JEDDAH, 6 December 2004 — The words of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, have raised hopes of new job opportunities among Saudi women. The prince welcomed Saudi women trainees to the Civil Aviation Academy but not everyone is excited about that.
During the formal inauguration of the academy on Friday, Prince Sultan said the academy would welcome female trainees as long as they conform to the Shariah. Women could come with their husbands or brothers for training.
“I think there are many job opportunities for Saudi women in Saudia. The jobs are suitable for us and conform to the Shariah,” said Marwa Ibrahim, a university graduate. She suggested such ground staff jobs as check-in and check-out counters, issuing tickets, or salespeople in duty-free shops could be done by women. “We could dress modestly and cover our hair as in the UAE and Bahrain. There are also administrative and clerical jobs,” she pointed out.
Nahla Muhammad whose degree is in nutrition immediately thought of the catering department. “That is an appropriate department for women and we could even work in a separate building,” she said.
Other girls wanted to take to the skies. “I wouldn’t mind working as a flight attendant on domestic flights where I wouldn’t have to spend the night away from home,” said Nouf. Although she would like to work on international flights, she realizes that that would be a problem not only because of our conservative culture but also because she would need permission from her male guardian.
Parents and husbands have other concerns.
“I would never allow my wife to be a stewardess, even on domestic flights,” said Ahmad. “Do you know what kind of passengers are on those planes?” As for ground staff, he would not mind if his wife dealt exclusively with women and families, or perhaps in customer service or as a phone salesperson.
One woman said: “As a concerned mother, I would be very worried about my daughter working either on a plane or as ground staff.” On the other hand, she felt that if women worked at the airport, it might make the place a more friendly environment for women.
Interestingly, none of the girls or the parents seemed to consider women working as pilots — even though Hanadi Hindi has become the first Saudi woman pilot-to-be.
All agree that working as flight attendants, whether male or female, is not easy. “I think Saudis working for Saudia are an asset. As the national carrier, they project the image of the airline and they should take pride in their work,” said an expatriate who is a former employee of Saudia.
