A media representative recently approached me and asked if I could appear, without my hijab, in a live television debate to be aired by a leading Arab satellite station. When I told him I couldn’t do that, he said I would appear with my hair covered. At that point I told him it was none of his business to tell me what to wear. I said I could still participate in the debate but only over the telephone. He didn’t like the idea and got so angry he started criticizing me for not making use of the golden opportunity to appear on television.
Still not content, he began lecturing me on personal freedom and then directed his attack at the regime under which I live, saying that I grew up in a backward society and am afraid of my parents’ disapproval, and that Saudi society is terrorizing women.
I am sure that if I had agreed to his terms for appearing on his show, I would be a celebrity now, perhaps more famous than Princess Diana. The poor gentleman may not know I never aspired to fame. I have chosen to be myself, no more, no less.
I am writing this to show how some people persist in their mistaken views about Saudi women. People from this country and abroad still refuse to recognize and respect the status Saudi women have willingly chosen for themselves. They don’t recognize or appreciate the level of freedom, small as it may seem, enjoyed by Saudi women. For them we are helpless creatures unable to decide for ourselves, mostly submissive, our voices unheard and, above all, uncultured.
Faced with this difficult situation, Saudi women must either become an easy tool in the hands of those who want to steer them wherever they want or remain in the custody of those who have assumed the role of guardian, thinking, planning and speaking on their behalf.
A Saudi woman has every right to say no when faced with a situation where others try to impose on her what she doesn’t want to accept. When I refused to appear on television I did so because this is a matter that only concerns me and has nothing to do with the system of government, the cruelty of society or my parents’ authority over me. People have the right to hold their own convictions and are free to act in a way they deem fit. Others should stop issuing stereotypical judgments on Saudi women just because of their nationality and system of government.
Arab News From the Local Press 6 March 2003
