The 19-year-old student, Lujain Ghouth, has also co-produced a film entitled “Mawjouda” (“existing”) with the help of her colleague, Dalal Al-Otaibi. The film came first and won Dhs10,000 in a documentary competition held at the first Creative Forum for Saudi Students in UAE organized by the Saudi Cultural Attaché in Dubai.
The film documents the struggle of Saudi women who have overcome obstacles to achieve success in numerous fields both inside and outside the Kingdom. It also documents the achievements of some Saudi women who have been recognized both locally and internationally.
The makers gave the film a delightful end with Ghouth appearing and humorously expressing her ambition to one day become the Kingdom’s first female Saudi minister of information and culture.
According to local press reports, the Kingdom’s minister of information responded to Ghouth’s ambition on his Facebook page saying, “I’m very happy for the ambitious Lujain to follow me into the Ministry of Culture and Information and I congratulate her and her colleague. I wish them success in their personal and professional lives.
“If her ambition becomes a reality, then I will start producing and directing movies to fill the gap she will leave in the world of films and documentaries.”
Jamal Khashoggi, editor in chief of Al-Watan newspaper, said the Kingdom will eventually have a woman minister.
“The conservative public will see what women are capable of and what kind of work they can do and they will eventually get used to it,” he added.
Dr. Ghassan Al-Gain, an Islamic preacher, researcher and writer on family and women’s issues, said Islam is not against women having senior positions. “Women can have any job they want, except for major leadership roles such as ruling the country. The only difficulty is that a woman is also a mother and a wife and it would be hard for her to juggle between the two,” he said.
According to Maha Akeel, managing editor of the OIC Journal, the Kingdom is allowing women to take lead positions. “I look forward to the day when a Saudi woman holds a high position. We already have a woman deputy education minister for girls’ affairs, Noura Al-Fayez,” she said.
“It’s not a matter of gender, it all depends on qualification and experience. There is already a woman minister for information and culture in Bahrain, which is similar to Saudi Arabia in terms of society and lifestyle. It’s not far fetched,” she added.
Mona Siraj, senior editor of Sayidaty magazine, said there are “social, physiological and professional barriers that Saudi women face when seeking to work in the diplomatic field. A woman who wants to study politics has to travel abroad to study as Saudi universities do not offer women majors in politics.
“Women are able to become ministers, ambassadors and enter the diplomatic corps. However, these positions need qualified women and such women will be available when Saudi women are trained to fill job vacancies.”
