사우디 비전 2030이 사우디 사회변화에 미치는 영향 분석 - ‘이크틸라트’ 정책과 여성의 사회참여를 중심으로 - *

An Analysis of Saudi Vision 2030 and Its Impact on Social Change within Saudi Arabia: The Policy of ikhtilat and Women’s Social Participation

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman unveiled Saudi Vision 2030 in April of 2016. Through this vision, Saudi Arabia aims to transform its oil-based economic structure to an industrially diversified economy in order to prepare for the post oil era. Based on openness and reform, Saudi Vision 2030 pursues a shift in the social paradigm that ultimately affects Saudi women’s social position. Saudi society has developed in accord with the conservative Wahhabi religious ideology, which has pursued the segregation of women; this has been expressed by the ban on the ‘ikhtilat (mixed)’ policy. However, ikhtilat is not an absolute and rigid religious practice that does not allow change; rather, it is applied flexibly according to Saudi Arabia’s political and economic environment. Considering the flexibility of ikhtilat practices, the purpose of this study is to predict the social changes in Saudi society that will be brought about by the Saudi Vision 2030 policy, by focusing on the ikhtilat, which represents the social perception of women and gender relations within Saudi society.