JEDDAH, 29 November 2006 — The Khadija bint Khowailid Center for Businesswomen at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted yesterday a seminar where working women were given an opportunity to share their experiences.
Executive assistants, government liaisons (used to obtain licenses), nurses and others discussed the challenges and opportunities available to Saudi women.
Nursing took a special spotlight due to the shortage of workers in this field. Taqwa Omar, who has a PhD in nursing from a US university, said that she initially wanted to be a doctor. When she went to enroll, the registration at the college had closed, so she went to the nursing college instead.
“I remember my mother saying: ‘That’s great! You like to take care of people. You’re a nurse by nature’,” said Omar.
This may have been a serendipitous introduction to nursing, but Omar says she will be a nurse “forever,” after receiving her degree in the United States with full support of her family.
Omar said that during her studies, there were numerous references to the renowned British nurse Florence Nightingale, the “Lady With the Lamp” of the Crimean War of the 19th century.
But, Omar says, Saudis can revel in their own model — Rufaidah bint Kaab (God be pleased with her) — who was given a special medical treatment tent near the Madinah mosque by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Omar points out that, like in the United States, the Kingdom is suffering from a nursing shortage.
“We are facing a frightening future in nursing,” she told the audience, saying the Kingdom needs about 100,000 nurses but is only producing about 250 graduates each year, half of whom drop out of the profession. Omar blames a negative conception about the profession.
As far as the Kingdom’s efforts to replace expatriate salesmen at shops that cater exclusively to women customers, Firyal Idress, a manager of the women’s section of Jeddah’s Labor Office, said the Labor Ministry expects the changes to be noticeable by next summer.
