Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

opinion that we should not feel
shame but relief at this assessment. A strong military would be a
risk to our very heads; the throne could not survive a precise
military machine. In the Arab world, a capable military overthrows
monarchies; for truly, people desire a voice in the policies of
their land. Our family had seen such happenings and maintained a
family-run organization of men unwilling to fight. Certainly, our
ruling family is sly and purposely keeps the Saudi soldier slovenly
and far from his peak.
    In the end, events of the war served to abort
our confidence in legendary social change for the women of Saudi
Arabia. The fight that brought forth Western eyes from around the
world to probe the disorders of our society ended all too quickly.
The fading power of our enemy, Saddam, lifted the interest in our
plight and transferred the whispered pledges of help to the
distressing predicament of the Kurds, who were languishing in the
mountain snows. At the end of the war, our men tended to their
prayers with great diligence, for they had been saved from the
threat of invading armies and free women.
    Who is to say which threat gave them the most
worry?
     

Epilogue
    The haunting sound that lifts the heart of
every Muslim with joy filled the air. The faithful were being
called to pray.
    “God is great, there are no other Gods, but
God; and Mohammed was his Prophet. Come to prayer, come to prayer.
God is great; there is no God, but God.”
    It was dusk; the big yellow circle that was
the sun was slowly sinking. For faithful Muslims, the time had come
for the fourth prayer of the day.
    I stood on the bedroom balcony and watched my
husband and son leave our palace grounds and walk, hand in hand, to
the mosque. I saw that many men were gathering, greeting each other
with the spirit of brotherhood.
    The turbulent memories of my childhood came
back to me, and I was a young girl again, shut out from the love
exclusive to my father and his treasured son, Ali. Nearly thirty
years had passed, yet nothing had changed. My life had come full
circle. Father and Ali, Kareem and Abdullah, yesterday, today, and
tomorrow, immoral practices passed from father to son. Men I loved,
men I detested, leaving a legacy of shame in their treatment of
women.
    My eyes followed the movements of my beloved
flesh, my most precious blood; my husband and son entered the
mosque hand in hand, without me.
    I felt quite the loneliest figure ever to
have lived.
     

 
    After September 11, 2001:
    The world as we know it was utterly changed
on September 11, 2001. Few people were left untouched by the
carnage brought against so many by so few. That eventful day even
provoked military action. The haunting images of the war against
terrorism were often tragic while others were uplifting, and none
more so than the endearing smiles on the faces of the previously
burqa clad women and girls of Afghanistan. Although our purposeful
military mission was to seek justice and to stop suicide bombers
from future odious acts, I have always believed that the
emancipation of women is a freedom worth fighting for. A great
imbalance is created in the world when women are treated as
liabilities, as they are in many countries. As the Afghani women
celebrated, I rejoiced with them. As I listened to First Lady Laura
Bush’s now famous radio broadcast about these women, I waited in
anticipation, hoping that some golden words of hope would be cast
to women in other countries.
    Soon after the tragedy of 9/11, I spoke with
Princess Sultana and was not surprised when I learned that she,
too, was hoping that great change for women in Afghanistan would
magically sweep the entire world. Sadly, that was not to be. She,
as I, was disheartened when she saw that the time had not yet come
when every government will do the responsible thing and proclaim
that freedom is just as important for women, as it is for men.
Surely, the world now knows that what imperils women, imperils the
world.
    Now, in the year 2010, most realize that the
American government’s efforts in Afghanistan have done little to
raise the status of women. Although Afghan girls and women living
in large cities have benefited to a small degree, with some allowed
an education, women and girls in the provinces have seen little
change.
    Once again, the world has abandoned a push
for real change for females. The princess and I hope and pray that
governments will one day wake up to this most important issue.
    And, now, we say