Wadjda, Tuesday, November 19

On Tuesday, November 19, we went to see Wadjda after school. Our group wanted to see Wadjda because we were interested in women’s role in Saudi Arabia and how it could affect a young girl’s life. The movie is about a ten-year-old Saudi Arabian girl named Wadjda who wants a bike and the story of what happens because of that simple desire. Wadjda is a girl who is independent and often gets in trouble just for trying to be a person in her society. It turns out that wearing dirty converse to school or selling team bracelets are only allowed if you’re a boy. During the movie, I learned that women in Saudi Arabia have restrictions. Wadjda’s mom could not drive anywhere and was afraid to get a job at the hospital without her husband’s permission. She had to do everything that her husband wanted. The image of women was shocking because they were supposed to be invisible. They had to wear burkas so that only their eyes were showing. Wadjda’s father went off and married a second wife at the end of the movie because he wanted a son. Wadjda’s mother wasn’t able to have any more children, so he got married to someone else who perhaps would give him that. It made me sad that the father made Wadjda and her mother feel so bad just because he wanted a son so badly. Wadjda wasn’t good enough for him just because she was a girl.

Some questions that I have now are what restrictions there are and what progress women have made in other countries, including the U.S. It was strange to me that a girl couldn’t ride a bike, especially in the 21st century. It was surprising to see another girl in the movie around Wadjda’s age who accepted being married off to an older man at such a young age. I think the point of this film is that there are going to be many girls in the future who will not accept the restrictions that women have, and will “go against the grain.”