JEDDAH, 3 February 2005 — As is normal with conferences and other events in Saudi Arabia, the sexes were segregated at a workshop which concluded on Tuesday at King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU). The reason for the workshop was to find ways to implement Crown Prince Abdullah’s document on higher education.
The sexual segregation annoyed a number of women participants from neighboring Gulf countries. The Gulf women refused to join their colleagues in the women’s section and remained with the men.
Dr. Rafiea Ghabash, the president of Gulf University in Bahrain, said the segregation was unjustified and limited women’s participation. She considered it an exclusion of women at a time when there is a need to build trust through integration and cooperation.
“We respect local traditions but the role of women must be activated and increased because the discussions are about human and social issues of importance to women,” she said.
Dr. Ghabash also noted that only four Gulf women were involved in the workshop, but she said perhaps that was due to bad timing rather than anything else.
More than 60 research papers were presented in 21 sessions and three panel discussions. A total of 11 women participated in the workshop as session chairpersons, lecturers, and panel members on the same stage with men. A number of women were also on the organizing committees.
A source at KAAU said the four Gulf women were seated with the men because of protocol. “Their rank as university presidents and dignitaries meant that they had to be seated on the same level as their male counterparts,” the source said.
As for the small number of women participants from the Gulf, Dr. Ibrahim Kutbi, the chairman of the workshop’s organizing committee, said this was not the fault of the committee because open invitations had been sent to all the universities in the Gulf.
A number of Saudi women disagreed with Dr. Ghabash’s criticisms. “I don’t think that being segregated from the men affected our participation. We had an equal opportunity to ask questions and make comments and we were not excluded at all,” said Dr. Afaf Al-Bar, associated professor of Arabic language at King Abdul Aziz University. “What Dr. Ghabash said reflects her opinion, but we have our traditions and customs here,” she said.
