The third National Dialogue Forum ended in Madinah yesterday.
Women had high expectations since the main topic was women’s rights and education.
The first impression is that there is concern that the conservative line of thought is the main one.
But when I read excerpts from participants’ papers, I felt that there was a moderate group trying to present another point of view and to look at things from a different perspective.
Some participants emphasized that the more conservative group has a strong presence on the panels and that might not guarantee objectivity.
There is also the fact that each session was run by a man which does not give the impression that women are trusted or even able to chair a session. A lack of variety in the participants’ ideological statements was evident.
A contributor pointed out that it was important for men and women at the sessions to meet face to face, adding that the complete separation of the sexes at the conference reflects a lack of trust between both groups.
Though his remark did not sit well with some participants, it has to be said that he pointed out a major problem in our society.
More than once I came across references to Western influences on women and how women should resist them; and how even Western civilization has not given women their full rights either.
One speaker mentioned that there are Western forces trying to lure Saudi women to behave incompatibly with their traditions.
Of course this line of thought is very strong in Saudi Arabia; we are very good at pointing out other people’s mistakes and forgetting in the process to say anything about what is good and right.
If Western civilization has bad aspects — as all civilizations do — it also has good ones.
To deny this would be absurd and indefensible. Such a denial is sadly typical, especially when we want to talk about what to take from other civilizations which would benefit us.
If we continue to think that people are out to get us, we’ll never move from where we are.
I wish we would pay more attention to what a literature professor at the conference said — it is time for us to get over the conspiracy theory and think about our problems instead of blaming others.
If the participants had come from different backgrounds and had had different approaches, the discussion would have been far richer and more meaningful.
As seems evident, however, the participants were chosen according to some “secret” standards, so it was expected that the discussions would not venture into untrodden territories.
Very briefly, Prince Turki ibn Abdul Aziz reminded the Islamists at the conference that the world is changing and there is a need to accommodate these changes in our religious approach.
At the same time, he advised the liberals to be reasonable in their expectations and be patient since change needs to take necessary evolutionary steps.
There was also some confusion and a ready-made reason for women with children to stay at home because their work will affect the children.
A woman participant commented that single women and others who do not have children are better able to get into the workplace. I do not know what kind of logic that is but it certainly offers no solutions.
If we imagine that by telling married women to stay at home our problems will decrease, then we are dreaming.
If we, as a developing society, cannot make full use of 50 percent of our population, then we will have to wait for others to help us — and that is pure wishful thinking.
Why can’t women decide for themselves?
Each woman has different circumstances and she can judge for herself. There is no need to impose a guilt trip on working mothers; society should show more support to them.
If the meeting reflected anything, it is that we need to have more discussions and need to give each other the chance to say freely whatever needs to be said.
It also reflected the importance of variety and diversity.
If the conference did not provide the diversity expected, it is because our society needs to learn to open up to other views and approaches without denouncing them outright and labeling them unacceptable.
