JEDDAH, 18 January 2004 — Three hundred women were present after lunch to hear women speakers talk about the obstacles facing Saudi businesswomen. The session began with Dr. Thurayya Arrayed, planning adviser to Saudi Aramco, talking about how Saudi women were — and still are — a driving force in the economy.
“To speed up economic growth, we need proper training and employment of women,” she said. She pointed to the pull between two factors in our economic development — the need to progress and the fear of change. “Policy and decisionmakers try to keep the effects of change positive and manageable.”
Demographic factors, Dr. Arrayed said, represent both a challenge and an opportunity for the Saudi economy. “Our population is growing rapidly and though we have a large young population, we have the problem of education not answering the needs of the job market and also the difficulty in implementing Saudization. Furthermore, women are a marginal element and not seen as part of the solution. We are not getting the maximum return on our investment in educating women.”
According to her, the solution is for women to take active roles and change their concepts of who they are, what their rights are and what their role is. “The next step is for women to become fully integrated citizens and to follow the laws that protect her rights according to Islam. Another thing is to simplify women’s entry into business.”
Dr. Haifa Jamal Allail, dean of Effat College, gave some background information and statistical data on the status of our economy and women’s place in it. “There are many discriminatory practices that hold women back,” she concluded.
During the question and answer session that followed, several social issues were raised — driving for one, which received vigorous support from the women. When Dr. Selwa Al-Hazza, head of ophthalmology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh and the moderator of the session, said that she felt that society was not ready to see a woman behind the wheel, even if she were allowed to be, Dr. Arrayed disagreed and said, “If you don’t want your daughters to drive, don’t stop others.”
This was followed by a round of applause.