“Had these reforms been more forceful, such as banning the niqab or enforcing liberal dress freedom for women, they could have produced a negative cultural backlash. Instead, the moderate liberalization of the dress code and the gender-mixing reforms were introduced as optional freedoms which became available in parallel with the existing conservative norms rather than replacing them.”

–Lydia Begag and Nader Habibi take a close look at the many reforms introduced in Saudi Arabia to reduce gender inequality and concluded that, to date, they have created real change without sparking disruptive cultural backlash. [International Policy Digest]