VZCZCXRO2953
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHMOS RUEHPW
DE RUEHJI #0380/01 1421409
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221409Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9181
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1389
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1467
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6513
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000380 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR 
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP AND DRL; NEA/FO FOR ERIN WALSH 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2016 
TAGS: KISL KWMN PGOV PHUM SA SOCI
SUBJECT: COLLEGE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS RIFTS ON WOMEN'S 
EMPOWERMENT 
 
REF: A. JEDDAH 000374 
     ¶B. JEDDAH 000347 
 
Classified By: Tatiana C. Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The Consul General's May 6 speech and 
participation in an Arabic-language roundtable at one of 
Jeddah's most prominent women's colleges highlighted both the 
increased public attention paid to promoting women's 
employment and the lingering controversy over such moves. 
Though generally praised by the Saudi and Pan-Arab press, the 
CG and the event organizers were targeted by an infamous 
Islamic web site for contradicting the Kingdom's traditional 
societal norms.  In a follow-up discussion with the CG, 
however, the college's patron, Princess Lolwa Al Faisal, 
praised the CG's participation in this significant event and 
pledged to partner with the USG to hold a US-Saudi women's 
conference.  She also cautioned that all preparations be 
handled through appropriate channels given the sensitivity of 
the issue. END SUMMARY 
 
----------------------------------------- 
DIVERGENT SPEECHES ON WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) During the all-women Effat College's annual career 
day on May 6, the Consul General was one of four panelists 
for the discussion entitled "Against All Odds: Women on the 
Cutting Edge of Change," which addressed both the recent 
strides made by Saudi women in social and professional 
integration as well as the obstacles they continue to face. 
Her attendance had been previously approved by the Ministry 
of Higher Education (MOHE) per direct request from King 
Abdullah that Mission officials receive concurrence from the 
appropriate SAG agency before public engagements.  She was 
joined by Nashwa Taher, one of two women to be elected to the 
board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) 
in landmark 2005 elections; Majed Gharoub, the chairman of 
the Saudi Law Training Center and a prominent Jeddah lawyer; 
and Qusai Filali, director of the labor office of the Jeddah 
Municipal Government. 
 
¶3.  (U) In her speech, the CG described her personal career 
experiences and emphasized the importance of perseverance 
when proving her ability as a professional woman.  She also 
noted the difficulty that women face in balancing their 
careers and their personal lives.  In the subsequent 
Arabic-language roundtable, she praised the recent progress 
made by Saudi women as they increasingly enter the work force 
and underscored that women should have the opportunity to 
exercise choice over their careers and personal lives as well 
as have the support and confidence of their communities. 
 
¶4.  (U) Speaking from her own personal experience, Taher 
joined the CG in applauding the women who continue to develop 
themselves professionally while also succeeding as mothers. 
The well-known businesswoman praised the government for its 
recent support for increased female participation in society 
and drew on the example of Muhammad's wife, Khadija, who was 
a merchant and property owner.  Taher said that initiatives 
such as the Khadija bin Khowailid Center at JCCI, which 
provides job training and employee placement for young women, 
served as an example of the types of programs that should be 
developed in the Kingdom. 
 
¶5.  (U) Gharoub, however, remained cautious in his support 
for women professionals and recommended a more targeted 
approach to the integration of women into the work force, 
which would include both a revision of workplace regulations 
to allow women access to better jobs and community-wide 
discussions about which opportunities were "appropriate."  He 
said that women should focus on fields that were "suitable to 
their dignity," such as medicine, management, and library 
science, rather than operating shops.  This was in marked 
contrast to Taher's remarks and in particular to the example 
of Muhammad's wife's status as a merchant. 
 
¶6.  (U) Following up on Gharoub's mention of labor 
regulations, Filali described a program whereby supervisors 
from the municipal labor offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam 
would begin visiting companies to verify that women's 
 
JEDDAH 00000380  002 OF 003 
 
 
positions were in compliance with government regulations. 
Despite this adherence to what could be perceived as limits 
to women's professional freedom, Filali voiced his support 
for their continued integration into the work force and said 
that this is an essential element of Saudization efforts to 
decrease the reliance on expatriate workers. 
 
----------------------------------- 
PANEL ELICITS MIXED PUBLIC REVIEWS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The May 6 event and the CG's attendance in particular 
won widespread praise from both the Saudi and the regional 
press in the following day's editions.  The Jeddah daily 
"Okaz" reported on the CG's call for society to have 
confidence in the abilities of women and to trust that they 
will maintain their values while simultaneously pursuing 
their careers.  The pan-Arab daily "Al Hayat" and the 
Abha-based "Al Watan" summarized the speakers' comments, 
though the former also reported on a series of technical 
workshops held later in the day. ConGen contacts expressed 
satisfaction at the CG's ability to participate in Arabic. 
 
¶8.  (C) By contrast, the infamous though popular web-based 
message board Al Sahat, which is frequently criticized as an 
extremist Islamist outlet (see reftel A), criticized both the 
College's decision to include the CG in the program and its 
encouragement of women's employment, though it was silent on 
the substance of the CG's speech and subsequent remarks. 
Derisive questions posted by different site members included, 
"Why was the American ambassador attending?" "Does this 
college respect the constitution of this country or is it 
above the constitution?" and "The college is practicing a 
suspicious act to expatriate our girls like the American 
university?" (Note: Though difficult to translate directly, 
the final comment is a figurative criticism of efforts to rob 
Saudi women of their traditional culture by exposing them to 
foreign influences. END NOTE) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ON US-SAUDI WOMEN'S CONFERENCE 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶9.  (C) In a May 14 follow-up meeting with Dr. Haifa Jamal Al 
Lail, dean of Effat College, and Princess Lolwa Al Faisal, 
the College's patron and founder, the CG remarked on the 
criticism from Al Sahat.  She added that the web site had 
published a photo from the May 12 shooting in front of the 
Consulate (see reftel B) and questioned how it was obtained. 
Princess Lolwa vigorously condemned many of the radical 
site's postings (including denunciations of her personally) 
and noted that one member had previously demanded the recall 
of former Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Bandar bin Sultan 
for not condemning the Danish cartoons published last year 
that depicted Muhammad in a negative light. 
 
¶10.  (C) The CG inquired about the decision to include 
Gharoub in the May 6 panel, given that his support for 
professional women was somewhat tentative.  Al Lail indicated 
that Gharoub had pressured the organizers to include him 
after a previously scheduled panelist, Princess Jawaher bint 
Majed, had to cancel. 
 
¶11.  (C) Princess Lolwa also highlighted the importance of 
women being able to express themselves, such as choosing 
whether or not to wear the "hijab" (the traditional head 
scarf for women).  She linked this freedom of expression to 
the continuing development of women's education and proudly 
described to the CG her plans to build on Effat's success by 
opening three more women's colleges.  She said that she is 
still awaiting preliminary approval from the Royal Diwan (the 
King's administrative office) and will then submit the 
appropriate paperwork to the MOHE. 
 
¶12.  (C) The CG noted the USG's continued interest in holding 
a Saudi-American Women's Conference, an idea that was first 
tabled during the inaugural US-Saudi Strategic Dialogue 
meeting in November 2005.  Princess Lolwa said that Effat 
College would co-sponsor the event and asked for the USG to 
coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the MOHE 
on the proposal.  She also requested that the USG wait to 
 
JEDDAH 00000380  003 OF 003 
 
 
organize the event until after she could discuss it with the 
Saudi Ambassador to the US, Prince Turki Al Faisal. 
 
¶13.  (C) NOTE: Princess Lolwa is the sister of Prince Turki 
and of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, who are known 
to be two of the more progressive princes in the upper 
echelons of the government. All three are the children of the 
late King Faisal, who revolutionized the Saudi educational 
system in the 1960s by introducing universal primary and 
secondary education for women. END NOTE 
Gfoeller