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RIYADHIn the offices of the financial group Al Dukheil the only man who isnt listening to Khlood Al

Dukheil is Abdul Karim, an older man in charge of preparing tea and coffee. He has seen me playing

here, she says, And he will always treat me like a little girl. Abdul Karim is a special case here: the

rest of the employees listen and follow orders when Khlood speaks. Even though her office is in

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative countries in the world, a woman at

the head of a company is a rarity. Here, women are forbidden to show themselves in public without an

abaya (the long black robe that covers her from head to toe) and veil, to sit with a man who is not a

member of her family, and to drive. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to prohibit women

from driving. When I came back from the United States, explains Al Dukheil, Managers like me

were few and far betweenbut not anymore.

Khlood is the avant-garde of a constantly-growing group: that of Saudi women who are breaking into

the private sector, challenging the rules that have relegated them to the margins of society for years.

The movement is diverse and wide-ranging: from business women like her, to students of the first

coeducational university, to women who are boycotting shopping to protest the fact that women cant

work in lingerie stores. Clients must discuss their bras and underwear with male shopkeepers. Its a

provocation, a taunt, explains Reem Asaad, Professor of Economics and the organizer of the protest.

And theres much more: we are claiming a new role in society, demanding more rights. We are tired

of waiting. Things move slowly, but we are impatient.

And yet, since the beginning of King Abdullahs reign in 2005, things have been changing for Saudi

women like never before: the king has opened government offices, allowing access to jobs that wereuntil lately unthinkable, and granting scholarships to a growing number of female students to study

overseas. A year ago, Nuor al Faiz became the first woman vice-minister, and seven women were

chosen as councilors in the Shura, the advisory body to the King.

Small revolutions in a very conservative country: however, for many, these changes are not enough.

Things are not different from 30-40 years ago, says Wajeha al Huwaidar, a well-known activist in the

Kingdom. The women at the top are there because their husbands or fathers allowed them to be

there. The law hasnt changed: we still need permission from our fathers or our husbands to work or

to leave the country. And there are still so many obstacles. Khlood agrees: of her 300 employees,

only three are women. Its difficult to employ more until social norms change: Today, every female

employee has to work in a separate office from the men. They need drivers to bring them to work.

And you could lose them in an instant if the husband or the father takes back his permission. Youcant race with a broken car: the car must be fixed first.

These changes require time, says Banadar Al Aiban, President of the Human Rights Commission, the

kings appointee to that post. The changes cant be traumatic. Progress must be gradual: this is the

only way to avoid tensions. Al Aiban doesnt say it specifically, but when he speaks of tensions he is

referring to the state-sponsored Wahhabi religion. It is upon the alliance with the religious

conservatives that the Saud Dynasty has established the foundations of its power. This is a link from

which it cannot extract itself and that some of the overtures of King Abdullah are putting to the test.

Translation

From Lingerie to Business Deals: Saudi Women in Rebellion

Transl. from the original, Dalla lingerie agli affari: la rivolta delle saudite, by Francesca

Caferri, originally published in La Repubblica, 16 Feb. 2010

See the original here:

http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2010/02/16/dalla-lingerie-agli-affari-la-

rivolta-delle.html

http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2010/02/16/dalla-lingerie-agli-affari-la-rivolta-delle.htmlhttp://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2010/02/16/dalla-lingerie-agli-affari-la-rivolta-delle.htmlhttp://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2010/02/16/dalla-lingerie-agli-affari-la-rivolta-delle.htmlhttp://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2010/02/16/dalla-lingerie-agli-affari-la-rivolta-delle.html

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Allah didnt want to overwhelm women with too many roles, explains one of the most prominent

Wahhabi spokesmen, Sheik Abdulaziz Bin Saleh al-Fawzan, when asked about his position regarding

womens rights. In Islam, men and women dont compete, they complete each other: the wife is

charged with taking care of the household, and the husband with providing for her.

Thats a vision that seems at odds with todays world: Its no longer an issue of being bored or being

able to afford luxuries, explains Hala al-Hoshan of Al Nahda, the oldest NGO in the country. Its thatthe economy requires women to change their role: families can no longer survive on only one

income. At Al Nahda, the top priority today is career training for young adults: they offer

telemarketing training courses and programs for becoming an IT professional to offer technical

support to people with computer problems. These programs received additional funding from the Bill

and Melissa Gates Foundation. Change is happening; its just slower than what we would like, says

Al-Hoshan. Dr. Maha al-Munefaa, physician and advisor to the Shura, is also convinced. There are

two forces in action: one that works from above and one that works from below. The one that works

from above is the King. The one that works from below are the women who are studying, the Internet,

and satellite television. Maha is already a pioneer in her field: in the hospital, she works side by side

with men and women, a situation that would be unthinkable in other places. She also walks through

the streets around the hospital without an abaya, protected only by her white labcoat. This is a

freedom that increasingly more women, according to newspapers, want to tasteto the point ofpretending to be nurses in order to do so.

RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA - DAL NOSTRO INVIATO FRANCESCA CAFERRI