RIYADH, 6 September 2006 — The Saudi Court of Grievances will decide on Saturday if a novel by a Saudi woman about the love lives of young, wealthy Saudi women in Riyadh is enough to fine the author and to crack down on the sale of her book, the Al-Yaum newspaper reported yesterday.
“Banat Al-Riyadh,” or “The Girls of Riyadh”, by Rajaa Al-Sanie, is controversial because it addresses behaviors of young women that go against the norms promoted by Saudi society. As such, the book is officially banned in the country but is still widely available.
A group of Saudi citizens have filed a lawsuit against Al-Sanie for slandering Saudi society. If the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, Al-Sanie, who is currently out of the country, could face a fine of an undisclosed amount and authorities would crack down on the sale of the book in the Kingdom.
Some local newspaper columnists have decried the book, criticizing it not only for what they claim is the negative portrayal of Saudi women but also for its depiction of Saudi men as sexist boars.
Al-Sanie, who is currently at university in the US, has said the backlash against the book has been over-hyped by a group of conservative zealots in the media.
Even though the book has been officially banned since it’s publication last year, the Ministry of Culture & Information did permit it and several other banned books to be featured in the Riyadh International Book Fair held earlier this year.
The book, considered by many to be the Saudi version of the HBO series “Sex & The City, centers on four Saudi women from affluent homes who revolt at the conservative social life in the Kingdom.
Al-Sanie’s frank and sometimes shocking insight into the closed world of young Saudi women raised hackles in religious and conservative literary circles in the Kingdom.
Al-Sanie has been an advocate for a more open dialogue about social issues that occur in spite of the conservative society’s attempts to pretend like they don’t. She says the key to social change is to get more women in the workplace.
“This financial independence empowers Saudi women to express courageously their views in any dialogue,” she said.
