Top Ten Saudis I Want to Meet

Five days before Fouad al-Farhan was detained, he posted a list of ten least favourite Saudis that he does not wish to meet. At the end of that post, he wrote: “Coming soon: top ten Saudis that I love and wish to meet.” As a tribute to Fouad, I decided to give it a shot.

I thought it would be a piece of cake; and oh boy I was wrong! I was unpleasantly surprised that I could easily come up with 3, 4 or 5 lists like Fouad’s, but I could not find 10 Saudis that I really would like to meet. It did not help that I’ve already met some people who would otherwise have been on my list.

After borrowing the brains of few friends and several attempts to write and rewrite this list, I present you with my list of the ten Saudi personalities that I would like to meet in person:

1. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Although I’m pretty sure that his majesty’s schedule for the coming four years is totally full, I would really like if I get a chance to meet him, and if I ever get this chance, it would be one of the rare occasions where I’m looking forward to meet someone in order to talk to him more than listening.

2. Abdul-Rahman Al Lahim
A fellow blogger once called the human rights lawyer an “angel,” and I think that her description is not far from truth. Despite all the hardships that he has had to go through, including jail and travel ban not to mention being severely attacked by some ignorant idiots, he stood firm to defend the defenseless.

3. Khalid Al Dakhil
I’ve been a fan for the sociopolitics professor for a long time. When he was having a chat with Washington Post readers I was lucky to get to ask him a question, and I even have had a chance to talk with him on the phone last year, but I’m still waiting for the right time to have the pleasure of meeting him in person.

4. Sheikh Hasan Al Saffar
After spending some time as a dissent in exile in the 80’s, he returned home in the early 90’s and emerged as one of the most prominent Shia leaders in the country. Today, he represents one of the few voices here calling publicly for tolerance, moderation and a greater role for civil society.

5. Ghazi Al Gosaibi
You can say whatever you want about his performance in his different ministerial positions, but my admiration of Al Gosaibi has more to do with his writings as a novelist and a poet than his work for the government.

6. Maram Meccawy
Our newspapers are filled with aging editors and writers, the kind of people Fouad used to call “dinosaurs.” This is not the case with this young columnist and, I’m glad to say, fellow blogger who represents a breath of fresh air and gives the rest of us hope that the future of this nation may not be completely dark after all.

7. Buthaina Al Nassr
After being the first Saudi female news anchor to welcome viewers on Al Ekhbariya, she left the deteriorating channel and now works with Al Hurra. We spoke on the phone a couple of times and because she know that I’m constantly consuming junk food in Riyadh she was nice enough to invite me to try her cooking; something I’m looking forward to as she is also known for being a good cook :-)

8. Samia Al Amoudi
A brave, courageous woman who fought breast cancer and then made it her mission to raise awareness about this disease that kills hundreds of women in a society where talking about such issue is usually surrounded with shame.

9. Ebtihal Mubarak
The Arab News reporter has been described by CNN as “fearless” and her work on many stories during the past few years is simply groundbreaking. Ebtihal comes from a conservative background but that did not stop her from becoming one of the leading female journalists in Saudi Arabia.

10. Abdullah Al Hamed, Matruk Al Faleh and Ali Al Dumaini
The three reformists who were jailed for demanding a constitutional monarchy and later pardoned by King Abdullah soon after he ascended the throne are some of the most courageous political activists in the country. Al Hamed, and his brother Eisa, are now jailed in the aftermath of the women’s demonstrations in Qassim last summer, while Al Faleh and Al Domaini continue their efforts to promote human rights in the country.

Honorable Mentions: Turky Al Hamad, Badria Al Bisher, Wajiha Al Huwaider, Dima Al Azem, Othman Al Omair, Sami Al Jaber and Hatoon Al Fassi.

How about you people? Who’s on your list?

To Choose or Not to Choose: That is the Question

By Lubna Hussain

I was at a dinner the other night in honour of a former regional governor. The host, one of the country’s leading intellectuals, doesn’t believe in the concept of a free meal. As we sat at the table he interrupted the customary conversation with an ominous request.

“As a Saudi Arabian woman I would like you to highlight to our friend what progress you think has been made in terms of the women of this country and what changes you would personally like to see.”

The table fell silent. There were no other Saudi women present so I gulped hard and momentarily debated whether or not to open my mouth.

“Umm,” I began trying to buy time, “there has been progress.” I noticed all the men nodding agreeably with glances of satisfaction being exchanged. “But not enough,”

“What do you mean?” asked a prominent businessman. “There has been a lot of progress made!”

“Look,” I responded realizing that the rest of my compatriots were preparing to attack, “I suppose there has been some made. But honestly, I still feel pretty disillusioned with what has not yet been done.”

“What do you want?” he asked rhetorically.

“Oh so many things!” I replied vaguely wondering whether it was a good idea to narrate my wish list or not. He stared at me in anticipation giving me the incentive to continue.

“I want more than anything else to be respected as a sane adult and be given the right to make decisions about my life that I am the only one qualified to make.”

Before he could interject, I focused my gaze on the ex governor who was seated opposite me and addressed my grievances to him.

“I find it more than demeaning to have to seek the permission of a male guardian every time I leave the country. My situation is unusual, granted, as I don’t have any legal guardian here but even my father objects to this stricture. He thinks it’s ridiculous that I can be deemed responsible enough to run a bureau for a major US network, but I have to get him to sign on a bit of paper every time I have to travel,” I complained.

“Well,” replied the businessman seizing the opportunity, “this is part of our tradition.”

“I am not against tradition,” I replied, “but I do think that if a tradition is responsible for holding back 50% of society then that so-called tradition should surely be subject to revision.”

The guest of honour listened intently.

“I understand your difficulty,” he empathized, “but don’t you feel that things are moving forward?”

“It seems the subject of women driving is making ground,” proffered our host. “I think that this issue will be resolved soon.”

“This issue has to be treated carefully,” cautioned the businessman.

“What do you mean “carefully”?” I interrupted.

“The leadership has to deal with this sensitively. There are many people against driving here and this has to be respected.”

“And what about those who want to drive?” I asked suppressing my fury and frustration. “Don’t they deserve to be respected? It’s not about driving or tradition. It’s about personal choice and the right to have that choice respected as long as it is not against Islam. We all know that it has nothing to do with religion! Muslim women have commanded armies and fought in military campaigns and if it was so alien to tradition then why would there be bedouin women, the very personification of tradition, driving across the dunes in Land Cruisers?”

“Most of the women in this country are not ready for this,” said the businessman.

“So what?” I replied. “Isn’t it about time that we let the women decide what they want? When are the men of this country going to quit telling us when we are ready?”

“I am not trying to attack you,” retorted the businessman. “This is a very sensitive issue that could create division between family members. I have several sisters some of whom don’t want to drive and others who may well want to. Don’t you see the potential problems that could arise within a single household?”

To be honest I didn’t but had already come across as an opinionated contentious pseudo-liberated threat to the equilibrium of the evening so judiciously decided not to contest his assertion.

“Might I remind you,” I said focusing on the more reasonable gentleman in front of me, “that if our friend’s concerns had been of such significance then we would not have had women’s education in this country. That was an extremely courageous step and one taken by the leadership for the benefit of society. Naturally all change is greeted by resistance, but that doesn’t mean that you can resist change.”

“You are right,” agreed the guest of honour, “and there will be change very soon.”

Personally I would never drive here, even if the ban was lifted, because I believe that there are enough maniacs on the road. However, like with everything else, what I want and do not want should not infringe upon the rights and choices of others. To drive or not to drive: that is not the question. To choose or not to choose: that is!

Little Stories from Jeddah

“You are so lucky to present in front of the beautiful girls of Effat,” my friend Faiza told me with a little wink as we were waiting for our drinks at Teayana of Atallah Center last Thursday. Maan, from Saudi hip-hop band Dark2Men, quickly interjected, “I hate Effat girls!” He didn’t explain why he hates them, but his friend Tamer, the shy slow-talking other member of D2M, said that just because he hates them doesn’t make them any less beautiful.

Indeed, they are beautiful; not just their looks, but also their confidence, eloquence, intelligence, hard work and dedication. It was my first time to speak in Saudi Arabia, and the first time to give this kind of presentation, and I couldn’t ask for a better audience.

Still, I was very nervous and I stayed up late the night before the opening day, rehearsing and trying get over my fear. I slept for a few hours only to wake up on the message telling me that Fouad has been released. “This will be a good day,” I said to myself as I opened my laptop to write down some final notes that I thought I would need when I speak. I didn’t use the notes because I forgot the little notebook on the small table at the center of the stage, and when I came later I couldn’t find it!

I started my talk with a few words about my friend Hadeel, praying to God to grant her a speedy recovery. Then I went on to tell the background story of how I started my blog; a story I rarely shared with others, but I thought this was a good opportunity to do so. I talked about the growth of the local blogosphere and the diversity in the Saudi bloggers community. The last part of my talk focused on the lessons that I learned from my experience as a blogger for the past four years.

Speaking after the hilarious Baba Ali, I think I sounded inevitably boring. Obviously, and no matter how hard I may have tried to be funny, I knew I can’t compete with a real comedian, but since I’m already a fan of his that wasn’t a problem.

Elisabeth Bosely, our moderator, asked both of us a few questions and ended the discussion 30 minutes after we started, 15 minutes shorter than the official time announced in the schedule. Due to some organizational hiccups they were off to a late start and had to make sessions shorter in order to catch up with their crowded schedule.

Unfortunately, cutting the panel discussion short meant that students were not given any chance to ask questions despite the fact that many of them were eagerly raising their hands. Some students came after the session to talk outside the main hall, but as one speaker told me later, most students would be too shy to come and ask after you left the stage.

Most of those who talked to me after my presentation were really nice, and it certainly felt good to be at the receiving end of praise, but the truth is that I didn’t give the presentation just to impress. What I was trying to show is that I didn’t do anything extraordinary and that any of them could do it, and do much better actually.

Since most sessions at the symposium were concurrent, I did not attend many of them. But I did attend the opening presentation by Naif al-Muttawa, the creator of The 99, who has a good story although I think he could have told it better than he did. I also attended the iTunes U presentation by my friend Mohammed Milyani as well as a videoblogging workshop by Baba Ali and Yusuf Chowdhury.

Aside from the symposium, I have had a chance to hang out with my friends: Bandar, Yousef, Milyani, and Mohammed. I wanted to meet Fouad but by the time I talked to him he was already on his way to see his mom in Taif. I’ve also met Abdullah Thabit, author of al-Irhabi 20 (Terrorist 20), one of my favorite novels.

While standing in a line at Jeddah Airport, a lady approached me asking if I was “the blogger.” She said her daughters, who stood 200 meters away, have recognized me. She made me blush with her sweet compliments and later told me about her 16-year-old son who wants to be the first Saudi to play in the NBA. Seeing the hope and pride in her eyes filled me with joy and left me in high spirits, a feeling I never experience flying back home before.

Introducing Guest Blogger Lubna Hussain

Old timers on this blog probably know that I’m a big fan of Lubna Hussain, and they probably remember how I used to link to her articles in Arab News frequently here. Unfortunately, Lubna stopped contributing regularly to Arab News sometime ago. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to meet Lubna for the first time, and I told her that I miss her potent and strong articles. She asked me if she can write in my blog, and I, surprised by her kind gesture, immediately said: “yes, that would be great!”

Lubna Hussain currently runs NBC Universal Riyadh bureau, and she is the host of Bridges, a weekly political talk show that airs every Saturday on Channel 2 of Saudi TV. I’m extremely honored to have her as the first guest blogger on Saudi Jeans and looking forward to read her posts here.

Welcome, Lubna!

Double-team for Women’s Employment

In my post last February on women’s employment I asked if whether we were moving towards more regulation or more segregation. According to a directive issued last week by Prince Khaled al-Faisal, Governor of Mecca, I guess regulation it is.

The directive, which was published in local media last Wednesday, is based on a letter sent by Labor Minister Ghazi al-Gosaibi who emphasized that the new labor law has deleted the clause banning women from working in mixed workplaces, and replaced it with a new clause that applies to both genders stating that “both the employer and employee must adhere to the law in conformity with Sharia.”

Now this last statement may sound vague and ill-defined, but it is still worthy of attention because the letter also affirmed that the Ministry of Labor is the government’s body responsible for regulating women’s working and that any involvement by other government’s bodies is unacceptable, in what seems to be a hint to the Commission and their sympathizers who keep nosing into these issues.

However, and as we have previously seen many times in the magic kingdom, writing laws is one thing and implementing them is quite another, especially when you don’t have an elected parliament to monitor the performance of government and question them when they fail to achieve their announced goals.

It was Ghazi al-Gosaibi who has tried three years ago to make working in women’s shops limited to Saudi women before he had to back down after fierce opposition by conservatives. What is different this time, though, is that he is not fighting alone. The support of Khaled al-Faisal, a figure many conservatives hate as much as they hate al-Gosaibi, could be the push the government need to put the laws in effect. It remains to be seen how crucial is this support will be.

UPDATE: In his column in Al Hayat today Abdul-Aziz al-Suwaid makes a good point about the vagueness of the law, asking MOL to define clear guidelines to protect women should they come under harassment. I totally agree.

Read More:

Segregation or Regulation?

Although I have tried to register to participate at the 7th National Dialogue, I never received to a response from the organizers and therefore I have had to watch the dialogue on television.

This round of the National Dialogue, which took place earlier this week, focused on the dilemma of employment from different angles. The hottest topic, of course, was women’s employment. Now almost everyone agrees that we need to create more job opportunities for women; the disagreement, however, arises when it comes to how to approach and address this problem. More specifically, the disagreement is over how to define the proper work environment for women.

Two trends can be seen here. First, there are those who believe that in order to encourage more women to join the workforce we have to provide separate workplaces for them. They cite the example of the education sector, the field where 85% of working women in the country are in, and argue that the government should push in that direction.

However, I believe these guys are ignoring two important things: the fact that following education, the second field where most women are employed is the healthcare sector which is not segregated, and also the fact that many women chose to work at the education sector simply for the lack of other options, even if that choice means sometimes working in remote areas and being away from their families and putting themselves in danger of lethal car accidents.

The other trend regarding women’s employment in the dialogue argue that strict interpretations of religion and old social norms have only halted the development of the country and slowed down the growth of our economy. The insistence on providing separate work places for women, they say, is costly and impractical as it makes it difficult to keep a smooth workflow. Moreover, even if the government decided to go with that option, they won’t be able to force business to do the same.

Instead of separate workplaces, what they propose instead is writing new laws and regulation to create and maintain safe work environments that give equal opportunities and protect employees, especially women.

I expect this debate to continue, and I think we need to wait and see which argument of these two will attract more followers and prevail, or probably we will have to make some compromises and end up with a third way and a middle ground. The economic factor will be decisive here because, as one participant pointed out, the ever increasing living costs will mean that the one salary (currently the man’s) will no longer be enough to support a family.

I agree with Fatin Bundagji when she says that the idea of the national dialogue, even if it did not amount to obvious immediate results, is a good idea. And even though I was not invited to attend the dialogue at Makarem Ballroom in the Marriott, it was certainly refreshing for me to follow it and see my countrymen and women debate and take part in this conversation, which signifies, among many things, a change in mindset and a newfound respect for diversity, as well as a better understanding between the different faction in our society.

Saudi Diplomacy at Home

A senior member of the royal family said Monday that Saudi diplomacy has many shortcoming. Prince Turky Al Faisal, head of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, was giving a lecture on the history of Saudi diplomacy at King Saud University. The former Chief of Intelligence and ambassador to the UK and the US added, “but we have no right to blame others just to find excuses for our problems.”

The lecture was initially announced earlier this week under a different title: “The Saudi-US Relations,” but shortly after Turky Al Faisal took his seat at the podium he said he decided to change the focus of the lecture to Saudi diplomacy. The lecture has drawn a large audience from teachers and students, and much to my dismay, some zealots as well. There were also a lot of journalists, but I have to say that I really felt sorry for them because the lecture was boring, and btw this is something none of these journalists would dare to say when they report on the event for their newspapers ;-)

I think the lecture would have been more interesting if the speaker went into some detail and gave us some examples of Saudi diplomacy in action in recent history, but instead he went back to the days of the Prophet (PBUH) telling us stories that we all know by heart from our school days. I also wanted to hear him taking about his experience doing “public diplomacy” when he was at the States. However, the Q&A session following the lecture was more interesting, even when Prince Turky tried to answer diplomatically and avoid controversy or giving bold statements.

When asked about the failure of Saudi diplomacy to use financial support in order to achieve political goals, Al Faisal admitted that connecting financial support to certain policies is usually not successful. He also said he was surprised when some countries which the Kingdom has helped have turned against us in the Gulf War. But what I really wanted to hear, though, is how does he evaluate the Saudi support of the Afghani jihad against the Soviets. Was that also a failure?

True to Saudi fashion, female teachers and students followed the lecture on TV screens from the comfort of their campus in Olaysha at the other end of the city. Things turned depressingly comical when it was time for them to ask questions due to technical glitches with the sound system.

A few female journalists physically attended the lecture, and they were seated in a corner at the upper deck of the auditorium. The only female journalist who had a chance to ask a question said they were told to leave but they insisted on staying, and she asked Prince Turky what to expect from report that will follow the visit of Yakin Ertürk, the special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Violence Against Women.

Al Faisal admitted that women’s rights are being violated “in the government’s bureaucracy and in the social arena.” He said the government is trying to promote women’s rights but described them as social matters related to the progress of society. Princey Turky said he sees no problem in women’s working as diplomats, and he thinks that they will excel and give a good image for the country. Finishing his remarks, he said he is looking forward to the day when there is no discrimination or injustices against women. “As men, we should put women above our heads.”