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 Two items of news that I’m happy about. First off a first Saudi female astraounut has emerged. Her name is Lama Al Hazeen and get this; she had her photo in Al Hayat newspaper, no hijab and free-floating with a group of men and women including Steven Hawking. According to Al Hayat, Lama is looking for a sponsor to pay for her trip into space. Here is the picture.

Another thing is that on the ground level there’s a lot of buzz about women being allowed to drive. Even the ultra-conservative have a somewhat air of acquiescence. The telegraph reported that a source from Riyadh informed one of their reporters that it would happen by the end of the year. And to mark Women’s Day, March 8th, Wajeha Al-Huwaider got her sister in law to video-tape her driving while making a little speech requesting the authorities to allow women to drive. She then posted the video on You Tube. For more info click here.

  So I haven’t written in a while. I was quite busy preparing for a trip to the US of A. The purpose was to participate in a conference in which I had a paper accepted. This is my second conference and during the first I had suspicions that they are fun and now I KNOW they are. My husband and I left the kids with my mother and went all the way to Provo,  Utah(total 16 hours in the air). From the desert to snow and snow covered mountains. The conference was just up my alley. I found the papers motivating. It’s like when you go dancing and the next day you’re still dancing in your head. It makes me want to start working and get another paper out.Afterwards we went to Washington D.C. and stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Intown Uptown. It’s owned and run by a friendly young woman called Sandy. The place is unbelievable like something out of an Anne Rice novel. It’s an authentic old house but immaculately furnished and Sandy herself gets up every morning to make us a breakfast that looks straight out of a gourmet magazine photo-shoot. The only downside was the location. It’s a bit in the outskirts and the area is not even on the tourist maps of Washington. It takes a 10-15 minute bus ride and another 10 minute metro ride to get to Chinatown.

It’s been a long time since I last went to the US. I remember sometimes when I mention KSA to Americans, they don’t even know where it is and when they do know they give that attitude that I must be filthy rich. Now, it seems to most KSA = terrorism. That is sad. When we first got there my husband was detained because he’s a male that falls into the age bracket. So he had to be rechecked and there was a long line for guys like him so I went ahead and caught the next flight to Utah. I don’t know how I feel about that. My husband is not a terrorist and just because he’s an Arab and of a certain age does not make him a potential risk. At the same time, I want them to double-check everyone because I don’t want to be bombed and have my kids orphaned.

Today I attended a workshop on the student centered approach as opposed to the traditional method of teaching. And something came up that always ticks me off. There was talk that students here are not culturally able to handle the student-centered approach.  Culture is always the scapegoat when an implementation fails. When students get caught cheating, everyone says it’s the culture. When a man harrasses a woman, it’s the culture. However, the more I think about it, the more it rings true. With allowing women to drive, many women here object, it seems more so than men. I remember a family I know decided to take their first trip abroad. They tool a roadtrip to Bahrain and then straight away took a U turn back into the KSA because the wife could not handle seeing fellow women behind the wheels.

Another issue where culture gets in the way. Al Gosaibi, minister of labour, stated in an article a couple of days back that he thinks that paying unemployment benefits to Saudis is not such a good idea. I know where he’s coming from. We all have this sense of entitlement, especially when it comes to government money. I see it in my students. Many come in and do the bare requirements and are ecstatic when an instructor misses a class. They don’t care about learning, all they care about is that they receive there student stipend at the end of each month. The resources and effort is wasted on them. They are like schoolchildren in adult bodies. I truly believe that undergraduate study should be privatized. Giving monetary value to what we are teaching them is the motivational push they need to take their education seriously. And it would definitely help with filling job posts that are usually filled by expatriate workers, like cashiers, waiters, and the like. If they earn it, rather than have it handed out, they’ll appreciate it more. I know that King Saud University has a program for students that are rejected based on their high school grades. They can still get in by paying tuition for the first year and if they make the mark, they’re allowed to attend as regular “payed” students. It would be interesting to know how the students in this program have fared.

Today Arab News had an article about a missing nurse who has been missing since November. It is thought that she has been kidnapped by people who work with her at a hospital in Riyadh because she filed an audit report that implicated employees stealing. She used to work at King Abdul Azziz Hospital in Riyadh. How wild is that?! I’ve never heard about her case. If this was anywhere else in the world it would definitely have gotten a lot more exposure in the media. She’s been missing for over three months and the local media is hush hush. The issue here is transparency. It’s the same thing with the Qatif girl. When questions were raised about why she was sentenced a whipping and jail time the Saudi courts made a statement that there were points that were not disclosed to the public. People need to know. The girl was gang raped and admitted to having a romantic relationship. I can’t think of anything that could come up in the case that can’t be discussed openly. It just leaves room for speculation. Speculation and attacks on our country’s jurisdiction system. Attacks that go beyond patriotism, because they also attack our religion since we are the only country that governs under Sharia law. The feelings of frustration for those who care are indescribable, when every question is met with a big brother knows best attitude of silence.

          Since I work and live in the largest city in Saudi Arabia in which there is no public transportation that women can access, transportation is an everyday issue with me.  Just to bring in a driver from abroad, costs thousands. Afterwards, I also have to pay him 700-900 riyals salary, 300 riyals room and board, and 200 riyals food. Plus, I’ll have to pay car installments and gas not only for my trips but for his as well. Envirnomentally, I’m doing double the damage that I would have if I was driving myself. That is because everytime my driver drops me off at work, he makes the half hour trip back home until I finish. So that is an hour of extra pollution that could have been avoided if I could just park my car outside the college.

I’ve also tried group transportation, where you pay a driver who has his own car. Most of their cars are dirty and the drivers are rude and overbearing. Their time always conflicts with mine and they all overcharge.

           Just thinking about my transportation problem, I become indescribably frustrated. It wouldnít make sense to leave a job I love and stay home, only because I can’t get there without a hassle.

           Please tell me what does this Phillippino or Indian have that makes him capable of driving a car while I sit helplessly in the backseat paying him a huge chunk of my salary. Heís not a better driver than I am. Statistical facts prove that women are better and safer drivers than men. To prove it, just look into the difference between male and female car insurance policies abroad. Female car insurance is always cheaper.

           What is stopping us Saudi women from driving? I know it isnít Islam. Sahabi* women rode horses and camels. They fought men in battles. It wouldnít make sense to prohibit their descendants from driving a car. Another argument Iíve heard is that the Prophetís (Peace be upon him) time is different than ours. And that Muslim society, especially women, is different than what is was at the Prophetís day and age. However, isnít that going above the judgment of Allah? Since Allah states that Islam (as it was sent down upon Mohammed (Peace be upon him)) is a religion for all time and place.

           If the government allows women to drive, we would save so much money in bringing in drivers and paying their salaries. It would also bring down middle class stress levels. It would make everything easier and less complicated.

           Right now, getting a bottle of milk from a nearby market calls for so many phone calls and arrangement that in the end, a middle class woman like me does without the milk. I dream of a day when I could simply park my car outside my work and whenever I finish work I can get in my own car and drive home. That would be an enormous luxury.

*Sahabi is a term used for muslims who were companions of the prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) 

This is my first post at this blog. Sometimes when I read something controversial about Saudi Arabia  in the news or hear about an issue whether in the media or within the circle of my friends and family, I usually wish that I had a place where I could get my viewpoint out, especially since there aren’t that many adult Saudi women blogging. Once I get around to it, I’ll cover the basics, like women driving, gender segregation and so on. But in this very first post I want to say hey to someone who should be is an inspiration to all Saudi youth,  Ahmed Al-Omran.