DAWR AL MAR'AH FI AL QITHA' AL 'AM : BAYNA FATAWA AL 'ULAMA' AL SU'UDIYYIN WA RU'YAH AL MAMLAKAH AL 'ARABIYYAH AL SU'UDIYYAH 2030

This study examines the representations of the figure and role of Saudi women in the fatwas of Salafi clerics and Saudi Vision 2030. In addition, this study also discusses the Saudi Arabian government's strategy in controlling the role of ulama so that the new fatwas tend to follow state policies. The text of the fatwa and the Saudi Vision 2030 were analyzed using critical discourse analysis, while the government's control over the ulama was analyzed using the theory of repression and co-optation. The results of this study indicate that the figure and role of women in the fatwas of Saudi Arabia's Salafi clerics tend to be described in a discriminatory manner. Scholars direct women to play a role in the domestic sphere. Ulama limit the role of women in education and work. Women in the ulama's fatwas are also represented as people who are attached to a negative stigma. Domestication of the role of women in fatwa discourse cannot be separated from the ideology of Salafi scholars who are anti-equality. Salafi clerics who have the authority to organize the social sphere can freely direct the actions of the people of Saudi Arabia, including women, to play a role in the domestic sphere. In addition, the great access of ulama to the government is able to make discriminatory fatwas against women as official state laws that are generally accepted in society. In contrast to the fatwa of Salafi clerics, the government in the Saudi Vision 2030 represents women as more positive figures. The government describes women as state assets, economic drivers, potential resources, open, and energetic. In this vision, the government provides equal opportunities for women and men to get education, training, and jobs. Women are encouraged to contribute to economic and social development. In this context, the government encourages women to be more involved in the labor market. The involvement of women in the public sphere is inseparable from the ideology of the Saudi Arabian government during the reign of King Salman bin Abdul Azis and Muhammad bin Salman which tends to lead to liberalization aimed at economic diversification and the legitimacy of power. Saudi Vision 2030 directs the government to carry out reforms to increase the role of women in the public sphere. The government has replaced many state laws which were adopted from the previous ulama's fatwas. To minimize protests from the ulama, the government made efforts of repression and cooptation. The government's strategy of repression was applied to deal with ulama who openly opposed the reform policy. Meanwhile, to gain the legitimacy of the ulama, the government implements a co-optation strategy by selecting moderate and pro-government ulama to fill certain religious positions. The strategy of repression and co-optation affects the attitude of the ulama in responding to the reforms. In this context, the latest fatwas of contemporary Salafi scholars related to the role of women are different from the previous fatwas of Salafi scholars. The fatwas of contemporary Salafi clerics are more likely to follow the liberalization plan carried out by the governments of King Salman bin Abdul Azis and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman