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Bridging the Gulf...
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It is time for friendship between India and the Gulf region. A 60-member delegation from Saudi Arabia is here in Delhi to extend a hand. RANA SIDDIQUI speaks to few of them
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ENGULFED! This 60-member delegation from Saudi Arab is in India for people-to-people contact PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA
When was the last time India and Saudi Arabia had a people-to-people contact initiative? Not in the recent days that we can recall. But now a "completely non-political" delegation consisting of journalists, educationists, artists, real estate developers, public relation officers, marketing personnel, publishers, pilgrim guides, poets, editors et al have got together to bridge the gap between India and Saudi Arabia. This 60-member delegation, part of Saudi Civil Society, especially formed for the cause of Indo-Saudi Arab relationship, is led by the Editor-in-Chief, Arab News, Khaled A. Al-Maeena.
In an interaction with Indian journalists at the Cafe Alpresso, Shangri-La hotel in New Delhi, this week, Khaled declared, "The aim of this delegation is to bring India and Saudi Arabia closer. This is the first step in the past 51 years. We are closer geographically and emotionally too, as lots of Indians have greatly contributed to the development of Saudi Arabia as professionals in countless fields. We prefer a democratic country as a friend. India and Saudi Arabia have a history of good relations."
Treatment of women
He explains that the delegation, which is initially depending upon the media interaction to "clear some misconceptions about the Saudis' treatment of women at the domestic and professional levels, apart from Pakistan or terrorism issues," will also visit NGOs and universities, meeting writers, poets, human rights activists and so on. "Pakistan is a brotherly country, but we will not look at India with their telescopic views," said Khaled while Hani Khoja, an investment analyst, added, "We condemn terrorism, which is the voice of a few people. Since that is a loud protest, it is heard more than its condemnation, which is feeble but unanimous. One should not blot the whole of Islam in the name of terrorism".
When we think of Saudi Arabia, we think of its women too. An image of their being veiled and subordinated dominates, but the delegation quashes a number of stereotypes. Says young Lubna Hidayat Hussain, Bureau Chief - Saudi Arabia, of NBC News Worldwide, "Saudi Arabia is opening avenues for its women. When I applied there, there were 500-odd applicants and I stood no chance against a real erudite male candidate in the last round. But they preferred a woman candidate. Now, whether it is a women's issue or child abuse, education, health or nepotism, especially in family businesses, or violence in the city, I write about everything. Though we have to be cautious reporting about the Government as they are not open to criticism.
Their ministers are pulled up if we write or show something negative about them. As a woman, initially, I did face some problems, as my male colleagues didn't know how to react to a female colleague. Some time ago when I was working with Saudi Radio the situation was worse. My male colleagues would refuse to take orders, do anything to sabotage my work and used to think that if a woman is working, then either she is a prostitute or coming from a poor family.
Once when my picture was published with my column, there was an uproar. `Who will marry you now? You have shown yourself to the public', they said to me. Then, my husband wasn't okay with my working hours. Sometimes if I reached home in the wee hours, he would warn me to either quit the job or walk out of marriage." Now, though, she says, times are changing, and not only her husband but men in general understand the problems of working women.
Points out Somayya A. Jabarti, Deputy National Desk Editor Arab News, "In Saudi Arabia, women's readership of newspapers is more than men. They are outdoing men in education and articulation too. In our own newspapers we now get more women applicants than men, and most of them belong to conservative families. Even in very small cities like Qateef, Qaseem and Taif we have women correspondents now."
However, journalism being a relatively lower-paid job, girls prefer careers in medicine, web, advertising, or public relations.
And Somayya does face practical problems as a public relations manager in her company. She cannot walk into any ministry without giving prior intimation through fax, unlike her male colleagues, and problems of transportation for a single woman add to the problem.
It's clear that while a lot of progress has been made, there is a way to go. Perhaps it's just as well that Khaled did not get the government help he initially hoped for in bringing this delegation to India.
If he had, they may well have felt obliged to present a more glowing picture. But the glow is definitely there. Doesn't every silver lining shine?
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