A Most Masculine State: Gender, Politics and Religion in Saudi Arabia (Cambridge Middle East Studies, Series Number 43)

A thorough analysis of the 'women's question' in Saudi Arabia that debunks the stereotypical binary classification of Saudi women. A great read for anyone interested in the complexity of the feminine concept in the Arab world in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. Highly recommened.

... Books you can read on Saudi Arabia, I guess. Informative, it shows the complexities of a nation building its nationalist sentiment on a very particular (and radical) brand of islam, and how traditions and history comes in mixing everything up to get a situation where women are invisible, as much as they are used as symbols for nation-building. For a country subject to so many clichés and crazy news, this is a great and critical study of its modern days.

Sehr kompetente, differenzierte und gut nachvollziehbare Erkärung von Gründen der Geschlechtertrennung, die sich nicht (allein) als Folge einer radikalen, einseitigen Islamauslegung interpretieren lassen.