But all those things are currently being subjected to serious and open challenge, whereas a couple of decades ago, they weren’t. The current king is pretty serious about moving the country towards real civilization, as quickly as is possible without triggering a bloody backlash from opposing ideological forces. And the megabillionaire Prince Alwaleed is also pushing the envelope hard. It will take time and effort to tug the Saudi masses into the modern world, but there are some very powerful Saudis behind the effort.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0309/1224242516790.html
These same powerful Saudi also fund the Sharia schools and the Mullahs that preach death to all non-believers.
This King the wants to lead his country in to the 19th century is going to have a hard time with a male populous that sees women as the evil sex that Mohammad warned them about.