Read Online Jean P Sasson - [Princess 02] by Princess Sultana's Daughters (pdf) - Free Book Online Page A

prohibited by religious law for single men and women to see each other. While inside the country, men socialize with men, and women with women. Since we are prevented from engaging in traditional behavior, the sexual tension between those of the same sex is palpable. Any foreigner who has lived in Saudi Arabia for any length of time becomes aware that homosexual relations are rampant within the kingdom.
    I have attended many all female concerts and functions where quivering beauties and suggestive behavior triumph over heavy veils and black abaayas. An orderly gathering of heavily perfumed and love-starved Saudi women festers into spontaneous exuberance, bursting forth in the form of a wild party with singing of forbidden love accompanied by lusty dancing. I have watched as shy-faced women danced lewdly with other women, flesh to flesh, face-to-face. I have heard women whisper of love and plan clandestine meetings while their drivers wait patiently in the parking lots. They will later deliver these women to their husbands who are that same evening being captivated by other men.
    While the conduct of men is overlooked, the behavior of women, even with other women, is often carefully guarded. This is made apparent by the various rules and regulations governing females.
    Some years ago I clipped a small item from one of our Saudi Arabian newspapers to show to my sisters. I was particularly irritated by yet another foolish restriction placed upon women. A ban on cosmetics had been announced in a girls' school. Recently I ran across this clipping while throwing out some old papers.
    This article reads:

    Cosmetics Ban in School
    The director of Girls' Education at Al Ras, Abdullab Muhammad Al Rashid, urged all students and staff of the school under the directorate to refrain from using cosmetics, dyestuffs, ornaments, and other makeups inside the school compounds.

    The director added that some staff and students were noticed of late to have been using transparent garments and cosmetics as well as high-heeled shoes, hence, such adornments are prohibited.
    While the students must keep uniformity in dress, the teachers should set good examples to the students. The authorities would not hesitate to take punitive measures against violators of school regulations, Al Rashid added.
    I remember well what I said to my sisters at the time. I waved the clipping angrily under their noses, raging, "See! See for yourself! The men of this country want to regulate the wearing of our shoes, the ribbons in our hair, the color of our lips!"
    My sisters, while their anger did not equal mine, sullenly complained that our men were obsessed with controlling every aspect of our lives, even that part of our daily living that was supposedly private.
    In my opinion, the control fanatics who govern our traditional lives had driven my daughter into the arms of a woman! While I was greatly distressed and did not condone my daughter's relationship with another woman, I understood, in view of the harsh restrictions she had inherited by the mere fact of being born female, how she had come to seek solace with one of her own kind.
    Knowing the problem, I now felt more capable of seeking solutions. 
    Kareem feared that Maha's character was now marred by her experiences. As a mother, I could not agree. I told Kareem that Maha's wanting to share her darkest secret with those who love her best pointed to her recovery.
    I was right in my assessment of the situation.
    After months of professional treatment, Maha was ready for maternal guidance. For the first time in her young life, she drew close to her mother, wanting to communicate, tearfully acknowledging that from her earliest memory she had hated all men but her father. She had no ready explanation for it.
    I felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if my own prejudices against the male sex had seeped into the embryo I had given life. It was as if my daughter had been forewarned of the wicked nature of men while lying