Two days & two nights in the Kingdom

I just got back from my second visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - a two-day business trip to help a Riyadh-based consultancy with its communications initiatives. Getting there, being there and even leaving there created a host of mixed feelings, some of which I share in the video clip.

My first week-long visit to the Kingdom in February 2007 almost didn’t happen because of the onerous process in securing a visitor’s visa. As a woman, I was required by the Saudi embassy to produce written permission from a male relative (in my case, my ex-husband), to make the trip.

In the video clip below, I say this type of situation was unprecedented for me, but that’s not quite true. I had forgotten (as I recorded myself yesterday in Riyadh), that I needed my then-husband’s permission for many things, such as getting a driver’s license or being employed, when we first arrived in the UAE in 1993. I remember how frustrated I felt in those early days as an expat that I wasn’t allowed to have my own bank account, let alone apply for a credit card, simply because I was a woman. I felt like I had stepped into the Stone Age.

Things have changed dramatically in the UAE during the 16 years I’ve been here. Today, I run my own business and drive my own car. I have bank accounts, credit cards and a liquor license, all obtained without permission from anyone.

Although I’ve felt uncomfortable during my visits to the Kingdom, I’ve also met wonderfully warm, welcoming and progressive Saudi men and women who love their country and take great pride in its achievements - of which there are many.

During my short stays, I also saw indications that people such as these are driving changes that will help all Saudis, and Saudi women in particular, to contribute more fully to the success of their country, just as Emirati women have been strongly encouraged to do in the UAE in recent years.

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