AFTER the famous Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EPCCI) board of directors election in 2006 in which six women, including myself, ran for seats on the chamber’s board of directors, I have developed a habit of Googling my name. Don’t get me wrong — this habit is not out of vanity but out of mere fascination. The elections were covered in great depth by both the foreign and domestic media as they were seen as a turning point for Saudi women but they also got a lot of negative publicity. While some wrote positively about us brave Saudi women, others weren’t as optimistic. Whether negative or positive, I found it interesting to read the different opinions people had of our bold move to take part in the elections and of the general perception of Saudi women. All in all it was informative and interesting.
One of the articles however really stood out. It had my name in a list that contained the names of thousands of people from around the world. The project was titled “Stardust” and it was (or at least I thought) sending, via a NASA ship, a digital disk with all of our names engraved in it to outer space.
I was thrilled yet suspicious of the information I came across. I checked out the NASA website and to my surprise, there really was a spaceship called Stardust that was carrying my name and thousands of others into space. In the beginning I thought to myself “Look at how famous the media has made me: My name is being sent into outer space because I am famous in my country.” My celebration was short lived. I soon remembered that I was an active subscriber of Planetary Society magazine and my name was randomly chosen as a thank you gesture for my early interest in space.
Dear Nadia,
Tell me about fasting during Ramadan. It sounds very spiritual.
— Joan, Australia
Dear Joan,
Fasting is considered an opportunity to earn the approval of Allah, to wipe out our previous sins and to understand the sufferings of the poor. Fasting is also to train oneself how to control appetites and avoid food addiction. Fasting is also the fourth pillar of Islam. It requires that a person to abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset. While voluntary fasting is common on Mondays and Thursdays, the required fasting is during the entire month of Ramadan.
Children, old people, young women during their monthly cycle, and the sick are not required to fast. The sick and young women who are menstruating can compensate for missed days during Ramadan by fasting on any other days of the year.
Dear Nadia,
Is henna painting popular in the Middle East as it is in India and Asia? I am very much interested.
— Alexandra, Cape Town
Dear Alexandra,
There is a saying in the Middle East “There is no plant dearer to Allah than henna” and some Muslim girls are even named after it. The meaning implies softness and delicacy. Many people do not know that henna is not just for body painting as a natural dye but also a favored fragrance. Henna was used as medicine in the old days. Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) used it to dye his hair and beard, and his wives and daughters used it on occasions such as Eid or weddings. Nowadays it’s almost the same ritual... women spend hours applying henna to each others’ hands and then waiting for it to dry. Henna designs started off as a central dot in the palm of the hand and end of the fingers. Designs vary from culture to culture — from birds and plants to hearts and nowadays even hip hop insignia.