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| King Abdullah greeting Khawla al-Kuraya |
You’ve surely read the news about the historic first
in Saudi Arabia.
You’ve probably also read all or some of the names of
the 30 Saudi women King Abdullah appointed to the previously all-male
Consultative Assembly, better known as Majlis
ash-Shoura or Shoura Council.
Saudi women will henceforth constitute 20 percent of
the 150-member body, which can draft and forward legislation to the monarch for
approval before becoming law.
The Assembly does have
the power, however, to interpret laws and audit annual reports referred to it
by state ministries and agencies.
The king can consult
it on policy matters, international treaties and economic plans, and it is also
authorized to review the kingdom's annual budget, and call in ministers for
questioning.
The influence of the
Assembly in its present form comes from its responsibility for the Kingdom's
five-year development plans, from which the annual budgets are derived, its
ability to summon government officials for questioning, and its role as a
policy debate forum.
Meet the 30 women who
will participate in all this as their and their 120 male colleagues’ four-year
term begins today, Tuesday:
Ilham M. Hassanein:
Born in 1966, she
joined the United Kingdom’s Richmond College as an undergraduate before
enrolling at Surrey University for postgraduate studies.
Her intellectual
pursuits at Surrey University culminated in an MSc in Computational
Intelligence and Computational Biology followed by a PhD in Computing.
She has served as
assistant dean of the College of Computing at Umm al-Qura
University.
Amal S. al-Shaman:
Her stateside
postgraduate studies were at The George Washington University’s Graduate School
of Education and Human Development.
Her doctoral degree is
in Educational Administration and Policy Studies.
She is now an
academician at Prince Sultan
University in Riyadh and contributes scholarly articles regularly to
journals of higher education management.
Thuraya A. Obaid:
She was Undersecretary
of the United Nations from 2001 to 2010 and the Executive Director of the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
In December 2004, Forbes magazine rated her among the 50
most powerful Arab Women.
Natana DeLong-Bas,
Deputy Editor for The Encyclopedia of the Islamic World and editor for The
Oxford Dictionary of Islam, 2006, profiled her as one of 100 Muslim Builders of
World Civilization and Culture in Notable Muslims, an Oxford-published book.
Her university degrees
in English literature: BA (minor in Sociology) from Mills College in Oakland,
California; and an MA (minor in Sociology) and a PhD (minor in Cultural
Anthropology), both from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
She later received two
honorary Doctor of Laws degrees. One was from her Alma Mater in Oakland for
commitment to help people in developing countries, the other from Kwansei
Gakuin University in Kobe, Japan, for contribution to the advancement of
culture.
Her outstanding
commitment to global public service earned her an award from New York
University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Thuraya I. al-Arrayed:
A 64-year-old poetess
and writer, she received her bachelor's degree in 1966 from the Beirut College
for Women (BCW, renamed since as the Lebanese American University) before
earning her MBA in 1969 from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and a PhD
from the University of North Carolina in 1975.
Currently living in
Dhahran, she is a Saudi Arabian Oil Company (ARAMCO) consultant for planning.
She also writes
regular columns on current and controversial issues for the Saudi and Arab
print media.
The recipient of
numerous scholastic awards, she is part of the Advisory Team of the Arab Thought
Foundation, an NGO seeking to help advance the Arab region’s economic,
social and cultural development.
Al-Jawhara I. Bu-Besht:
She got her BA and MA
degrees in Educational Administration (EDAD) from Ohio
University in Athens, Ohio, before receiving her doctorate in Educational
Administration and Planning from Umm al-Qura University in Mecca.
She has been serving
at King Faisal University
as Assistant Dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Community Service
since 2007, and as Associate Professor at the College of Education since 2004.
She is active in
several women’s education societies and member of the Saudi Management
Association.
Hamda Kh. al-Enzy:
Born in Riyadh in
1975, she is Saudi-educated through and through, receiving her Bachelor’s,
Master’s and PhD degrees from the College
of Arts for Girls at the University of Dammam.
She is currently an
Associate Professor at King Faisal University’s College of Arts for Girls in
al-Hasa.
Hanan A. al-Ahmadi:
She received her MBA
in Health Services Administration (International Development) in 1989 from
Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her PhD in Public Health in Health
Services Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania
followed in 1995.
Currently, she is (1)
Director General (Women Branch) at the Institute of Public
Administration (2) member of the Consulting Committee at the Saudi
Alzheimer Disease Association (SADA) and (3) Honorary Research Associate at the
University of Manchester.
She has had stints as a consultant for the National Center of Alternative
and Complementary Medicine and for the Armed Forces’ Hospital Institute of
Health Services. Between 2003 and 2007, she was a board member of the Saudi
Management Association.
In the UAE last February and March, she was an Assessor at the Sheikh
Khalifa Program for Excellence in Government.
Titles of her published studies include: “Assessment of Patient Safety
Culture in Saudi Arabian Hospitals,” “Nursing Turnover in Mental Health
Institutions in Saudi Arabia” and “Challenges Facing Women in Saudi Arabia.”
Dr. Hayat S.
Sindi:
In
March 2012, Newsweek recognized her
as one of “150 Women Who Shake the World.”
The National Geographic Society named her a
2011 Emerging Explorer.
Born
in 1967 in Mecca, she holds a BSc in Pharmacology from King’s College, London
-- where
she was a recipient of Princess Anne's Award for her undergraduate work on
allergy -- and a PhD in
Biotechnology from Cambridge University in 2001.
Her major invention is a machine
combining the effects of light and ultra-sound for use in biotechnology called
MARS (Magnetic Acoustic Resonance Sensor). It was patented during her doctorate
work at Cambridge University’s Institute of Biotechnology.
She now plans to build
a world-class biotechnology center of excellence in Saudi Arabia with the
support of Harvard and MIT.
Last October 1, the
head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), Irina Bokova, nominated the Saudi researcher as a Goodwill Ambassador
to support science education, especially among girls.
The nomination
was “in recognition of her work to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and
social innovation for scientists, technologists and engineers in the Middle
East and beyond, her efforts to bring the youth closer to innovators and her
dedication to the ideals and aims of the [UNESCO] organization.”
Dr. Khawla al-Kuraya:
Born in al-Jouf province,
she is another renowned Saudi female scientist.
After earning her MD in
Medicine and General Surgery from King Saud University
in Riyadh, she developed a passion for pathology research and practice.She thus completed a
residency in Clinical Pathology followed by a fellowship in Hematopathology and
Molecular Diagnostics at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC.
The American Journal of
Pathology has published the findings of her team’s research into colorectal
cancer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh.
She is herself associate
editor of BMC Genomics, an online journal published by the UK-based BioMed
Central.
In January 2010, she became the first Saudi female
recipient of the King Abdulaziz Award of Excellence (First Order).
Some of her placements:
- Principal clinical scientist at Riyadh’s King Faisal Hospital and Research Center
- Director of Research at King Fahd National Center for Children’s Cancer, where she also directs its Human Cancer Genomic Research Program
- Member of the College of American Pathologists
- Member of the American Association for Cancer Research
- Member of the U.S. and Canadian Academy of Pathology
- Member of the American Society of Human Genetics
- Member of the American Society of Hematology
- Member of the American Society of Clinical Pathology
Dalal M. al-Harbi:
She is a graduate of the College of Arts and Humanities at Princess
Nora bint Abdulrahman University, the largest women-only university in the
world with a campus for 52,000 girl students.
She is recognized as one of the most prolific and authoritative authors
and writers on the history of the Arabian Peninsula.
The hardcover edition of her book, Prominent
Women from Central Asia (ISBN13:
9780863723285), was published by Garnet Publishing Ltd (UK) in October 2008. Its synopsis
by Berkelouw Books states:
Muslim historians throughout the ages, be they cultural,
religious, medical or military, have recorded women’s contributions to Arabic
and Islamic society. No biographical dictionary of any worth was considered
complete unless it mentioned prominent women, a tradition stemming from the
earliest Islamic biographies, which all included the female companions of the
Prophet as well as mothers of notable men. However, little has been written
about the contribution of women from more recent contemporary central Arabian
society.
Published in association with Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz
Foundation for Research and Archives, "Prominent Women from Central
Arabia" explores sources ranging from published material to manuscripts,
documents and oral history in an attempt to redress the balance.
In all, the book contains 52 biographies of women who lived from
the beginning of the 18th century until the death of King Abdulaziz in 1953. The
women studied include notable poets, educators and
great donors of charitable works, amongst others. Above all, the book
highlights the enormous contribution of the women of Central Arabia during the
period under consideration, demonstrating that, contrary to popular
misconception, their influence has in fact been highly significant.
Dr. Zeinab M. Abotalib:
She
received her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and
Bachelor of Surgery) from King Saud University in 1980 and her Diploma of
Obstetrics and Gynecology from the Health Ministry in collaboration with the
Clinical Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology (CIOG) in
London in 1986.
She became an MRCOB
(Member, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, UK) in 1993 and completed
her IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) specialization in 2001.
Princess Sara bint Faisal bin Abdulaziz:
One of late King Faisal’s
daughters, she established the private al-Tarbeya
al-Islamiya Schools in 1964 to introduce Arab culture to indigenous
students in Riyadh city. The schools’ ownership went to Ta’leem (Arabic for Teaching) in 2007.
She is now chairman of
the board of al-Nahda,
a charitable women’s society she co-founded in 1962 and dedicated to empowering
Saudi women socially and economically through financial and social support,
training and employment.
Dr. Salwa al-Hazza’:
She became the first Saudi woman to head a medical department in 1997 and
is now into her 16th year at the helm of the Department of Ophthalmology at the
893-bed King
Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh.
At a young age, she relocated with her family to Tucson, Arizona, where
she enrolled at Tucson High, before returning to the Kingdom and graduating
from King Saud University as a Doctor of Medicine.
Postgraduate studies at the Medical School of Johns Hopkins University
and residency at John Hopkins Hospital followed.
She is ascribed
groundbreaking research on rescuing the eyesight of premature babies and
published an acclaimed paper on genetic eye diseases in Saudi
Arabia.
Marquis
Who's Who, the preeminent publisher of biographical
information since 1899, named her one of the most prominent
personalities for 1997. The American Biographical Institute chose her as woman
of the year in 1998.
Dr. Mona M. al-Dosari:
She’s been into zoology
and entomology studies and research for 10 years at Princess
Nora bint Abdulrahman University.
Her BSc degree was in
zoology, or the scientific study of the behavior, structure, physiology,
classification and distribution of animals.
Her Master’s and PhD
were in entomology, which is the branch of zoology
concerned with the study of insects.
Her doctorate thesis
was on the sensory receptors of the red palm weevil, with reference to
attractants, repellents and control.”
She is now a faculty
member of the Biology Department at al-Kharj University in al-Kharj city in
central Saudi Arabia.
She is also into
thematic committees at the Saudi
Biological Society and the Egyptian
Entomological Society.
Princess Moudi bint Khalid bin Abdulaziz:
A daughter of the late
King Khalid,
she has spent more than 32 years in social welfare work.
She is the general
secretary of both the King Khalid Foundation and the al-Nahda women’s
philanthropic society.
The King Khalid
Foundation is a charitable organization established in 2001 focusing on the
provision of funds and support for training, capacity building, technical
assistance, community development and emergency relief projects in the Kingdom.
Al-Nahda
was founded in Riyadh in 1961 and aims to empower underprivileged women
socially, economically and legally and raise their health and education
standards. It works in association with similar institutions of civil society
to provide special welfare services to help beneficiaries solve, among other
things, family problems caused by unemployment, domestic violence and divorce.
Al-Nahda has
also launched a number of pioneer projects, such as the provision of housing to
underprivileged families, the establishment of Down’s syndrome schools and the
development of projects for the employment of women in factories.
Moudi M. al-Dughaither:
Alongside her
consultancy work, she teaches Psychology at the College of Education
in King Saud University. That’s where she earned her Bachelor’s in Social
Services and Master’s in Psychology before receiving her PhD (with High Honors)
from Imam Muhammad bin
Saud Islamic University in 2008.
Imam Muhammad bin Saud
Islamic University, which has more than 24,000 students and 1,700 Faculty, is
organized into 11 colleges – namely, of Sharia, Fundamentals of Islam, Arabic
Language, Social Sciences, Advocacy and Media, Languages and Translation,
Computer Sciences and Information, Economics and Administration, Sciences,
Medicine, and Engineering.
Her doctorate was in Educational
Psychology and her thesis was titled: “Social skills from an Islamic
perspective and their correlation to intuitive intelligence, academic
achievement and age.”
Dr. Nuhad M. al-Jishi:
A native of al-Qateef
in the Eastern Province, she is a consultant in pediatrics and neonatology at
the Maternity and Children Hospital in Dammam, where she heads the intensive
care unit for newborns.
She earned her MD from
King Saud University’s College of Medicine.
Besides being a
renowned pediatrician, her work for social welfare and charity societies in
Qateef and elsewhere is ceaseless.
You wouldn’t think,
but she is also an aficionada of poetry.
After all, her father,
the late Muhammad Saeed al-Jishi, was himself a renowned poet, affectionately
called “Abu Qateef.”
Nora A. al-Mubarak:
She earned her
doctorate in Physical
Chemistry from Imperial College London in 1993 and is now into the College
of Science and the College of Computer & Information Sciences at Princess
Nora bint Adurrahman University heart and soul.
She has contributed
several studies to specialized physical chemistry journals overseas and is
member of the Saudi Chemical Society, the Saudi Society for Educational and
Psychological Studies, the Saudi Management Association and the Saudi Computer
Society.
Nora A. al-Asqa:
She is a Doctor of
Philosophy (PhD) in Social Work from the University of Manchester who headed
the Girls’ Care Institution in Mecca for 12 years between 1984 and 1996.
She has been an
assistant dean at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca since 2006.
Nora A. al-Adwan:
Currently an assistant
professor at King Saud University’s College of Education, she earned her MA in
Educational Sciences from Indiana University in the United States and her PhD
in Arabic Teaching Methods from Imam
Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University.
Huda
A. al-Hulaysi:
She chaired the European languages unit at King Saud University’s College of Languages and Translation and
participated in conferences and workshops sponsored by the Saudi Association of
Languages and Translation.
Her aptitude for translation meant she was co-opted in 1999 as a
consultant to the group of experts linked to the Council of Ministers and in
2011 as a board member of the joint Saudi-French Business Council.
Her language and translation services have also been retained by the
Defense Ministry’s Public Affairs Department, as well as by the ministries of
Health, Culture and Information.
Haya
A. al-Manei:
A PhD graduate of the Faculty of Social Services at Princess Nora
University, she has been a long-serving chief librarian at PNU, which has a new
library capable of holding no less than 4.5 million volumes.
She served as managing director of the women’s section in al-Riyadh daily for 20 years ending in
2010.
She headed and led the PNU delegation to the International Book Fair in
Riyadh, Geneva and Istanbul.
She has also chaired the women’s information committee at the annual Janadriyah
Festival, which showcases the Kingdom’s culture and heritage.
Wafa
M. Tayba:
She teaches at the Department of Psychology that she chairs at King Saud
University, which is where she earned her PhD in the discipline.
She has done consultancy work for the Shoura Council and the Ministry of
Education and is a founding member of the National
Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and member of Prince Salman Center for
Disability Research.
She’s also associated with al-Mawadda
Charity Association, which strives to support and help divorcees.
In April 2009, she was co-opted to join the Saudi delegation to the 120th
IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) Assembly in Addis Ababa.
She is a prolific writer on Psychology, including a book in Arabic
tackling the middle stage of psychosocial development.
Ferdous
S. al-Ssaleh:
She is one of the growing numbers of Saudi women to have passed the gate
of sciences.
She is a Professor of Physics at Princess Nora bint Abdurrahman
University’s Faculty of Science and the university’s Vice-Rector of
Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research.
Holding a doctorate in Experimental Physics (both nuclear and
radiological), she is very much into research and experiments applicable to her
major disciplines.
For instance, she showed in one published research how the
sciences of physics, the environment and archaeology converge, using gamma ray
to determine the dates of ancient artifacts in areas like Najran, Taj and
al-Ukhdood, check the natural radiation in the local construction materials, as
well as measure the rates of radioactive radon gas in buildings.
Dr. Lubna A. al-Ansari:
She has been a member of the World
Organization of Family Doctors since 1994 and the American
Academy of Family Medicine since 1998.
She is also a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, a
British professional body of doctors of general medicine and its
subspecialties.
She followed up her MD in Family Medicine from King Saud University by
tutoring at its Family and Community Medicine College.
Consultancy work at King Khalid University Hospital was next on the
cards.
She presented papers to the 15th
World Conference of Family Medicine in Dublin and to the conference on health
education and professions organized by the Faculty of Medicine at the
University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.
Latifa
O. al-Shaalan:
She
holds a Master of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Surrey
in England and a doctorate in the discipline from Princess Nora University in
Riyadh.
She
is member of the Canadian Psychological Association, which is the primary
organization representing psychologists throughout Canada, of the Saudi
Association for Educational and Psychological Sciences and of the Egyptian
Association for Psychological Studies.
Mastura
O. al-Shamri:
She
earned her BA from the College of Advocacy and Media at Imam Muhammad bin Saud
Islamic University and her Master’s from the latter’s College of Social
Sciences.
Her
doctorate in the Philosophy of Education from Princess Nora bint Abdurrahman
University followed in 2011.
She
has since been appointed dean of the Education Department at Salman bin
Abdulaziz University in al-Kharj.
Dr.
Mona A. al-Mushait:
She
has been Obstetrics and Gynecology practitioner, associate professor and
consultant all her working life, chiefly at King Khalid University’s Faculty of
Medicine and Medical Sciences and at the Abha General Hospital.
She
is currently dean of student affairs at her Alma Mater -- King Khalid
University in Abha city. KKU is a public university with
around 70,000 students, distributed over several towns in the ‘Asir Province in
southwest Saudi Arabia, including Abha and al-Namas.
Fatima M. al-Qarni:
A
1964 native of ‘Asir Province, she dabbled in Arabic literature and poetry as a
young girl.
By
the end of her secondary years, some of her poems had made their way into the
Saudi print media under her penname, “The Saudi Wafa’” (وفاء السعودية).
By university age, she was
publishing her prose writings and poems under her real name.
Meantime, she had joined
the University of Tabuk for a BA in Arabic
and Arabic Literature, followed by a Master’s from Prince Sultan University’s
College for Women in Riyadh.
She is now back teaching at
the University of Tabuk, but she still contributes a regular column for al-Yamamah (The
Dove in Arabic) weekly magazine.
Prof. Fadwa S. Abu
Mrefeh:
She
is a member of the Board of Princess Nora Bint Abdurrahman University and the
Dean of its Faculty of Science.
She
is also member of the Saudi Association for Mathematical Sciences.
