NEW DELHI, 14 March 2004 — A five-member delegation of Saudi women scientists has completed a visit to India to “shatter the myth” surrounding women in Saudi Arabia. It is headed by Samheera Al-Abdullah, the dean of the drug monitoring unit at King Abdul Aziz University.
The Saudi delegation was here to attend a three-day conference from March 8 to 10 organized by the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies.
Marking International Woman’s Day, the conference theme was “Women in Science: Is the Glass Ceiling Disappearing?”
Its objective was to focus on challenges faced by women from classroom to laboratory.
The Saudi visitors were keen to challenge the perception that they are treated as second-class citizens at home. However, their approach was mostly defensive.
Thus when she was told of the marital abuse a large number of Indian women are subject to from being psychologically tormented to being burned to death, Hana Al-Nuaim, the head of computer sciences at King Abdul Aziz University, told Arab News: “Compared to the abuse they face, I think we are living in heaven at home.”
While both Saudi and Indian women acknowledged that Arab women have made little progress politically, they were quick to point out that the West also has residual difficulties in this area. “Even the United States has not had a woman president so far,” one delegate said.
When confronted with the stereotyped image of Saudi women as oppressed — as evidenced by the need for a male guardian in all manner of official transactions and the fact that they are not allowed to drive — the Saudi delegation insisted things were changing.
“Over the past decade, we have become more visible in various professional fields,” said Maha H. Al-Qunaibit, an assistant professor in chemistry from Riyadh.
Delegates denied this progress was due to international pressure on Saudi society. They said if Saudi women had not pushed for their rights, Western pressure would have had no effect.
Al-Qunaibit also dodged a question on the abaya women in Saudi Arabia are obliged to wear whenever they leave the house, saying even Saudi men adhered to a dress code.
“The dress-design developed primarily because of the weather conditions, and now it has become a part of our tradition and identity,” she said.
Last year, there was a lively debate in the Saudi media over the rise of single women in Arab society and the Kingdom in particular. Did the delegates see this as indicating that Arab men are looking to marry abroad, or did it mean that they are wary of marrying increasingly educated and self-confident women?
“The rise in the number of single women is an indicator that Saudi women are becoming financially independent and self-dependent and that they are not ready to get married to just anybody for the sake of marriage,” said Dalal M. Al-Tamimi, the vice dean of King Faisal University.
“They prefer to stay single. It’s their decision,” she added. However, delegates admitted that much remains to be achieved, and highlighted the role the media and education can play to strengthen the position of women in the Kingdom.
