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