Next Stop: Saudi Arabia

Like other women, I have a long list of women heroines: Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Alice Paul, and Harriet Tubman. These women were trailblazers, contributing to their respective fields while positively shaping American perception of women's roles. The more I have traveled, however, the more I realize how shallow and short my list is. I would like to add countless names such as Manal al-Sharif, Zeina Nazari, and Mohra Ferak. These Saudi heroines are just a few of the women on the battlefront fighting for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

 









 I am currently on assignment for Time Magazine, and my next stop, Saudi Arabia, is one of many on my three month tour. The purpose of this assignment is to see, first hand, the lives of women around the Middle East, specifically as it pertains to women’s rights and roles in society and culture. My time in Saudi Arabia is my most anticipated stop, because it is a current hotspot for women's issues. Saudi Arabia is known as a country in which women have few legal or cultural rights. Until recently (December of 2015), women didn’t even have the right to vote.

As a “pure Islamic state,” there is a lot of resistance to cultural change including the legalization of women’s issues. I will be staying with Zeina Nazari, a Riyadj local, who will host me during my stay as I prepare to interview Manal al-Sharif, an influential women’s rights activist. I hope my interactions with Zeina and Manal are to see how the battle of women's rights is affecting both the country overall as well as how it transcribes into daily life.

It is time for me to board my plane! As they say in Arabic, ma's as-salaama.

-Tanya

The Starbucks and Barbie-less: the Life of a Saudi Woman

As I drove in to meet my host family, it felt as if I had been transported to an entirely different world. Everything around me seemed to be upside-down to what I was accustomed to. I have been traveling for years, so you wouldn’t think that new cultures would still shock me, but in moments like this I am reminded how singular my own American culture is. Whenever I go to a new shoot, I do all that I can to immerse myself within the new culture because I feel it is the only way to truly capture my surroundings as unapologetically as possible. I am not here to be an American tourist giving her American views on Saudi issues, I am here to show what life is really like for an everyday citizen here. Therefore, I will be doing everything that the average Saudi does.

I have been informed that I must not be out in public without a male guardian. My male guardian, or “mahmar” will accompany me on any errands or outings I decide to go on, and he will also be with me to be my driver. 

Although there is no law set in stone that says that women are not allowed to drive, it is extremely instilled in their religious culture. It is even said that women driving “undermines social values”. Having a driver will be especially helpful if I decide to go to the Starbucks branch in the capital, Riyadh, that clearly has a sign posted that states, “Please no entry for ladies only send your driver to order, thank you".

Out of the long list of things I can and cannot do in public that I have been given, I think the one I am most disappointed to learn about is that I cannot purchase a Barbie while here.

As I write this post wearing my burqa, as to not show off too much of my skin or beauty, it is hard not to feel overwhelmed by the sense that women are treated like nothing more than second class citizens here. Men hold all the power and women have no choice but to be submissive. It breaks my heart to know of all the women here that do not have the same opportunities I have been given. At the end of the day though, we cannot judge the citizens that abide by the societal norms and religious practices that have been put in place generations before, they are merely trying to purify their own culture.


That's all for now!


-Tanya

al-Sharif, Manal is She

Today was the day I had the opportunity to meet Manal al-Sharif and photograph her for her interview.  To be in Manal’s presence is to be inspired.  Manal has become a symbol of women’s rights activists ever since she was imprisoned for nine days after driving a car.  As I have learned, it is not against the law for women to drive it is just frowned upon by Sharia law.  She explained that Saudi Arabia is the last country in the world that still prohibits women from driving themselves around.  The explanation she was given as to why this fact still remains was, “ A study states, the percentage of rape, adultery, illegitimate children, even drug abuse, prostitution in countries where women drive is higher than countries where women don't drive.”  I so greatly admired her ability to approach the injustice she has faced her entire life with such a comedic attitude, she recognized the ways she has been mistreated, but has not let this turn her into a martyr.  She has taken these life experiences and has turned them into stepping stools to help her grow and has lead her to become this symbol of strength for women within her society.  

The road she has taken has not been smooth, she has been faced with numerous death threats and has been called a traitor by many within her own society because of her attempts to tear down social barriers.  She explained that although what she is doing is not easy, it is about time.  Women constantly ask her when she thinks women will be able to start driving, and her response was simple and profound.  She said women will only will have that right when people stop asking “when” and start demanding “now”.  It made me begin to wonder what I can do in my own life to stop wondering when and start working to make now happen.  

Manal ended by expressing her love for her religion, country, and culture, she would not be working tirelessly towards making a difference if she didn’t.  

My heart is full and I have been rejuvenated after today thanks to this inspiring woman.

That's all for now

-Tanya

Barriers are Meant to be Broken

In some ways, my travel through Saudi Arabia brings me shockingly back to a completely unrelated experience that I had many years ago in the states. Here is my journal entry from that day, so long ago.

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a military air show. My friend, Jane, invited me to watch her husband participating as a pilot. We anxiously sat, finding ourselves seated next to a friendly retired air force pilot and his wife, Rob and Karen. I quickly learned of Rob's love for airplanes as he wanted to share his vast knowledge of the science and history behind the planes and how they were able to break the sound barrier.

Rob and Karen

Rob said, “In 1935, due to many difficulties of flying at supersonic speeds the phrase, “sound barrier”, was born because pilots and scientists thought of it as a barrier that could not be overcome (Taylor Redd, 2012).”

He continued, “The speed that sound travels is called the sound barrier. Why would speed be called a barrier? It is because as the plane travels faster than the speed of sound it produces noise that emanates from all parts of the plane. Due to a Doppler Effect, as the plane travels, the waves in front of the plane are crowded together”(Taylor Redd, 2012).  The illustration below demonstrates this principle.

The sound barrier is an unseen barrier caused by air pressure

I have summarized the rest of what he explained:

As the plane reaches the speed of sound the waves will begin to pile up on each other causing the air to be compressed. This air compression creates a force on the plane and impedes it. The air pressure is a greater force on the plane than the force caused by the plane, thus, there is what is called an “aerodynamic drag” on the plane which causes it to break through the sound barrier. When objects break through this sound barrier it is called supersonic (as seen in the figures above).

The breaking of the sound barrier is very similar to that of a speed boat passing through water. As it travels through the water, the boat pushes the water out of the way and a wave crest is formed and stretches throughout the lake as it continues to travel, leaving a cone shape behind it. The wave front caused by the boat is similar to the sonic boom caused by an airplane breaking the sound barrier. Just as the boat creates a conic shape as it travels, an object flying in the air will create the same conic shape stretching out starting from the nose of the plane towards the back, as seen in the pictures below (2001).

During the air show I witnessed airplanes traveling at extreme speeds. These speeds build up waves causing a large amount of pressure on the wave front, which is known as a shock wave. As the wave front passes the plane it causes a dramatic change in pressure and produces what is known as a “sonic boom”, which is audible to hear (2001).

Something called a mach number is how to measure how fast an airplane is traveling regarding the speed of sound. Simply put, the mach number is the airplane’s velocity divided by the speed of sound at a certain altitude. The ratio is:

When an airplane is traveling slower than the speed of sound it is called subsonic (M<1). When the airplane is traveling faster than the speed of sound it is flying at supersonic speeds (M>1). In order to break the sound barrier a plane has to travel at speed greater than one mach (Alexander, 2003). 

Breaking the sound barrier can be damaging to the plane because of the intense, pressure change caused by the sonic boom. As the plane reaches the sonic boom, violent turbulence occurs.

Rob informed me that in the early 1930’s when first attempting to break the sound barrier, planes had great difficulty because of the turbulence that preceded the sonic boom, causing propeller problems with the plane. However, modern technology and high speed aircraft have allowed planes to travel through this time of turbulence and break the sound barrier. Below is a video of what I saw today (Alexander, 2003).

Did you know that airplanes aren’t the only things that can travel faster than the speed of sound? The crack you hear from a bullet, a cannon, or the crack of the tip of a bull whip do as well (2001)!

Go see what you can find breaking the sound barrier!

That does it for today! 

-Tanya