The right time and the right man — by this I mean the brilliant educator and friend, Professor Khidhr Olayan Al-Qurashi. He is now the deputy minister for girls’ educational affairs, following the merger of the Presidency of Girls’ Education with the Ministry of Education.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, who made this decision, is familiar with the working of this ministry of which he was once minister. In fact, it was he who opened the gates to modern education — a historic decision. His second decision is no less important, revolutionary or historic and the reasons were discussed by Professor Qurashi in a recent article in Al-Eqtisadiah.
The decision to proceed with the merger is in the public interest and will reduce waste and duplication. The professor also pointed out that the public wants action, not talk, and he leaves it to citizens to determine for themselves after seeing the projects undertaken in the near future. His policy, he says, is not to talk until he has achieved.
He goes on to say that he has organized committees in different areas of the country, with each one headed by a prince in that area. The committees will examine different aspects of the problems with one of the most important being the school buildings themselves. Though this is undeniably an important and vital concern, my knowledge of Professor Qurashi makes me optimistic about the future for girls’ education. He has spent some 10 years in Jeddah as director of education and the city’s citizens are well aware of what he planned and what he executed. No doubt that his efforts will stretch beyond the question of buildings to that of developing and modernizing education in the Kingdom. I imagine that he will also review and modernize the school curriculum.
I suggest that he study the possibility of giving Saudi women a greater role in the educational process. This is especially important since the technical and administrative cadres already exist and are in place. I also suggest that the supervision of the school buildings be under an independent organization — the private sector — whose job it would be to supervise the buildings as well as maintaining and modernizing them. Most definitely we do not want a repetition of tragedy in Makkah. I reiterate my appreciation of his statement that he will not speak until he has achieved. May it serve as a lesson for those who talk but never achieve!
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If you have $6,000 in your pocket and want a woman made to your own specifications, this is now possible. You have to be aware though that the woman is not a flesh and blood one but a silicon one! An American company has introduced a silicon doll that has all the required conditions of a beautiful woman in terms of height, weight, skin color etc.
Epps, a company based in San Diego, California, has manufactured this doll which is being called "The Real Doll". It is for sale only on the Internet. On the company website, they offer nine different models: The tall, athletic or full-figured — round, oval or long-faced and you can chose the color of hair, eyes, nails etc. The waiting list is long as manufacturing time is about four months and the factory produces only five dolls a week. The doll is delivered in a huge box with operating instructions.
Silicon dolls became common in the US in the late 1990s and have since moved on to Japan and Europe. The manufacturers have found that they are able to make every man’s dream of owning a beautiful, warm, obedient and inexpensive woman a reality.
A man may be embarrassed to disclose what he wants in a woman; further he may spend all his life searching for, and not finding, what he wants. The factory thus can make his dreams come true. What is strange is that some husbands have bought this silicon woman with the full knowledge and agreement of their wives; some families have gone even further and given her a place at the dining table, letting her become part of the family. One of the wives says that she has agreed to insure that her husband remains faithful to her and also that she can shred this "other" woman to pieces without being charged with murder.
A new society, it seems, is coming into existence. It includes a warm and obedient woman who will say the sweetest words to you at the mere press of a button — the problem is of course the thousands of dollars required — but you can pay in installments.
