http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=63535&d=10&m=5&y=2005
Tuesday, 10, May, 2005 (01, Rabi` al-Thani, 1426) What Put Lid on Women Chefs' Display? Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab News JEDDAH, 10 May 2005 - What was supposed to be a pioneering exhibition of the talents of new women chefs has essentially vaporized. Although organizers maintain it's due to a mistake in permit applications, some of the young women involved believe conservative authorities quashed the event after seeing a photograph in a local newspaper. At any rate, the attempt to include and expand women's participation in food services was suddenly halted at the Food, Hotel and Propac Arabia Exhibition that was held at Al-Harithy Hall recently. Female chefs from Jeddah Institute of Culinary Arts (JICA) were supposed to cook and show their culinary skills at the chef auditorium in front of a female audience during the four-day exhibition. The first-of-its-kind in the Kingdom, the institute tries to fill the gap in a highly demanding domain. "Our job is to supply the local market with well trained Saudi chefs," said Reda Gazawi, owner and the general manager of the institute. However, the show was canceled after two days when a girl's picture was shown on the front page of a local newspaper. Although Bandar Abo Al-Hamayel, the institute's public relations manager, attributes the cancellation to delays in obtaining necessary permits, a number of frustrated girls trace the cancellation to the media coverage. Reda Gazawi declined to discuss the issue. Okaz reported that the Khadija Bint Khowailed Center, the women's section at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was sponsoring the institute. But when Arab News sought a comment from Dr. Nadia Baeshen, general manager of the center, she denied sponsoring the institute, saying that the center offers only economic advice to businesswomen. Responding to Arab News inquiries, Dr. Baeshen said that the cancellation was either due to permit problems or other administrative reasons. With the limited job market for women in the Kingdom, the 19 female chefs who trained at Jeddah Institute of Culinary Arts carefully searched for a respectable profession to earn a living. A number of the girls hold bachelor degrees; others have multiple diplomas that range from computer programming to cosmetology. Regardless of the certificates, none of the students had even a shred of hope in finding a job. Sawsan Bargawi, an Islamic studies graduate who's been jobless for three years, discovered her hidden cooking skills at the institute. "I would like to send a message to Saudi graduate girls to explore new fields boldly and not to look down at manual jobs or be intimidated by new ideas," she said. Bargawi's youngest sister, Samar, who just graduated from high school last year considered herself fortunate that she found the institute already established in order to pursue her dreams. "I want to be a famous chef and own my restaurant with my friends in the future," said Samar. Chasing personal dreams is not the only reason for enrolling at the institute. Haya Al-Dosari, who holds computer and cosmetology diplomas, told Arab News that she joined the institute to "take responsibility for her financial needs and to help out her family." The girls' reaction to the mysterious cancellation was an unexpected shock. The students' expectation of receiving acknowledgments after the event "could have been a plus on our resumes when applying for a job", as one of the students commented, is "gone with the wind." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Dying to be thin? Anorexia. Narrated by Julianne Moore . http://us.click.yahoo.com/FLQ_sC/gsnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.org *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/