http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=79468&d=20&m=3&y=2006
Monday, 20, March, 2006 (19, Safar, 1427)
Girls' Success Stories Start at Home
Khaled Almaeena, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I was at the Book Fair in Bahrain last week and picked up the now famous
book by the now famous Saudi author, Rajaa Al-Sanea. The book of course is
"Banat Al-Riyadh" or "The Girls of Riyadh". I had read several reviews of the
book and wanted to read it myself.
Whether one agrees with the author or what one thinks of her book is a
personal matter, but we should admire her for writing, seeking a publisher and
daring to print it. I am sure she expected an avalanche of criticism and she
has not been disappointed. The idea of a woman doing anything - let alone
rocking the boat - is unpalatable to many in our society.
Let me be completely frank. As someone who went to a co-educational
school and had the privilege of working with women abroad, I have reached the
conclusion that Saudi women, given the right education, training and family
support, are second to none. In other words, qualified and talented Saudi women
are the equals of qualified and talented women anywhere in the world - and also
of many men.
Here in Saudi Arabia we have recently given publicity to the achievements
of women pilots, equestriennes, tennis players, business managers and
announcers and we thank and appreciate those who gave them their chances. At
the same time, it is important for us to remember that the Saudi girl has been
struggling for years to redefine her role in society - not only in the
workplace and at school but, most important of all, in our collective
consciousness and our collective perceptions of what she is and what paths are
open to her and what paths should be open to her.
In the 1970s, one of the best English announcers on Saudi Radio was Shoaa
Al-Rashed. There were also the Turjuman sisters who broadcast wonderfully
inspiring programs from Riyadh. There was the late Shirin Shehata whose
programs were listened to with great interest. There were pioneer Saudi women
doctors, including Samira Islam and Fatin Shaker.
These women surely made enormous efforts to achieve what they achieved.
So when it comes to talking about "Banat Al-Riyadh" or "Banat Al-Jeddah" or
"Banat Al-Dammam" or whatever part of Saudi Arabia we are referring to, we have
to realize that the underlying common denominators with these girls was an
ambition to succeed, the support of their families and their willingness to
give up a life of comfort at home.
To Westerners reading this, I note that what these women sought and what
they wanted was not "liberation" in the Western sense of the word. They were
seeking - and they attained - the right to do and be what they wanted to do and
be; they wanted the same doors open to them as were open to their brothers and
other Saudi men.
Any society that denies half its population economic and social
possibilities will inevitably lower its standing in the global community. In an
age of fierce competition when countries need the best capital - the brain
capital - any exclusion of women amounts to suicide. I myself have been
involved in training Saudi women. I have worked with them and found them driven
by a passion to achieve, willing to challenge fundamental assumptions and delve
into the unknown and the unfamiliar with amazing curiosity. They had no choice
really; they had to do so in order to blaze a trail through the seemingly
insurmountable obstacles our society had mistakenly put in front of them.
When Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah toured Asia
recently, the women of the Civil Society Delegation who were there on a visit
during the same period, impressed - and often surpassed - their Chinese and
Indian counterparts. Whenever Saudi women travel abroad representing the
country, even as members of nongovernmental delegations, they impress the world
and dispel the stereotypes of Saudi women as backward or deprived.
From my own personal experience, I have seen that Saudi women are not
only intelligent, they are also extremely dependable. In the late 1980s at the
Arab News, there was a reporter named Faiza Ambah who never failed to deliver
her stories on time. We also had Hanan Ahmad Ashi who once, without a whimper
or a complaint, edited and laid out five pages in a single day when two of her
colleagues were sick.
There have been many others as well. Today, we have many highly
motivated, efficient professional women who are second to none and equal to
anyone abroad. These Saudi women are an integral part of the future of this
country. It is time for us to recognize their talents, support them and do
everything we can in order to help them realize their goals. Our country's
success will be measured in large part by their success and, perhaps most
importantly, our success in creating a country where they can make a difference
for all of us.
We can't rely on them to overcome by themselves the obstacles our society
has put before them. All of us have to consider very carefully and thoughtfully
how these obstacles can be removed.
Our leaders, our growing business community and our educational
institutions are all working to remove them. What may be even more challenging
is for the fathers and mothers of these talented girls to find ways of removing
the obstacles at home. That may be the most difficult and daunting task, but
the reward will be to watch all our children - male and female - flourish and
lead the way to a prosperous and secure future for our nation and its people.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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