Photo Credit: Aubrey Carr, The Beacon
Aubrey Carr/Staff writer
“Please no entry for ladies. Only send your driver to order,” said a sign on a Saudi Arabian Starbucks in Jarir, not unlike the “no Irish” and “no Jews” signs which adorned coffee shops in the past. A gender barrier – literally a wall – separated women from men until a few days ago when the store was torn down for renovations. Frankly, in cultures such as the Saudi Arabian culture, it’s a normal practice to separate unrelated men from women, and it’s fairly common to find signs banning women from restaurants, according to the International Business Times.
“Starbucks in Saudi Arabia adheres to the local customs by providing separate entrances for families as well as single people. All our stores provide equal amenities, service, menu and seating to men, women and families. We are working as quickly as possible as we refurbish our Jarir store, so that we may again welcome all customers in accordance with local customs,” Starbucks said in a statement.
Of course it’s very possible that there are equal amenities; though service is subjective and thus equality is more difficult to pinpoint. Isn’t this reminiscent of the separate but equal utilities for blacks and whites in America fifty years ago? If the water fountains and the schools and the diners were the same, why does it matter who goes where? If the menus and the seating and amenities are the same, why does it matter whether single men occupy the same space as women and families? Are customs more important to uphold than freedom?
Some would say this custom is to be expected; it’s a different way of life 7,000 miles away. Not to impose Western thought as if it’s superior, I still must note that it’s a disgrace to women everywhere, if even in one part of the world, we’re treated like second-class citizens. Are women so low in society that we cannot order our own coffees? That we must be told with whom we are or aren’t allowed to be seated with or where we may even sit?
Saudi Arabian women were recently granted the right to vote and exercised it in this past December’s elections. Even more encouraging is the fact that 20 women were appointed to political positions for the first time in this election, although according to Joana Cook, a Middle East political analyst, the positions don’t hold much power as they’re more symbolic.
If they can vote and hold office, they can order their own coffees and sit where they please. These empowering points were still met with discrimination. Women aren’t allowed to drive and thus had to have men provide transportation to the polls, candidates required a male spokesperson to campaign and they needed their father or husband’s permission. Laura Aguas-Nuñez, deemed the “Face of Starbucks” by Green Library employees, agreed that the situation is horrendous.
“Women are more than capable of ordering a cup of coffee if they can carry a child for nine months. We shouldn’t discredit women because of their gender,” Aguas-Nuñez said.
Although grateful for change, I refuse to act shocked by women taking positions of political, economic, and otherwise historically unusual roles, as though it’s an unexpected plot twist. I will be insulted by “no women” signs and then I will continue to fight for my equal rights as a human being. The wall in the Jarir Starbucks will rise again, but perhaps the call of women around the world will grow taller. Perhaps this will bring attention to the enormous continuation of gender discrimination, a battle that has slowly been fought for centuries.
As FIU students, we are expected to graduate as global citizens. We must care about this situation abroad because we send students to areas like these, many of whom are women and deserve to be treated better because they are equals. We need to know about instances like this so that we make sure we prevent them where they peek out and tear them down where they’re already in place. We need to know how bad sexism can get and understand that any struggle with equality matters. Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is empowerment.
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of FIU Student Media Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community
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