July 23, 2004

PRINCESS SARA BINT MUSAED IBN ABDUL-AZIZ: REFORMS MUST FOLLOW OUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND BE SUPPORTED BY ALL SECTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. THE SAUDI WOMAN HAS IN 70 YEARS MOVED FROM ILLETERACY TO ACHIEVING THE HIGHEST DEGREES IN EDUCATION. ACTIVITIES OF THE SAUDI WOMAN SUFFER FROM LACK OF MEDIA COVERAGE, THIS REFLECTS A WRONG IMPRESSION ABOUT HER POSITION IN THE SOCIETY. THE BEST RESPONSE TO THE CAMPAIGNS AGAINST SAUDI ARABIA IS UNITY AMONGST SAUDIS. Baria Alamuddine In her elegant home, which reflects the ambiance of her refined designs, we discussed with her issues related to her work and to the concerns related to the women of her country which is now being subjected to a vicious and unjust campaign especially regarding the Saudi woman. Here is the dialogue with the Princess: The interviewer: Tell us about the beginnings of Belotchi Institute for Jewelry. The Princess: The Institute was established about two year ago. This coincided with its success in receiving the prize of the "Creativity of the East" which is sponsored by the International Gold Council. It also coincided with its being awarded an international appreciation certificate in the fields of design and technology in the international Veratossi competition in Italy. These prizes gave the Institute a good deal of moral support in addition to valuable publicity. The interviewer: What are the objectives the Institute is seeking to achieve after receiving the "Creativity of the East" prize? The Princess: I mentioned that obtaining the prize gave us a good deal of moral support when we were just beginning our work. At the same time, the Institute felt a huge responsibility to maintain the standards it has achieved. Perhaps the most important objective of the Institute today is to reach the international market. We did, thanks to God, make the first step in this direction by succeeding in entering the European market when we exhibited our jewelry a the Tavernier Boutique, which is one of the oldest jewel shop in New Bond Street in London. We are also looking forward to our participation in the International Basel exhibition where we shall introduce the first watch carrying the name of Belotchi and made in Switzerland. The interviewer: What strikes the observer of the Belotchi Jewels design is its uniqueness in every sense of the word. It resembles no other designs. How do you explain this fact? The Princess: We, at Belotchi, are against repetition or borrowing. But, in the meantime, we believe in modernizing classic designs in a manner that is in keeping with the spirit of the modern times. We feel that the jewelry market is both large and difficult, and therefore a company like ours cannot compete successfully except by offering unique designs of high quality which we derive from various sources around us such as nature, art works, precious stones and others. The interviewer: What do jewels mean to women and to you, what is the secret of this intimate relationship? The Princess: In the past, the possession of jewels or their design was not one of my hobbies. But jewels are now my field of work and they are ornaments desired by women of all ages even when they differ in their tastes or their financial situations. The interviewer: What are the challenges you face as a Saudi business woman of the Royal family? The Princess: Undoubtedly there are many challenges that face Saudi business women, and I am one of these women regardless of my belonging to the Royal Family. Perhaps one of the most important challenges is the need for clear laws that regulate women's work in a manner that conforms to the noble Islamic laws (Sharia), and getting rid of the restrictions that were imposed by customs and tradition without any religious legal base. These restraints have checked the Saudi woman's advancement and limited her expectations. Another major challenge facing the Saudi business woman particularly and the Saudi woman generally, is the wrong image of the Saudi woman that is propagated by some of the biased media of information with the purpose of hurting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The interviewer: How do you view the reform workshop dealing with the situation of the Saudi woman? The Princess: You were right in calling the reform process a workshop. We, as Saudi female citizens, feel for the first time that there is an active persistent movement in this area which makes us feel hopeful and optimistic that the desired reform will be realized. But I believe that the success of this movement depends on two important factors: first the reform should be an internal reform that represents the expectations of the Saudi society and conforms to its religious and social principles; second, that the reform should gain widespread popular support, because it would not be sufficient for the state to enact laws that do not meet the acceptance and the support of people. The Interviewer: You must have aspirations and views regarding the development of the Saudi woman. Would you please tell us about some of your views? The Princess: Undoubtedly, we have lofty aspirations and we hope that, with the help of God, we shall dispense with the obstacles that retard the woman's progress. I used the word retard rather than the word prevent because the Saudi woman has actually achieved a good deal of progress although she has not yet realized all her aspirations. In fact if we compare the speed of her progress with the speed of progress of other women not merely in the Arab world but also worldwide, we would find out that the Saudi woman surpasses many of her counterparts. Every fair observer is bound to be amazed by the movement of the Saudi woman within a period of seventy years form the state of illiteracy and nomadic life to the levels of doctorates and fellowships and high degrees of distinction in many areas. But the Saudi woman still suffers from a serious failure of the media to publicize her activities or tot draw sufficient attention to her progress. That is why we hope that the progress being achieved by the reform movement will b accompanied by an educational campaign about the importance of the role of women in society and about their rights that are guaranteed by our true religion. Also, we hope that the news about the reform movement and its achievements will be covered not only locally but also internationally. The interviewer: What are the best responses to the vicious publicity campaign directed at the Kingdom in general and at the Saudi woman in particular? The Princess: My beloved country is being subjected to a ferocious campaign in the Western media aiming at disparaging our great Muslim religion, which according to our enemies can best be achieved by attacking the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the beating heart of Islam and the land where the word of God was revealed. I believe that the best way to respond to this campaign is for the Saudis to show their solidarity and attachment to the unity of their homeland, also to stand as one unified body in confronting anyone who tries to sow dissension among them and to believe that they have the right as free people having their own characteristics to choose the way of life they like and not to let anybody interfere in their affairs or accuse them of extremism or terrorism just because they chose for their life a path different from what is wanted for them by their enemies.