Of the more than 88,000 Saudi male and female students currently studying in the US under the Scholarship Program of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques over 36% are women. There are also many other Saudi women studying in other countries around the world such as the UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany. Not only are these women gaining skills and knowledge will benefit the Kingdom and the economy when they return back to Saudi Arabia, but they are also changing the often distorted image people hold of Saudi women.
These women, who are pursuing degrees in a diversity of fields, including medicine, engineering, pharmacy, computer science, and business, are changing the way people in other countries perceive the role of women in Saudi Arabia.
“People are surprised when they find out that I am Saudi”, Amani, who is studying Computer Science in the UK says. “They ask me if I’ll be allowed to work when I go back to Saudi Arabia, and are surprised to find that I already do and that it was my job that encouraged me to pursue my PhD.” In the beginning she found that her classmates, especially the males, avoided including her in any academic discussions or activities. “They told me later that they didn’t want to do anything that I would be insulted by, including speaking to me. I told them that by not inviting me to participate and not including me I was being insulted.”
By competing and succeeding on an international academic stage, these Saudi women are showing the world that they are as capable, as driven, and have as important a role in society as their counterparts in other countries.
