A visit to a book fair organized by King Saud University has failed to convince me that even a respected and well-known educational institution has learned to appreciate women’s contribution and to treat them with justice and equality.
The book fair reserved for women only two days while men were given two weeks. I had to juggle my schedule in order to find time to visit the fair and after doing so, I had to go alone because my husband was not allowed to accompany me.
The regulations say that men and women must have separate days and though my husband had plenty of time for visiting the fair, I was left with only a few hours to choose from. What on earth would have happened if I had been able to accompany my husband so we could be there together, check the different parts to examine the exhibition’s contents and consult each other on what books we ought to buy?
What is it that transforms the environment in a book fair so different from that in the bookshops and stationer’s shops scattered all over the city? They are regularly visited by both men and women, husband and wife, father and daughter, brother and sister or even women with only themselves for company? In these places, people move from one area to another, select the books or other materials they want and queue at desks to pay. Why are women allowed to go to markets but not allowed to accompany their husband or other male family member to a book fair?
The authorities and organizers who decided that two days for women to visit a book fair should have realized the difficulties involved — for example, transportation and the fact that many women work in addition to fulfilling their family responsibilities. The organizers should have considered the inconvenience that such a short period of time would lead to.
The initial impression one receives from looking at the schedule for the book fair is that it was not meant for women at all. It is as if all the effort put into the fair, including the extensive advertising campaign, was intended to send women one message: Forget about culture and confine yourselves to the kitchen and to fashion shows.
Why are we women treated like this? What is it about such events that makes the organizers insist on such sexual segregation? Men and women are everywhere together — in shops, restaurants, hospitals and other public places. Why such rigid segregation when it comes to book fairs? I wish the officials and organizers of these events would treat women as partners rather than as intruders. Please do not give self-confident and active women reasons for complaining; constant complaints and nagging make life bitter and unpleasant for everyone.
