Events over a week ago that were reported in the press and which were maddeningly not followed through by those reporting on them have still not settled in my already agitated palate.

In the first case, the story related to the events on the 2006 Saudi IPO summit that was summarily canceled moments before it was scheduled to open. Participants were denied entry to the venue, and told that permission was not granted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to hold such an event.

Now this is after invitations had been sent worldwide and the list of attendees boasted some impressive credentials. Financial and banking experts from Europe and Asia were in full force, including the head of the business development sector of the London Stock Exchange who could have shed some light on the reasons for the pathetic showing of our stock market.

But no, officials in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry felt otherwise, and went ahead with the decision to cancel the event. What defies logic is that one of the scheduled speakers was the deputy minister in this same ministry. A classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing. Undoubtedly, those invited left this land with a sour taste that would not be easily removed.

Now who exactly issued the cancellation order from this ministry and why was he allowed to get away with it? At a time when the country is trying to encourage foreign investment, this individual’s actions have set us back a few years. And what is this nonsense about permissions to hold economic summits? I just hope that the deputy minister gets to the bottom of this fiasco and finds a suitable working environment for that narrow-minded bureaucrat. Like the Empty Quarter maybe, where he can possibly do no harm.

In the second case, and one that still causes bile to rise in my stomach, a speaker from King Saud University at an international medical seminar at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center insisted that all women — which included medical and media professionals — leave the room before he would consider entering the hall and offer his presentation.

While some of the women participants initially objected to this insane demand, they were eventually booted out to the expressed satisfaction of the speaker Dr. Yousef Al-Ahmed.

Here’s where I think a different scenario should have taken place. If the good doctor was so petrified at the sight of women in the audience, he should have been isolated in some back room and allowed to speak through video conferencing. The organizers simply chickened out in the face of the holier-than-thou message thrown around by such people who end up distorting Islam giving their own interpretations for everything. And the women should not have got up and left. Period.

Women...no one can fight for your rights unless you yourselves are prepared to stand up and demand them. This was an international medical seminar and not some sleazy nightclub act. By walking out, the female attendees caused grave harm to the cause of women everywhere. They had every right to be there, and yet were cowered by some stern messages from a speaker who should not have been given the right to speak. And needless to say, provide him with the fuel to carry out such irrational edicts at future times and places. Had he been put firmly in his little corner by the organizers and had the lady doctors and journalists simply refused to leave, I would have given credibility to this seminar. It was a sham, and unfortunately, the unwilling participants were women!

It is no secret that the government of King Abdullah is strenuously working hard to encourage foreign investment and promote the rights of women. And yet amongst our midst, there are those who act to the contrary. It is time they are stopped...full stopped!