Academic literature on Saudi women remains limited. Intense yet superficial journalistic scrutiny of their lives and persistent stereotypes anchor them in either victimhood or heroism. Most reporting presents Saudi women as victims of their own society, religion, and culture or exceptional women who have reached positions of leadership in business, government, science, literature, andmedia.The two sides often agree that theSaudi state is a force for emancipation. It pushes women to achieve high educational levels, appoints them to key government positions, and provides generous welfare programs to improve their lives. These persistent narratives indicate limited understanding of gender relations and their entanglements with political, religious, economic, and cultural factors in Saudi Arabia. Modern Woman in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, by Hend T. Al-Sudairy, does not escape these problematic assumptions about Saudi women and in fact reproduces them. Al-Sudairy’s book inserts a native voice that celebrates the past and present achievements of Saudi women thanks to government support. Al-Sudairy admits that there are challenges and obstacles to be overcome but asserts that Saudi women are modern and increasingly benefit from the great opportunities offered themby the government. Partly a reflection on the lives of women in the past, partly a sociological treatise on the lives of contemporary women, and partly a literary analysis of selected Saudi women’s novels, this short book confirms the accomplishments of heroic Saudi women under state guidance and encouragement. Al-Sudairy contends that “no one understands the Saudi woman better than a woman, plus I am a Saudi citizen and have livedmy entire life in Saudi Arabia. . . . I am the product of my society’s culture, which makes it easier for me to explain this culture to

中文翻译：

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沙特阿拉伯王国的现代女性：权利、挑战和成就

关于沙特女性的学术文献仍然有限。对他们生活的强烈而肤浅的新闻审查和顽固的刻板印象使他们陷入受害或英雄主义。大多数报道将沙特女性描述为她们自己社会、宗教和文化的受害者，或者是在商业、政府、科学、文学和媒体领域担任领导职务的杰出女性。双方经常同意沙特国家是解放的力量。它推动妇女获得较高的教育水平，任命她们担任重要的政府职位，并提供慷慨的福利计划来改善她们的生活。这些持续不断的叙述表明，人们对沙特阿拉伯的性别关系及其与政治、宗教、经济和文化因素的纠葛了解有限。沙特阿拉伯王国的现代女性，Hend T. Al-Sudairy 并没有逃避这些关于沙特女性的有问题的假设，并且实际上复制了这些假设。Al-Sudairy 的书插入了一种本土声音，颂扬沙特妇女在政府支持下取得的过去和现在的成就。Al-Sudairy 承认有许多挑战和障碍需要克服，但断言沙特女性是现代女性，并且越来越多地受益于政府为她们提供的巨大机会。部分是对过去女性生活的反思，部分是关于当代女性生活的社会学论文，部分是对精选的沙特女性小说的文学分析，这本简短的书证实了在国家指导和鼓励下英雄沙特女性的成就。Al-Sudairy 争辩说，“没有人比女人更了解沙特女人，此外，我是沙特阿拉伯公民，并且在沙特阿拉伯度过了我的一生。. . . 我是我所在社会文化的产物，这使我更容易向他人解释这种文化