Ameeratul Layl
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Young generation more demanding
How Saudi youths feel about their country’s culture?
Some Saudi youths say their social needs clash with conservative culture, others feel proud of embracing it.
By Ali Khalil - RIYADH
Copy and pasted by: Ameeratul Layl :coolsis:
A "dialogue" on youth issues held in Saudi Arabia last week recommended boosting the participation of young Saudis in public life, but some doubt the kingdom's ultra-conservative culture can accommodate their needs.
"Everything we want clashes with Saudi culture... Why do you think we enjoy travelling abroad?" said 21-year-old Nora, who spoke to AFP with a group of "liberal" friends about their "ignored needs" in a country where women still have to cover up from head to toe.
"I tear off my abaya (loose black cloak) as I board the plane and I never feel any regret," echoed 16-year-old Samira, wearing make-up and dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, protected by the high wall of a private garden.
Bilal, a 17-year-old male friend in Western attire, said he supported the right of women not to wear the abaya because "it is a matter of personal freedom."
The failure to mention women's dress code during either the debate, which ended on Thursday, or its concluding recommendations confirmed Nora's belief that the issue is not up for public discussion in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.
Women also want access to theatres and concerts that "are open only to men," she said.
Actresses are not allowed to take part in plays in Saudi Arabia, which makes theatre an exclusively male art. Cinemas are totally banned.
"What do movies have to do with religion?" Samira asked.
Constraints on women's movement are not confined to a ban on driving, but extend to their walking alone.
"I want to walk along Tahliah Road," said 17-year-old Manal, referring to an avenue dubbed the "Champs Elysees of Riyadh" for its numerous cafes.
"I cannot walk there. I either get hassled by men or reprimanded by the Commission (for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, known as the religious police) for walking alone," she added.
Girls are also barred from sports in schools, except at the primary level, Manal complained.
Young men too suffer from stifling social restraints, said 16-year-old Aziz who was once scolded by a religious policeman because he had a fashionable haircut.
He complained about a ban on men entering shopping centers alone, and quoted a police officer telling him once that he can enter on his own only in the mornings.
"How am I supposed to go shopping in the morning when I am expected to be at school?," he wondered.
Walid, 17, protested at aspects of the educational system, which he and other members of the group described as an insult to their intelligence.
"The teacher of religion at school insists that the sun rotates around the earth," he said.
Aziz said that when he was seven, his teacher of religion showed him a video on jihad, or holy war, in Chechnya.
The recommendations adopted by the debate's participants addressed the issue of education, calling for the "updating of curricula... and the continuous training of teachers."
But some young participants in the discussions fiercely defended the present system, the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported.
"When I travel abroad, I feel proud to be aware of the right Islamic manners to do my ablution and shorten my prayer (for travel purposes)," it quoted participant Ali al-Qarni as saying.
The debate on youth problems was the fourth round of a "national dialogue" launched in Saudi Arabia 18 months ago as part of limited moves toward reform.
