Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 61
After we finished our pleasant dinner, Dr Meena and I settled in with cold juice and sweets, although I noticed Dr Meena barely nibbled on the little treats before her. But Dr Meena did lift her glass of juice. ‘Here, dear princess, here is to the excitement that keeps our lives from being dull!’
‘Hear! Hear!’ I said, laughing.
‘You wanted to talk, Princess?’
I did not hesitate to tell her all that was on my mind. ‘My heart is full and heavy – full of anguish for all the young people who have been arrested and now jailed for speaking their mind, for expressing their ideas, for having opinions of their own. What are the men of my family so afraid of, why are they so obstinate?’
Dr Meena did not appear to be surprised by my outburst. ‘Go on,’ she said.
‘I have been researching all the young lives being ruined by our government’s eagerness to arrest any and all who simply express an opinion on social media.’ I looked directly into Dr Meena’s expressive brown eyes. ‘Why do you believe that our government is so adamant that no Saudi shall be allowed to make the mildest criticism of our country?’
My good friend sat back, inhaling and exhaling several times before speaking. ‘Well, Princess, I will tell you what I think. I, too, have been disturbed by the intimidation and arrests of these young people. But if you look back at history you will find that when a country undergoes great change, there seems to be a lack of confidence in the leaders and rulers that they can successfully create a new society if they allow the masses to become involved – in their defence, it does get so much more messy when there are thousands of voices spouting their thoughts and ideas versus, say, ten or twenty who make the actual decisions and laws. I believe that the rulers of Saudi Arabia are the same in this respect as every other country when change is needed, and in our case, as you know so well, change is urgently needed.’
I nodded, listening to this smart woman.
‘Just think about the Western nations, when only one simple decision had to be made: would women be allowed to vote or not? Entire nations were burning, hundreds if not thousands of women were being intimidated, beaten, arrested and put in prison. It caused outrage for years and many suffered in this fight for equality.
‘Saudi Arabia has a much more complicated set-up when it comes to social change. Almost every custom and law in this country to do with women needs to go into the history books and stay there. For centuries, we have not been allowed to do anything of any importance. And our laws or customs, which forbid practically everything of normal life for women, and for men, have created a society like no other. In America and Europe they simply trimmed the trees in the forests to make change – in this country, they must rip up the entire forest: dig up the roots, throw them away and start anew.’
I could not help but laugh at Dr Meena’s passion and excitement, although we were discussing a very serious subject.
‘Yes, I see what you mean.’ I leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, as I did not want any of our servants to hear what I was about to say. ‘Yet I feel great disappointment, even anger, when I read about a young man or a young woman whose life is ruined only because they are asking to be free to discuss politics or issues to do with personal freedom. If our leaders feel it is too dangerous for Saudi citizens to be involved, why can’t they take a softer, more humane approach? Why can’t they take away the computers and phones when they feel someone has overstepped the boundaries during this very risky time? Why do they have to put these young people in jail, ruin their lives, flog them? Why does the punishment for what I see as the most minor of offences have to be so extreme?’
‘You are asking me a question that I do not have an answer to, Princess. There are many possibilities. Perhaps our prince does not want these voices exclaiming to the world what they desire because he believes that he, and they, are competing for the same applause.
‘But then again, I believe that our Crown Prince cannot allow anyone to interfere in his plans to free up this entire nation. You and I both know that a tidal wave of social change cannot occur at once. The kind of changes our prince is planning will have to be done deliberately and slowly. He is only thirty-two years of age. I predict that he will be at least fifty-two years old when he will feel he has accomplished what he set out to do.’
‘That long?’
‘Yes, you will see, it will be at least twenty years before all our dreams come true.’
‘May we live that long,’ I said with conviction. I had not yet told Dr Meena about my health scare, and probably would not on this night, as it would take over the evening’s conversation. ‘Tell me, do you believe it will be necessary for our government to continue arresting people who simply give an opinion?’
‘Most likely – at least for a time. Think about this. Our Crown Prince is not yet the leader he will be. He is young. He is brash. When he becomes king, he will be a king like no other. Brace yourself