아랍의 봄을 계기로 본 사우디 여성 운동에 대한 자각과 패러다임 변화 가능성 연구

The Arab Spring and Paradigm Shift of Saudi Women’s Self-Awareness for Women’s Movement

More than three years have passed since the Arab Spring occurred in the Middle East. Even though Arab women joined with their male counterparts during the democratization protest, women were victimized by the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Surprisingly, however, Saudi women are regarded as the only beneficiaries of the Arab Spring as they were endowed suffrage from the year of 2015. Saudi Arabia’s recent moderate policies towards women have coincided with King Abdullah’s reform policy since 2005. The king has led state feminism in order to progress Saudi women's social status. However, what is notable is that Saudi women started to form grass roots level women's movements using various tools of social media, and this time they are supported by their male counterparts. Taking the current paradigm shift of women’s awareness for the movement into consideration, this article explores the possibilities of women’s grass root organizations within Saudi Arabia and analyses how these women embrace feminism within their own cultural perspective.