Recently I read a very interesting interview in Sayidaty magazine. The person interviewed was a Saudi businesswoman who is the first woman to have invested in real estate. Her interest in this field is attributed to her late father who made great contributions to architectural planning of Jeddah. The interview covered important details about her work and the difficulties she has faced and in the end, her opinion of Saudi women both present and future. Part of the article was a picture of the woman, standing next to what appeared to be a large poster in her office of one of her projects.
All was well but as I finished reading the interview, I noticed something. There was no reference to the woman’s name or even her late father’s who was described as “one of the Kingdom’s renowned businessmen.” There was absolutely no justification for leaving out the name of this successful woman. The interview caught readers’ attention with the catchy phrase, “First Saudi Businesswoman.” The writer seemed very keen to emphasize the fact that she was the first in the field rather than making sure that her name was included.
This reminded me of a woman I met once at a social gathering. She was a caterer in one of Riyadh’s five-star hotels. She introduced herself as the “First Saudi Woman Caterer.” It was interesting for some non-Saudis to hear this title and so they asked her more about what she did. She explained how she had been given an opportunity since it was the first of its kind — but she failed to explain the nature of her job and what she actually did.
I often think that using expressions such as “the first” or “the only” shows how the ego gets in our way. People seem to think that using these expressions makes them and what they do important. Some are obviously not satisfied by merely saying what they do but rather use the words to impress people.
It is true that using such words and phrases does occasionally help to attract attention. The media depends quite a lot on such things. People use them solely for attention as though the public would not be interested in what one does unless he or she were God’s one and only gift to the world.
It’s funny to think about it in this way but consider the perils when one depends too much on them. Such as a writer omitting the interviewee’s name or the speaker ignoring the main theme. One can never be sure of breaking ground without first exploring and investigating.
I have, by the way, just heard about three women who were all “the first Saudi woman scuba diver.” As I write this, I know I won’t be “the first Saudi personnel analyst or Saudi TV anchor” but I may be the “first Saudi woman writer to write about these amplifying phrases.”
Still, I can never be sure, can I?