BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saudi novel breaks sex taboos
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saudi novel breaks sex taboos
Saudi novel breaks sex taboos
By Heba Saleh
BBC News, Riyadh
A controversial novel written by a young Saudi woman is breaking taboos in the Kingdom’s conservative society.
Banat al-Riyadh, or The Girls of Riyadh, speaks openly of sex, lesbianism and young women’s desire to lead freer lives.
The author, Rajaa al-Sanei, is a 24-year old dentist from a conservative Saudi family.
Her book has angered some people in Saudi Arabia, but it has also attracted praise for its honesty.
Rajaa al-Sanei
Author Rajaa al-Sanei writes openly about life in Saudi Arabia
The four young women at the centre of the novel challenge Saudi Arabia’s strict social and sexual conventions.
Under the country’s Islamic law, women are meant to be covered and accompanied by a male relative in public. In this extract two of the heroines are shown dressing up as men.
“Mashael put on a pair of baggy trousers with many pockets and a large jacket which covered her body, concealing every sign of femininity.
“As for Lamees, she donned the white robe of a man, complete with full headgear. Her tall, athletic body gave her the appearance of a handsome young man”
The novel is full of popular references and shows the modern side of Saudi Arabia.
“The girls’ first stop was the famous coffee shop on Thaliya Street,” al-Sanei writes in one passage.
“The young men realised the shaded windows of the X5 car concealed a valuable catch. They surrounded the car from every direction.
“They either shouted out their numbers or held them up written on big signs that had been prepared in advance so that they could be seen clearly by girls in passing cars.”
Conservatives say the novel smears Saudi society. But the Minister of Culture, Iyad Madani, says it reflects the way many young people in the Kingdom actually live.
“It connected with the new generation because it was based on how our young people use their mobile phones to create relationships.”
The internet and satellite TV channels mean Saudis are no longer sheltered from outside influences.
It is not just conservative hardliners who are critical of the book. Hani Khoja produces a youth television programme, he has many reservations about it.
“The lesbian aspect of it, the gay son – that’s not been talked about before. Obviously it happens… but to say it in public doesn’t show the other rich elements of Saudi.
“I don’t think it’s a very balanced portrayal of Riyadh”.
The authorities only allowed the book to go on sale in the last few weeks, but it shows the government is willing to confront the country’s hardliners in order to liberalise a few more aspects of life in Saudi Arabia.
Irving Karchmar writes:
Salaam Alaikum:
An excellent post on a brave writer. May Allah bless you for the work you do on your blog. As a writer, may I commend to you my book, Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel, a mystical adventure tale on the Sufi path of Love.
You can view the book and read reviews and an excerpt at http://www.masterofthejinn.com
In the Name of the Most Merciful, 10% of all profit goes to charity.
Ya Haqq,
Irving