I usually rise at around the time of the call to the Fajr prayer, when most of the city is still fast asleep. During those first few moments, I like to put my day into focus, making a sort of mental road map that I follow for the rest of my waking hours. I almost always imagine myself in my new house far away from here, looking cheerful and proud. This has been one of my ambitions for a long time, something that I may never achieve, but something that keeps me going even during the hardest moments. I would decorate it like they do on television in the soap operas I watch and I would have a big kitchen with lots of modern appliances. My walls would be painted brightly and there would be three rooms downstairs.
I get out of bed with difficulty these days, because I am getting old. I delay having my morning shower to the evening and instead quickly wash and pray. I go to the kitchen just after five and wake my husband and son up on my way down. While they get themselves ready, I make a simple breakfast consisting of eggs, cheese, milk and milk bread. We all eat together and discuss our plans for the day.
The thing that I look forward to the most is going to work. I work at the Saudi Lighting Company. This is the first factory in the industrial area of Riyadh to open a women’s section. Actually, I don’t think there is another place like it in my country. Just the very thought of getting out of the house and doing something productive with my time makes a very big difference to my life. I really never stop thanking God for giving me this wonderful chance. It might sound strange to some people as to why I think this way when they feel it is better to stay at home, but work has given me a sense of purpose that I never had before. I take so much pride in my ability to work and I know that all the other women at the factory feel the same way.
When I have time in the mornings I carefully choose what I am going to wear that day. Even though I don’t have that many clothes, I like to dress up and sometimes even put on some make-up when I am in the mood. The company bus arrives at around 6:15 and I am already outside waiting, with my abaya on, at least five minutes early.
My shift begins at seven exactly. I work on the assembly line and when I first arrived I used to put parts of fluorescent lights together. Now I work with testing the finished light to make sure it works. I take the light fitting and attach it to a power supply and see if it lights up or not. The ones that work are handed over to another of my colleagues who packs them in boxes, but those that have a fault are sent somewhere else where the problem is identified. I love my job, because each month we do something different. We even have a woman engineer who repairs and maintains all the machines. It’s like having our own world in the factory where we are responsible for everything we do. In fact, our section has done better than the men’s section and the management has expanded it, making us all feel confident about our future. It really is a good feeling to do better than the men.
I got my job through a friend who was already working in the factory and convinced me to try. My husband has been unemployed for seven years. He used to have a very good job with a high salary in the Eastern Province where we lived for over a decade. When he got laid off, I was teaching at a kindergarten and had to leave my job in order to return to Riyadh. My son, Abdul Aziz, was at private school and I was determined that he would continue his education. Life is very expensive and so I was desperate to get a job. It’s not so easy being a woman when you try to get work. Most opportunities are for doctors or teachers, but things are changing and now even women who are not very educated can dream to work. Alhamdulillah, I tried my luck and ended up working here.
Most people probably think that my kind of work is boring but I really enjoy it. It is a different kind of feeling seeing a product that you have helped to build. Sometimes when I am out around the city and I see tall buildings all lit up with fancy lights, I wonder to myself if those are lights that I have helped to make. I joke with my husband that Riyadh would be a dark place without me. Even women like me have a part to play in helping our country run. I really like to feel responsible for making that difference.
We all work together at the factory as a family. We share our problems and our sorrows and this makes life a little easier. Most of the women are in my situation and need money to run their houses. Some who are younger are paying for the education of their brothers and others have parents who are sick and cannot support themselves. It is so much better to work than to feel helpless and stuck at home.
We have a break between 9:30 a.m. and 10 and we all go to the mess to share our food and our troubles. Many of us bring fruit, bread or whatever we can and the atmosphere is like a party. I really look forward to this morning break. Many of us don’t have that much time to socialize outside of working hours so it is a treat to be around people other than family.
Work ends at 3:00, and home is 10 minutes away, but by the time I arrive home it is 3:45. The bus is crowded with many of the women and dropping them all off takes a long time. My son arrives at 2:00. and does his homework. I pray and fix lunch for the three of us which is usually the leftovers from the night before. I am too tired to cook and usually have a nap for a couple of hours. I wake at dusk in time for the Maghreb prayer and watch a bit of television. I love watching fashion programs as well as the news, because there is always something interesting to see that I can discuss at work. I like the feeling of being up to date with things.
Most days I go out and visit my family. My mother is a widow, so I try to put a little bit of cash aside for her in order to get her what she needs. I do her basic shopping which makes me feel happy and I am proud that she doesn’t have to rely on anyone else and I can help her out even in a small way. I come back home at around 10:30 p.m. or 11:00 and begin to cook dinner. I try to keep things simple during the week, like “foul with tameez” and cheese, although I spend a lot more time cooking on the weekends. I then try and clean up most of the house, leaving the major cleaning and laundry to weekends and manage to get to bed at about 1:00 a.m. I spend my last few waking moments thinking about leaving this rented place and owning my house. I see the future with my son as a doctor in a white coat with a nice girl for a wife. I fall off to sleep with thoughts of what the world must be like beyond Saudi Arabia and whether I too will see it one day...
— As told to Lubna Hussain
