Daily Lessons from Life 08 June 2009

"Saudi woman minister needs permission to be on TV
Her appointment as deputy minister for women's education was hailed as a big step. -Mon, Jun 08, 2009 Reuters

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's first woman cabinet minister cannot appear on television without permission, a newspaper quoted her as saying on Monday.


Noura al-Faiz's appointment in February as deputy minister for women's education was hailed as a big step for the integration of women in conservative Saudi Arabia where a puritanical form of Islam bans women from driving, voting and mixing with unrelated men.

"I don't take my veil off and I will not appear on television unless it is allowed for us to do so," Faiz told the daily Shamss, which published a picture of the deputy minister wearing a headscarf with her face showing.

Saudi state television has hired Saudi women as presenters in recent years as part of a reform drive launched after the Sept. 11 attacks in U.S. cities which focused international attention on radicalism in the world's biggest oil exporter.


Faiz also dismissed calls for girls to be allowed to do sport at school, which Saudi Arabia's powerful religious establishment has prevented. "It's way too early," the paper reported her as saying. Her ministry was not immediately available for comment."

It is never easy to be the 1st to break the barrier of what is perceived as 'unreasonable' restriction. It is easy to be subject to suspicion that it is a 'staged' act. Just for show and no substance.

Lessons for me are:

1. as long as actions are taken to break down a long held taboo or restriction, it has to be good. It is far better than just someone paying lip services but take no action;

2. once the action has been taken, it is then up to the pioneer to slowly work on influencing more and more people to accept the 'new' way. There will be resistance still. Covert resistance. Quiet resistance. So, the pioneer has to be sensitive to the undercurrent while maintain consistency in acting out the 'new' breakthrough behaviors gently;

3. when the time is ripe, which may be too slow for some, the pioneer push for more opening and more concession so that eventually the women folks of Muslim can enjoy more equity with the men. Of course, there will be some who do not mind the many restrictions the Muslim faith placed on its female followers. In that case, we should respect their independent wishes and not force them to adopt the new behaviors of the pioneers!

May the very rich but supposedly very conservative oil kingdom find the balance of involving their women folks vs. observing the religious demand of the same.