Girls of Riyadh: Saudi Girls Gone Wild?

Saudi society is very conservative, especially where it comes to the treatment and permitted social roles of women. This is what makes a new book about women in Saudi Arabia so controversial: in includes tales of gay teens, lesbians, women drinking alcohol, and more. The book is banned in Saudi Arabia, naturally, but that's only made it more attractive to readers.

New Kerala reports:

Local press commentators have asked the young Saudi to disown the book for besmirching women in the conservative kingdom and interviewers on Saudi-owned satellite channels have accused her of portraying its men as boorish bores.

But many young people using popular Internet chat rooms have praised Sanie’s debut novel for its honesty. Prominent writers have lauded the work as part of a new trend which, through focusing on the psychology of the individual, suggests that human needs come above the demands of society and religion.

How much of the book is based upon reality and how much is pure fantasy? The reactions of young readers suggests that, even if none of the events are based upon real life, they are still similar enough to people’s real experiences that they might as well be.

Such open frankness about what people actually experience in their lives — instead of the restricted versions of what people are supposed to experience, as dictated by religious leaders — may help crack open Saudi society generally. Fiction can have a powerful social influence if people are able to relate to it, and this may be one of those cases.

 

Read More:

• Islam
• News About Islam
• Women in Islam
• Wahhabi Islam
• Religion in Saudi Arabia