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Saudi Arabian Women Dispel Myths and Stereotypes
By Delinda C. Hanley
Delinda C. Hanley is the news editor of the Washington Report.
As I sped through the streets of Riyadh, on my first trip to Saudi Arabia since I lived there 16 years ago, I was amazed by the many changes. The city has been transformed into a glowing metropolis with downtown streets filled with fabulous stores and visually stunning buildings.
I wore my black silk abaya, the same covering I'd worn each day to teach at the Riyadh School or shop at night. I had cherished my abaya and the fond memories it still conjured up, but it was raising some eyebrows now. Some of the women I met gently teased me because it was so out of fashion.
Every woman I met in Riyadh this trip made me want to write a story with the title, "Brilliant Saudi Woman Breaks the Stereotype." It soon dawned on me, however, that it's the Western stereotype of the veiled Saudi woman hidden away from modern-day opportunities that needs to change. No one I met felt oppressed or excluded. On the contrary, every woman I interviewed personified the fact that many Saudi women have received excellent educations and now are working hard to build their nation.
Despite the recent achievements of Saudi women like Dr. Thoraya Ahmed, the first Saudi Arabian woman to head a major U.N. organization, or Hayat Sindi, inventor of a multipurpose probe called Mars, "there is the widely known stereotype of Saudi women being `invisible' members of society, having restricted mobility or dealings with men outside the family," Asra Wa'il Islam recently wrote in Saudi Arabia's Arab News newspaper. "It has been taken for granted that Islam and traditional Saudi society have inhibited women's progress. No matter who is giving this impression, the main responsibility for breaking this myth lies on the shoulders of Saudi women."
Dr. Thoraya Ahmed, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), doesn't believe there is a stereotype of Saudi Arabian women. "We are as varied as our families are varied," she told the Saudi Gazette in a March interview. "One goal I hope to achieve through my position is to show that Islam is a very...