Invisible Women

Qanta Ahmed's memoir In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom is a fascinating account of life in Riyadh for a working woman. Ahmed is an Englishwoman and a doctor, who had been living and working in the United States. When her visa expired and was not renewed, she decided to take a job working in a hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Although raised in a Muslim family, Ahmed's family was not strictly devout and because they lived in England, Ahmed had never experienced living under Islamic law. When she gets to Riyadh, the male escort that is required to get her through customs is the first of many injustices she faces as a woman in this country. One of her first tasks is to buy an abayah, which covers the whole body except for the face, feet and hands. She is required to wear this any time she is in public, including while she is working. Female patients also remain covered while in the hospital. Ahmed, used to giving her opinion, was met with hostility from her male colleagues if her opinion differed from theirs. Aside from the working conditions, Ahmed describes her experiences of everyday life in Saudi Arabia, such as taking a trip to the shopping mall and attending parties (with only women). Although most of us are probably familiar with Saudi Arabia's treatment of women by now, it is still, nevertheless, a subject that continues to astonish me. Definitely worth a read.