Oprah! Just her name alone is enough.It represents success. She is the gold standard of a black woman achieving ultimate success up from poverty. Here we view her show if we choose to for the guest or message she offers daily.
As a result of her endorsement of Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee she has been criticized and complemented for the choice. I was proud of her and remain glad she spoke clearly and loudly for Barack. As women in this country we have the right to speak for or against any issue; however, women who watch Oprah from Saudi Arabia view her as a messenger of hope and a teacher of life. Just imagine for one minute being a woman and living in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Women See a Brighter Road on Rights
Saudi Arabia follows a strict form of Islamic law that does not allow women self-guardianship, mandating a male guardian for women of all ages. A woman cannot travel, appear in court, marry or work without permission from a male guardian, sometimes her own son.
Until recently, women were also barred from checking into hotels and renting apartments unless they were with a male guardian. But a royal decree announced this month now allows women to stay in hotels and furnished apartments unaccompanied. Washington Post 1/08
Many women are optimistic that King Abdullah will grant permission this year to allow women to drive. Today Saudi Arabia prohibits women from driving.
Imagine The Oprah Winfrey Show on television in a room where women are watching separated from men. Oprah who will educate and entertain women unlike any other woman in the world. Oprah who teaches about womens live and issues. Oprah who speaks about her own childhood in poverty, sexual abuse by a relative and her quest for education. Oprah who speaks to finding hope within yourself when you are living in an abusive home with a tormentor for a husband. Oprah who is a black woman who has succeeded in a predominately white male arena.
Saudi Women Find Unlikely Role Model: Oprah
Once a month, Nayla says, she writes a letter to Oprah Winfrey.
Several female relatives sat with Nayla, and the door was kept slightly ajar so that their small children, chasing one another in the hall outside, could enter. But at the sound of heavier, male footfalls approaching, the women all jumped to their feet and scurried to hide their faces behind the bureau. It would be shameful if a brother-in-law accidentally caught a glimpse of their uncovered faces, Nayla explained.
"Oprah is the magic word for women here who want to scream out loud, who want to be heard," Ms. Muhammad said. "Look at what happened to the girl from Qatif," she said, referring to the infamous case of a young woman who was gang-raped, then sentenced to flogging because she had been in a car with an unrelated man.
The young woman from Qatif received a royal pardon last year after her case became an international media cause célèbre.
"The Qatif girl was heard outside the country, and she was helped," Ms. Muhammad said. "But we need to have Saudi women who help women here. We need to have women social workers, women judges." NYT 9/08
Here is an except about the story of Qatif if you are unfamiliar with it.
The Crime of Qatif
MUCH OF THE WORLD has expressed shock and outrage at the sentences recently handed down by a court in the Saudi Arabian city of Qatif. Judicial authorities there ordered that a 19-year-old woman be lashed 200 times and jailed for six months after she was kidnapped at knife-point and raped by seven men, twice by each. Her assailants received "enhanced" penalties--two to nine years in prison.
The pretext for this atrocious treatment of the victim was that she had been found in a vehicle with a man to whom she was not related. On Sunday, November 25, the Saudi ministry of justice affirmed its support for the punishments, claiming the woman had engaged in an illicit affair with the driver of the car.
There was a world wide cry of outrage against the sentencing of Qatif as a victim of rape and the appeal was granted.
Saudi-US Relations Information Service
Human rights activist Oyoni said she is calling for clear legislation that differentiates between rape and adultery. While the royal pardon is good news for the girl from Qatif, Oyoni said it was not a practical solution. "There are many other similar cases that have not received such international exposure," she said. "Not every case will receive the media attention and not every women will get a royal pardon afterward."
I am thankful to be an American female but I will not relinquish any right I have. I fight for my equality as a woman! I fight for the equality of all our citizens be they straight or lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The women in Saudi Arabia see a censored Oprah program for topics considered unacceptable. Just imagine being a woman in Saudi Arabia.
As I rebel with an attitude I cringe over and over about the discussions of our rights as women during this presidential campaign. I am thankful for all the women and men who join with Barack Obama and Joe Biden to continue the good fight for equality in this country. There are some fine diaries here highlighting the issues and the people who are in battle right now!
May we live up to our possibilities and join with others around the world for the ideal and goal of equality. Oprah, may you keep the women around the world informed. Don't let the haters get you down!