MAKKAH, 19 December 2005 — Princess Adila bint Abdullah urged women on Saturday to empower themselves in affairs that concern them. Apparently some women in the Kingdom are doing just that.
According to Al-Madinah Arabic daily, a common scene these days in Makkah is to see women tackling unemployment and starting their own businesses by turning their kitchens into restaurants.
Halema Mirza said that she started running her home-based restaurant when she failed to secure a decent job.
“I cook all types of food for my clients,” she said. “I cook Indian, Persian and Asian food. My business began to expand so much that I hired three Saudi females to assist me. I also hired a driver to deliver the food to customers.”
Halema said that she has her regular customers, and has even begun catering birthdays, wedding and the like. She charges SR50 per person for meals, and her business has become so popular she now requires reservations. All of this has been done without paid promotions. Simple word of mouth has sufficed.
“Many complemented my cooking,” said Halema, “and I thought of using that skill to benefit myself, especially because I was not able to hold a job after graduating. Then I thought of helping other unemployed women.”
Hafiza Bukhari, another enterprising cook, said that she started years ago. She said that the reason for her success in business is determination and doing a clean job, which earned her good reputation among customers.
“My father used to work in a restaurant,” said Bukhari. “When he got old, he taught me how to cook. I started cooking for neighbors and friends. When they started to complement my cooking, I thought of investing my talent and generate money out of it. Now my business is growing and I hired some of my relatives to help me.”
Bukhari said that her business should be booming during the Haj vacation.
“Saudi women should be proud of doing these jobs. It is better than staying unemployed. If a Saudi woman has a talent then she should invest in it,” said Bukhari, adding that she expected her business to pick up.
Home economics graduate Lamya Abdul Razzek said that she could not find a job for three years after she gradated from King Abdul Aziz University.
She said that because of her major, she thought of creating a business at home using her mother’s kitchen. She started to make Makkah-style sweets and sell them for weddings. She started small, selling what she makes to her friends.
As her business started to grow, she hired more people to help her in the kitchen to meet the growing demand.
So while the Kingdom continues to work on reforms to help empower women, at least a few of them have taken the initiative to empower themselves.
