Starbucks restricts women from its open-air balcony and McDonald's makes men and women queue separately for its burgers.

这个国家的性别隔离依旧存在。银行依旧保留着分开的男女通道，星巴克不让女性坐在露天的阳台上，到麦当劳排队买汉堡的男女要分开排队。