Let’s build a proper base and a stable economy for women in Saudi Arabia,” says Iyla Ashadawi, the 32-year-old president of The Asharqia Young Businesswomen’s Council (AYBC) at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EPCCI).
The strong-spirited Ashadawi is calling upon young women to stick with the script and ask for their rights as an essential part for the development of the country’s economy. She was appointed by Adnan Al-Naeem, the director of EPCCI, when AYBC was set up in September last year. She is currently working as assistant to the chairman of Al-Falak Electronic Equipment & Supplies Company.
The EPCCI already has a Businesswomen’s Center; the Asharqia Young Businesswomen’s Council was established to serve the slightly different needs of age groups from 20 to 40 years old, and to encourage younger women to take creative initiatives.
When it comes to business, Saudi Arabia is beginning to witness the growing assertiveness of a full-blown women’s movement. More and more women are coming out of their shells and starting to look at the bigger picture. This is because the economic developments in recent years have given young women a greater opportunity to start their own businesses. With resources in the Eastern Province such as the Centennial Fund and the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Fund, women increasingly have the chance to build business empires of their own.
“The chances we have right now, our mothers wouldn’t have dreamed of,” says Ashadawi. “We teach women to make their own feasibility studies. We always say: start yourself so you can know your business. There are different sectors in the area; we have agriculture, education, design, architecture and human resources, for example. We try to cover all areas.”
The only difference between the EPCCI Businesswomen’s Center and the Asharqia Young Businesswomen’s Council is the age limit, or the word ‘young.’
“Our age limit has different requirements to the Center’s age limit. We are much more IT-oriented, and most of our members have received BA or MA degrees from outside the Kingdom. The way we approach business plans or cash flow is a bit different to the older generation,” explains Ashadawi, who describes obstacles as ‘holes’ that they are trying to ‘plug.’
The Council has set up four programs for young businesswomen to gain greater expertise in modern businesses practices as well as to socialize.
Nahed Taher, a pioneering businesswomen and founder and chief executive officer of Gulf One Investment Bank, which has its headquarters in Bahrain, was recently one of the guests on the AYBC’s Pioneers Program.
“We had the chance to sit down on a couch around her and listen to her talking about her experiences. The experience these young women are exposed to is priceless,” said Ashadawi, adding that it is essential they realize how much easier they have it and how much more they are capable of achieving.
At the same time, business horizons are expanding. Young businesswomen are expanding into fields such as IT where women are not required to commute a lot.
“The car ceases to be an issue. They can do their work from their computers at home.”
The more traditional craft industries may now stand in IT’s shadow, but they still can be money-spinners. Ashadawi gave an example of two young girls who started a home business making little wrapped chocolates to be served at baby showers. They started with SR2,400 in capital and in less than six months their monthly revenue was SR45,000.
The Council has helped many women set up businesses. However, there is, dare one say it, a rather unliberated aspect to all this women’s power. Some women avoid informing the Council of their latest achievements, Ashadawi explained. “They become so protective of their work, with the result that it’s often impossible to get statistics on what Saudi women are up to.” They follow the ‘hush-hush’ culture, with many businesswomen afraid to go public about their revenues and companies. Ashadawi believes it is the fear of the evil eye, and she despairs about women wanting to have it both ways: “Women will never get their social rights as long as they go at the end of every month and ask their husbands or fathers for their allowances.”
She urges women to get on their two feet first. “A job or a business should be the start,” she said, pleading with women to be financially independent and then start asking for their rights.
And women’s rights are the same the world over. “We need to create a professional environment. We need to be able as women to say: ‘I want to take three years off because I am a mother and I want to come back to work, you don’t stop my promotion or fire me,’” said Ashadawi, who is perfectly pragmatic about the problems facing young Saudi women.
“The family is more important than the company, otherwise as a society we will break down. If we were going to fight for something, the time to fight for our proper rights is when we are employed by others. Yes, we get special treatment but that’s only because we provide society with a special thing; children.”
So, yes, modern Saudi women are on the march, but in slingbacks rather than desert boots.
