DAMMAM, 7 March 2008 — Hundreds of women attended the conference entitled “The Saudi Woman Between Economics and Social Reality,” an event targeting Saudi businesswomen, working women and women seeking to develop a business.
The objectives of the conference were to identify and discuss the new rules and regulations issued by the government that are related to Saudi working women and to examine ways for Saudi women to play a role in the economy in light of the social reality.
The first thing any woman would have noticed on entering the room was the small black 60-page book placed on every chair, titled “Muslim Women’s Rights from a Religious not Cultural Point of View.” Some of the rights that the book discussed were a woman’s right to work, the right to participate in social events and the right to choose a husband. The idea of the book was to make the point, which was stressed often during the conference, that Saudi women are not often aware of their rights.
The conference, which was held in a ballroom of the Carlton Al-Moaibed Hotel, also included multimedia presentations, excellent technical facilities and even waitresses serving tea to the audience. From the designer handbags carried by many of the attendees, it was easy to see that this was definitely a gathering of the more empowered female members of Saudi society. Even so, it was not a happy crowd. Throughout the day, painful comments were tossed out to presenters whenever questions were taken from the audience.
Princess Jawaher bint Naif, the patron of the event, Princess Adelah bint Abdullah, keynote speaker, and Princess Mashael bint Faisal ibn Turki, president of the Business Women’s Forum of the Eastern Province, were all present throughout the conference and mixed with the attendees during breaks and at lunch.
Questions to attendees about the problems facing Saudi women trying to run businesses in the Kingdom produced remarkably similar responses. Dr. Fawzia H. Al-Bakr, professor at King Saud University, highlighted some major concerns.
“For me, first of all the guardianship issue must be solved. In practicality, a woman’s husband or father is the owner of all her finances and controls her business. In a family, if the husband dies, the guardianship of the woman passes to another man and then what happens to the woman’s business? It is unbelievable that women still need a guardian’s consent to be educated, open a business or even travel,” said Al-Bakr.
“When women reach maturity Islam says we can manage our money, so we should be able to manage our own businesses. Unfortunately, there is no legal age for Saudi women. By this I mean that as a Saudi woman there will always be a man legally responsible for you, forever.”
Madeha Al-Ajroush, a psychotherapist and working photographer in the Kingdom, added, “The No. 1 issue for me is having strong, clear laws. Before starting a business every woman should know what the laws are and all the laws in regards to women working or owning a business should be available through one source. Additionally, measures must be taken to enable a woman to run a business without a Waqeel — or male representative holding a power of attorney for the company. Under the law, it is supposed to be possible for a woman to run a business without a Waqeel. In truth, a male manager must process the paperwork needed for a woman to operate her company in Saudi Arabia.”
According to Al-Ajroush, segregation of men and women in Saudi society cuts women off from the most well established leaders in the business community. It makes it difficult for women owned businesses to enter into affiliations with other firms and to cooperate as contractors on major projects.
“The most successful businesswomen tend to come from families where there is a strong business background,” said Al-Ajroush. “These women capitalize on their families’ networks and connections to succeed. Such a situation is not helpful to society in general. Success in business should be determined by ability, not gender.”
Women came to the conference from across the Kingdom, if for no other reason than the unusual networking opportunity created by such an event.
“Businesswomen can be isolated,” said Asya A. Al-Shaikh, executive director of Tamkeen Development and Management Consulting, who traveled from Jeddah. “We need to hear the experiences and strategies of others. We need access to information about programs to assist businesswomen. We want to know about the achievements of others and meet those who might be mentors and role models for us.”
Saudi female role models and mentors in the business community are sorely needed. Young women sitting at the back of the room were extremely frustrated at what they viewed as their lack of opportunity.
“I graduated from high school with excellent marks, and hoped to attend university and study something that interested me. The only course of study available at the local government university was literature. I was not happy but I tried to do my best. This wasn’t possible though, as the university was extremely overcrowded, with poor facilities and teachers who cared more about what I was wearing than what I was learning. So I quit and stayed at home,” Fatima said.
“Now I have won a scholarship and will go to the US to study. I am crying every night because I don’t want to leave my family but I have to do this if I want to have a future,” she added.
What will Fatima study abroad that was so impossible to select as a major at the government university she attended? Marketing.
