Hello
I saw the Newsnight report on Saudi Arabia, focusing on the lives of women who live there
(news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9436095.stm).
I have to say, I have never seen such biased reporting in all my life. The reporter obviously had a set agenda and fed every Western-propagated stereotype that exists out there. I have lived for 22 years in Saudi Arabia, and go back every single year to spend the summer or winter holidays with my family. So I think it is fair to say that I know Saudi Arabia a bit better than your reporter.
There were so many blatant lies told in this piece, such as:
- Until recently women in Saudi Arabia could only work as teachers - excuse my French but WHAT CRAP. Well over a decade ago I held jobs in Jeddah such as graphic designer, and newspaper editor of the largest English daily in Saudi. In both instances I had to work with male colleagues, and it was never an issue so long as all the parties concerned maintained a modest dress code (something the West would do well to learn from Saudi Arabia - ogling at your female colleague's cleavage and butt cheeks doesn't usually make for a productive, mutually respectful and safe work environment).
- Women in Saudi need their male guardian's permission to work - again, a whole lot of BS. I have never ever been asked for my male guardian's permission before I was offered a job.
- Women have to buy all their undergarments from stores that are manned by male salespersons - the Saudi woman you were tailing in this regard seems to be clueless that there are shops in Saudi that are manned by females, where men are not even allowed to enter; there is even a female Naomi and Body Shop in Saudi.
One of the issues you chose not to address in this regard is the fact that, its all very well for Saudi women to complain that there arent enough female salespersons; however, how many of them would step in to those jobs themselves? They look down upon such work, and are used to being served, not serving others. Until their mindset changes, and they become more pro-active and hands-on, they will continue to enjoy the luxury of complaining about problems without actually being part of the solution. What is stopping these women from setting up shops w/ female staff? These women own so many businesses, ask them why they dont hire more women?
- Unaccompanied girls are not allowed to leave the house - well, all I can say to that is your reporter must have been blind while travelling the country, because wherever I go is teeming with unaccompanied girls. Every restaurant, mall, and public place is covered with them.
- Women who cant afford chauffeurs cant work because they cant drive - ever heard of public transport? Whenever I am in Saudi Arabia, I hate troubling my brother or father to take me anywhere, so I cab it. Easy, quick, affordable, and safe. So these women who are so helpless that they cant work because they dont employ drivers need to again become more proactive and stop blaming their country for every sneeze and headache that they have.
- Beyond teaching in an all-girls' school or college, career opportunities are limited - I have met women who work in fashion as buyers for French brands; women who run businesses; women working in journalism; as interior designers, graphic designers and fashion designers; female doctors and dentists; and so on. In which country exactly was your reporter may I ask???
- Customs such as arranged marriages, underage marriages, and polygamy still prevail - if ever there was a sentence that sums up your narrow minded view and approach, this has got to be it. Your reporter has made it clear that if she doesn't like something or doesn't agree with something, then it has got to be bad and must be reported as such. In other words, all things Western are good, and everyone else must do as we do. The world is a varied place, with many different faiths, cultures, languages and dress codes; just because you subscribe to one of those doesn't automatically make the rest of them evil. That is like saying that, because I like chocolate ice cream, all other flavours are evil. Just because you cant understand polygamy or the concept of arranged marriages doesn't mean that its an evil; all it does mean is that you need to broaden your understanding and look at things from another person's point of view. Dig deeper into the culture and history of a place and try to be more understanding, rather than making up your mind at the outset.
As far as under-age marriage is concerned, look at your own society with its underage rampant sexual affairs and the immature, irresponsible teenage mothers that are a direct result of that. At least marriage gives a girl her rights, and protects the children that result from that marriage. When I was in hospital in the UK giving birth to my first child, that same day a teenager gave birth to a baby and refused to even look at or hold it, immediately putting it up for adoption, thus adding to the taxpayer's burden and increasing the drain on the country's resources, not to mention the trauma that child was no doubt going to experience. But your reporter would prefer that over underage marriage right? How blinkered can one get?
- Women cannot leave the house without wearing an abaya - Again, if the blindness of your reporter ever lifts, she might see that numerous women can and do wander around without an abaya. The truth is that, a woman in Saudi prefers wearing the abaya in public because it makes her feel safe, she is shielded from the stares of every Tom Dick and Harry, and, as one British, non-Muslim personal trainer I met at the airport commented, it is a very elegant and beautifully tailored garment, and makes a woman feel like a woman (she was taking her abaya back to the UK with the intention of wearing it during the autumn months). In your report is a clip of women in a mall, all of them covered from top to toe. Again, your bias was shocking, as malls are full of young girls with their abayas open, their clothes on display, and not a headscarf in sight (after all, if they are going to spend a small fortune on having their hair styled, its got to be on show right?). But we didnt see that did we?
As for the lady with the victim mentality who moaned about Saudi Arabia being the world's largest female prison, my message to her is that the prison is in your mind. If you are proactive, intelligent, and determined, there is almost nothing you cant achieve in Saudi. The trick is to realise and celebrate your own faith and culture, and work with it, rather than try to ape the fatally flawed Western model of society with all its ills covered up by a facade of irresponsible freedom without any consequences (there are consequences, but the state ends up shouldering them and passing on the burden to the already drowning taxpayers).
Of course, Saudi Arabia is not a utopia, and like any other country, it has its share of good and bad. But your reporter went in with the sole purpose of creating a bad where it didn?t exist, exaggerating the bad that does exist, and completely ignoring all that is good in Saudi Arabia.
Sure, it would be great if women could drive, but judging from the women I have met there, many of them are simply not ready for such responsibility, and what?s worse, look down upon activities where they end up doing work instead of being served. All those women you interviewed ? I challenge them to let go of their string of maids and drivers, and take charge of all the work they leave behind, including filling up their car with petrol at the station rather than getting a man to do it. They would be horrified to have to do such work.
But in the meantime, where?s the harm in complaining? At least it gets them on TV.
Safia, a SAUDI woman