How a visually impaired talented Saudi realized her full potential

Special How a visually impaired talented Saudi realized her full potential
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Among the many courses Ebtehal Al-Nasir completed, she had received a bachelor's degree in law with first class honors. (Supplied)
Special How a visually impaired talented Saudi realized her full potential
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Ebtehal Al-Nasir with other Qimam Fellowship students. (Supplied)
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Updated 29 May 2022

How a visually impaired talented Saudi realized her full potential

How a visually impaired talented Saudi realized her full potential
  • Through tailored training and mentoring, Ebtehal Al-Nasir is building a successful law career
  • Multiple schemes are helping improve quality of life and opportunities for Saudis with disabilities

DUBAI: Ebtehal Al-Nasir was in her first year of medical school when she lost her sight as a result of illness. She had long dreamed of becoming a doctor but suddenly it felt like a successful career in any field was now out of her reach.

“I wondered what would happen to the hard work I had put in for years,” Al-Nasir, who is originally from Qurayyat, a city in northern Saudi Arabia, told Arab News.

“I heard a lot of negative, depressing things at that time. Among them: I should be grateful that I graduated high school and that a lot of people are doing well with just a high-school degree; university is hard, how are you going to study when you can’t see? And many other similar discouraging words.

“I would hear this and yet, in my eyes, I still saw my dreams, my ambitions, my goals, my effort and my toil. Should all that have been in vain? At that time, I made a decision: I said I would finish my studies no matter the difficulties I would face.”

People with disabilities account for 7.1 percent of the Saudi population, according to the General Authority for Statistics, including 811,610 who are classified as visually impaired,.

In an effort to ensure all citizens and residents enjoy a good quality of life, the Saudi government has prioritized efforts to preserve the rights of people with disabilities by enhancing the support and services available to them to ensure that their dignity is maintained. In the process, it has also worked to challenge the negative attitudes that can surround disability.

Refusing to allow blindness to define her or limit her potential, Al-Nasir and her family sought out charitable organizations and institutions that could help her adapt to life with impaired vision and, later, universities that were suitably equipped to accept students with sight issues.

Specialists at the National Association of the Blind, also known as Kafeef, and Mubseroon, a charity for people with visual disabilities, taught her how to use braille, a touch-based system of reading and writing that uses patterns of raised dots to represent the letters of the alphabet, and how to walk safely and independently using a white cane.




Ebtehal Al-Nasir lost her sight in her first year of medical school, but soon learned braille to compensate. (Shutterstock)

They also showed her how to operate specially adapted digital devices, including a smartphone and computer, using touch and sound.

These tools, together with the unstinting support of her family, gave Al-Nasir the confidence not only to return to her studies but to excel among her peers.

“I went back to university and left medicine to study business administration,” she said. “I specialized in law, which I had a passion for.

“That year, I was so grateful to receive a bachelor’s degree in law from the School of Business Administration at Northern Border University, with first class honors, and I was a top student in my college.”

In addition, Al-Nasir graduated with a diploma in English from the International Academy for Human Development in the UK, and was chosen for the Qimam Fellowship, an intensive, 12-day training program launched in 2018 to empower high-potential university students in Saudi Arabia through one-on-one mentoring and career guidance.




Ebtehal Al-Nasir with a display of some of the numerous awards she has received. (Supplied)

She is also an accredited trainer with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, a Saudi government agency.

All in all, in the seven years since she lost her sight, Al-Nasir has completed more than 60 courses and participated in a wide range of forums and events, the most prominent of which included representing her university during two consecutive rounds of a competition organized by the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration.

She said that earning a place in the Qimam Fellowship was a particularly transformative experience, which helped redefine her life goals.

“I had the opportunity to connect with inspiring CEOs” through the fellowship, she said. “One of the guest speakers that came to deliver a talk about their personal journey was especially inspiring for me. They also had a disability.

“When I was accepted into Project1932, I told my mentor about this speaker and he actually helped me connect with him directly.”




Ebtehal Al-Nasir with other Qimam Fellowship students. (Supplied)

Project1932, which is designed to empower the emerging young generation of future Saudi leaders, matches selected high-potential candidates with experienced business leaders to guide them during their first years of higher education and professional careers.

“The outreach was welcome and I found it fascinating that I could connect with someone of his caliber and start to build my network with inspirational thought leaders that I met through Qimam,” Al-Nasir said.

During their one-on-one coaching sessions, she was grateful for her mentor’s honesty about the difficulties she would likely face along her chosen career path and what development goals she should focus on.

“He gave me very specific advice,” she said. “I took it seriously and worked on his advice and made massive improvements. This has truly helped me develop my skills and capabilities.”

Al-Nasir has since interned at leading law firms, and volunteered with the charitable Princess Al-Anoud Foundation and the Saudi Association of Special Education, also known as GESTER, a scientific association at King Saud University that offers tuition and support services for people with disabilities and other special needs.




Ebtehal Al-Nasir has been rendering voluntary work to help other students with disabilities. (Supplied)

This voluntary work reflects Al-Nasir’s long-running desire to help others achieve their goals. During her studies at Northern Border University, for example, she and some friends established a society that promoted inclusion and lobbied for better services for students with disabilities.

“After losing my vision, I wanted to continue my undergraduate studies at a university that was qualified for people with visual disabilities,” she said.

“This led me to set a goal on the first day there, even though it was not equipped for the disabled, which was not to graduate until I had spread awareness, even if only minimally, about the culture of the visually impaired.”

The Saudi government has developed a legal framework designed to protect people with disabilities from harm, promote equality in education, and provide them with social care, rehabilitation services and healthcare.

Authorities have also introduced employment initiatives, improvements to mobility, transportation and parking, support for sign language, and housing and mobile services for people with disabilities, while also working to ensure that they are able to participate in decision-making processes.

The Authority for Persons with Disabilities was established in 2018 to improve quality of life for disabled people in the Kingdom and empower them to participate in society in inclusive and effective ways.




Saudi Arabia's Authority for Persons with Disabilities is tasked with empowering citizens with disabilities "to participate in society in inclusive and effective ways." (APD photo)

It is part of the National Transformation Program, an economic action plan launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development and diversification agenda.

“The Authority for Persons with Disabilities … was formed to empower persons with disabilities and enhance their role in the Kingdom,” said Al-Nasir.

She added that among other things it “aims to enable persons with disabilities to obtain suitable employment and educational opportunities, to achieve independence and integration as actors in society that contribute to the economic development of our country.”

Today, for the thousands of Saudis who, like Al-Nasir, live with disabilities, no ambition or dream is too great for them to achieve as far as education, employment or professional advancement is concerned.

“As the crown prince said, the sky is the limit for our ambitions,” Al-Nasir said.

 


Jordan’s Queen Rania visits Bizat Al-Reeh exhibition, Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah

Jordan’s Queen Rania visits Bizat Al-Reeh exhibition, Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah
Updated 22 sec ago

Jordan’s Queen Rania visits Bizat Al-Reeh exhibition, Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah

Jordan’s Queen Rania visits Bizat Al-Reeh exhibition, Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah
  • Charity official hails queen’s attendance in highlighting event, emphasizing its global reach
  • Jordanian royal also performed Umrah in Makkah, held iftar banquet for women

JEDDAH: Jordan’s Queen Rania on Monday attended the opening of the 22nd Bizat Al-Reeh exhibition at Jeddah Superdome, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Proceeds from the six-day event, being held under the patronage of Princess Adila bint Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, will go toward the National Charity Foundation for Home Healthcare of which the princess is chairwoman.
Foundation vice president, Abeer Qabbani, welcomed the queen and noted that her attendance gave added significance to the exhibition and emphasized its global reach, evidenced by this year’s strong international presence.
Bizat Al-Reeh — organized by the Saudi Ministry of Culture as part of the Kingdom’s Ramadan celebrations — plays host to at least 170 local and regional participants from more than 15 countries.
Jordan River Designs was making its debut at this year’s event with a display of handcrafted heritage items.
Other products being showcased include home accessories, jewelry, food, and fashion items and a series of activities allow visitors to interactively browse displays and artworks.
Queen Rania also visited the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah produced by Diriyah Biennale Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 2020 by the Ministry of Culture.
The foundation’s chief executive officer, Aya Al-Bakree, showed the queen around the gallery which hosts more than 300 artworks, including 40 pieces created by international institutions and around 200 heritage items produced locally that feature several valuable historical artifacts from the Two Holy Mosques.
Titled “Awwal Bait” (“First House”) in reference to the Kaaba in Makkah, the first edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale features more than 60 established and emerging artists from around the world, at least 60 new commissions, 280 artifacts, and 15 artworks exhibited for the first time.
In addition, the Jordanian royal visited Makkah to perform Umrah and held an iftar banquet for a number of Jordanian women, part of her Ramadan Umrah mission consisting of 500 women.
 


Restoring Kingdom’s oldest mosques to connect past and future

Restoring Kingdom’s oldest mosques to connect past and future
Updated 1 min 6 sec ago

Restoring Kingdom’s oldest mosques to connect past and future

Restoring Kingdom’s oldest mosques to connect past and future
  • 'Our ancient ancestors were natural-born architects,' says heritage researcher
  • Baha's Al-Safa Mosque will be restored with natural materials from the stones of the Sarawat Mountains

RIYADH: Two of the oldest mosques in Jeddah and Baha, Al-Khidr Mosque and Al-Safa Mosque, will be renovated under the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for Developing Historical Mosques. 

As part of the project’s second phase, Jeddah’s Al-Khidr Mosque will be restored as an architectural masterpiece while increasing its size by an additional 355 square meters, with updates to accommodate modern architectural developments. 

For over 700 years, Al-Khidr Mosque has been an integral part of Al-Balad historic district, and is considered one of the 30 most important historic mosques across Saudi Arabia. 

Built 1,350 years ago, Baha's Al-Safa Mosque will be restored with natural materials from the stones of the Sarawat Mountains. 

Saleh Al-Mosned, a researcher in heritage and history for over 50 years, says preserving historical monuments is important because it connects the present to the past. 

“It is important to preserve an ancient era — preserve it for us, and for future generations to show how the design of Islamic architecture was in the past, and what materials were used during that era, whether the buildings were mosques, corners, or libraries. 

“Our ancient ancestors, teachers and builders, were natural-born architects,” he added. 

Al-Mosned visited the renovated Al-Shafi’i Mosque and Al-Mimar Mosque in Jeddah, and said that the restoration of mosques attracted tourists curious to explore the Kingdom and its architecture. 

“The renovations were with the same primary raw materials with which the two mosques were built, from carved stone, wooden crowns, ceilings made of wood, and the windows and the old inscriptions and decoration,” said Al-Mosned. 

“Mosques are one of the main reasons for bringing tourists to the city — to see the art and design of Islamic architecture and buildings that we have (from) centuries ago,” he added. 

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques serves four objectives that fall in line with Vision 2030: enhancing the religious and cultural status of mosques, restoring historic mosques for worship and prayer, preserving the original features of historic mosques, and highlighting Saudi Arabia’s rich culture.

The project launched in 2018 and has an extensive restoration program for 130 mosques in 13 regions across the Kingdom.

The first phase of the project concluded successfully, with 30 mosques restored and updated in just over a year at a cost of more than SR50 million ($13.3 million).

By the end of phase two, launched in July 2022, 30 more mosques will be restored: six in the Riyadh region, five in the Makkah region, four in the Madinah region, three in the Asir region, two in the Eastern Province, two in Al-Jouf, two in Jazan, one in the Northern Borders region, one in Tabuk, one in Baha, one in Najran, one in Hail, and one in Qassim.


Azeri officials visit Qur’an printing complex in Madinah

Azeri officials visit Qur’an printing complex in Madinah
Updated 28 March 2023

Azeri officials visit Qur’an printing complex in Madinah

Azeri officials visit Qur’an printing complex in Madinah
  • During the meeting, both parties discussed bilateral relations and ways to promote them in the printing and translation of the Holy Qur’an
  • Pashazadeh and his accompanying delegation watched a visual presentation on the establishment of the complex

RIYADH: Secretary-General of King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an in Madinah Atef bin Ibrahim Al-Olayan recently met Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the grand mufti of Azerbaijan, and his delegation.
During the meeting, both parties discussed bilateral relations and ways to promote them in the printing and translation of the Holy Qur’an.
Pashazadeh and his accompanying delegation watched a visual presentation on the establishment of the complex, its ongoing work and plans to develop it.
They also reviewed the modern technologies used to print and translate the Holy Qur’an and the complex’s most prominent activities, in addition to the local and international awards it has won.
The delegation was briefed on the different translations and sizes of the Holy Qur’an that the complex has produced as part of its efforts to facilitate comprehension for non-Arabic speakers.
Saudi Arabia has printed more than 350 million copies of the Qur’an, translated the holy book into more than 76 international languages, and distributed copies to countries across the globe.
The complex has increased printing of the Qur’an by more than 100 percent in recent years, taking the number of copies it prints using the best paper annually to 20 million.


Saudi crown prince, in talks with Chinese president, recognizes Beijing’s role in renewal of ties with Iran

Saudi crown prince, in talks with Chinese president, recognizes Beijing’s role in renewal of ties with Iran
Updated 28 March 2023

Saudi crown prince, in talks with Chinese president, recognizes Beijing’s role in renewal of ties with Iran

Saudi crown prince, in talks with Chinese president, recognizes Beijing’s role in renewal of ties with Iran
  • During the call aspects of partnership between the Kingdom and China were reviewed

RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had a phone conversation on Tuesday with Chinese president Xi Jinping, where they emphasized the importance of relations the two countries.
The crown prince also expressed the Kingdom’s appreciation for the Chinese role and efforts to develop the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Saudi Press Agency reported.
For his part, the Chinese president praised the Kingdom’s role in strengthening Beijing’s relations with GCC countries and countries of the Middle East.
During the call, they reviewed aspects of partnership between the Kingdom and China, as well as joint efforts to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various fields.


Bus crash kills 20 in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region

Bus crash kills 20 in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region
Updated 28 March 2023

Bus crash kills 20 in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region

Bus crash kills 20 in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region
  • The bus had departed Khamis Mushayt and was heading to Abha

RIYADH: A bus crash killed 20 people on Monday and injured 29 more in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern region.

State TV Al-Ekhbariya said the accident occurred around 4 p.m. in Aqabat Shaar, in Asir province. The bus had departed Khamis Mushayt and was heading to Abha.

Reports indicated that problems with breaks on the bus led to a collision with a barrier at the end of a bridge, which caused it to overturn and catch fire.

The Aqabat Shaar is a 14 kilometers road that was opened over 40 years ago. Its construction included cutting through mountains and establishing 11 tunnels and 32 bridges, according to the Saudi Press Agency.