How Does Islamic Principles Impact Women Employment Right: In Light of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Analytical Study

Abstract

Much of the research concerning workplace harassment against women has been conducted in the West while comparatively little is known about this phenomenon in workplaces inside Muslim countries. There are fundamental differences between the nature of gender-relations in the workplace in the West and those in Muslim countries due primarily to these countries’ religious, social and cultural traditions. Muslim women tend to live in the midst of patriarchal cultures where women’s honor is believed to be sacred leading to significant restrictions being placed on their ability to participate in the labour force even in cases where females are in urgent need of earned income. Such attitudes and practices are based on interpretations of elements of Sharia, including the Holy verses of Quran. As Islam is the official religion in Saudi Arabia, this research explores the influence of the Islamic principles and cultural traditions that are present in Saudi culture on the current state of working women in the Saudi labour force. The research focuses on sexual harassment as being a major concern for which solutions must be found, a view shared by many others who advocate for women’s rights across the globe which has led to important steps being taken. For example, CEDAW has resulted in the implementation of legislation that protects women against gender discrimination and harassment in the workplace. In addition, the research is centred on the issue of the workplace harassment against women in Saudi Arabia; it focuses on the efforts made by the Saudi government to resolve this issue in order to comply with international human rights, demonstrating the common ground shared between this, Sharia and international human rights standards such as those laid out by CEDAW.