1. Katherine Santangelo (Ahmed)
Professor Taleghani
MES 255W
Final Paper
5/20/13
Feminism in Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh
“I hope that you will see,too,that little by little some of these women are beginning to carve out their
own way- not the Western way,but one that keepswhat is good about the the values of their religion and
culture, while allowing for reform.” - Rajaa Alsanea
Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh exposes the lives of Saudi Arabia’s wealthy upper class. Along
with their scandals, Alsanea exposes their hopes and fears and their struggle and yearning for equality and
freedom within a conservative society. Girls of Riyadh tells not only of the oppression of Saudi women,
but also the often overlooked and beautiful flirtations with empowerment found in everyday life.
“Ladies and Gentlemen: You are invited to join me in one of the most explosive scandals and
noisiest, wildest all-night parties around.” The anonymous narrator introduces its readers to the society in
which the story takes place within the initial pages of the novel. Warning that her scandals are not for the
faint of heart, she cautions that only readers of adult age should indulge in reading her emails. In Saudi
Arabia, adulthood is deemed as over the age of six for boys and after menarche for girls. Right away the
readers are hinted at the inequality among genders within Saudi society. (Alsanea 1)
“Every one of [my girlfriends] lives huddled in the shadow of a man, or a wall, or a man
who is a wall, or simply stays put in the darkness.” The narrator informs the readers that the stories of the
young women to follow will not be lighthearted, and will result in them “living in
the shadow” of someone else. This is most obvious in the story of Sadeem, whom is afraid of
Waleed exposing the details of their divorce and “dragging her name through the mud” while she is in
London. The women lose a part of themselves through their relations with men, they
become martyrs of tradition, and the narrator vows to tell their stories, just as her muse, Nizar
Qabbani, whom wrote:
“I shall write of...thousands, thousands of martyrs, all female,
buried stripped of their names, in the graveyard of traditions.”
This is especially with Gamrah, who loses her youth and ends up alone with a child as the only remnant
of her failed marriage and premature catapult into adulthood. She is left wailing “So why would he marry
me if he didn’t want me?” (Alsanea 51)
“Is divorce a major crime committed by the woman only? Why doesn’t our society harass the
divorced man the way it crushes the divorced woman?” The role of the divorced woman within Saudi
society is put into question by the narrator. Having three main characters who are divorcees proves a
controversial decision not only for the fictional narrator, but even the real author, Rajaa Alsanea herself,
both of whom face criticism for indulging in the gossip of these women.
“We should defend Um Nuwayyir and Gamrah and other divorcées. Women like them don’t
deserve to be looked down on by society...” In Saudi culture a daughter can be a source of pride or
embarrassment for her family, whether she is pretty or average, unmarried, married or divorced. This is
seen when Gamrah returns to Riyadh, divorced and a single mother. She is the most oppressed out of all
the characters in the novel not only because of her circumstance but also because of her conservative

2. Nadji background. She is not allowed out of the house for quite sometime after returning divorced and is
constantly gossiped about regardless of her actions. She yearns for a family like Lamees’ whom allows
her to study and marry late in life, or Michelle’s or Sadeem’s whom allow them to travel abroad on their
own.
Even when Gamrah is approached for marriage a second time, her opinion is not sought and she
is ignored: “It hadn’t occurred to any of these men to consult the person who had the biggest stake in this,
and who happened to be sitting there in front of them,” Eventually, Gamrah seems to grow independent of
her upbringing and questions why she needs a man to shield and protect her at all, especially after living
through a divorce and having a child by herself. This idea is foreshadowed by the narrator’s choice of
introduction for the chapter:
“The Prophet, God’s blessing and peace be upon him, said: The virgin’s
agreement to a marriage must be sought by her guardian, but the widow
or divorcee has more right to her own person than does her guardian.”
-The hadith collection of Sahih Muslim, verse 3477 (Alsanea 173, 188)
“The whole thing was over and everyone had finally averted their eyes from this
engagement whose conclusion, and consummation, God had not written and decreed.” (Alsanea 195)
Gamrah’s family surprises readers with their acceptance of her dream which warns against marrying her
to Abu Musa’ed. They never speak of the proposal again in a rare instance of empowerment for Gamrah.
Other glimpses of similar instances are recalled by Michelle who remembers when her Aunt suggested
that her father marry another woman after learning that Michelle’s mother could no longer produce
children. Her distaste for the Islamic allowance of multiple wives apparent, she proudly recollects:
“Daddy stood his ground and refused to marry another woman. He loved Mama and was totally attached
to her, he loved her from the first time he saw her...” (Alsanea 89)
Other biases against women are highlighted by Sadeem’s narrative which follows her short and
devastating marriage to Waleed and her prolonged courtship of Firas. Sadeem’s divorce reveals unspoken
prejudices held against young women in Saudi society. Sadeem’s interest in satisfying her husband
sexually deemed her an unsuitable bride. Alsanea’s novel can also be read as a critique of young Saudi
women’s preoccupation with marriage. Michelle is able to occupy herself with studies and other things to
forget about Faisal in America, but Sadeem’s attempts to nurture interests other than Waleed in London
prove unsuccessful: “If only she understood politics! If only she had a particular cause to defend or one to
oppose! Then she would have something to keep her occupied and to turn her away from thinking about
Waleed...”(Alsanea 65)
“Sadeem felt for the first time in four years that she no longer needed Firas to survive. He was no
long her air and water...She only felt regret for wasting four years of her life running after the mirage
called love.” (Alsanea 252) Sadeem is a character whom initially embodies female weakness and
dependence on men at the start of her story. After the death of her father and her separation from Firas,
she questions who will take care of her? What will she do now that she does not have a man to support
her and tell her what to do, when she could no longer consult the ‘counselor Firas?’ Sadeem goes on to
describe Firas as the air that she breathed, and now that he was gone she felt as if she was suffocating.
Gamrah and Um Nuwayyir both notice that Sadeem is slipping in her religious observance after Firas’
engagement to another woman.“Sadeem’s religiosity seemed to be in direct proportion to her relationship
with Firas.” (Alsanea 210-212, 218) However, Sadeem evolves by the end of the novel, she now is an
independent woman. By being independent and self-sufficient through her business, Sadeem is able to
find her true love, Tariq, who was there with her all along.

3. “Is it a blessing or a curse for a woman to have knowledge?” Sadeem’s discussion on the
education of women voices the questions asked by not only young Saudi women, but young women
around the world. She observes that young and naive girls were more attractive to men than worldly and
mature women: “Men...prefer to marry a woman with only a very modest education, someone feeble and
helpless.” According to a reader’s response, “a man needs to feel the weight of his own superiority and
masculinity when he is with a woman. Otherwise, what would prevent him from marrying someone just
like him-another man?” (Alsanea 246-248)
Perhaps Sadeem never resolves her questions. In the last chapter, “Between You and Me,” the
narrator updates readers on her current relationship with each member of the shillah. Sadeem seems to
happily married to Tariq, a man who appreciates the worldly experience of his bride. Sadeem’s earlier
discussions concerning the education of women relates to her prior relationships with weak, insecure men
who were afraid to live their own lives rather than the lives dictated to them by their society. Her
realization of this is shown through her giving the “sky-blue scrapbook” to the narrator to share with her
readers.
“It would be over Michelle’s dead body that she would be reduced to the circumstances her poor
miserable friends found themselves in: a prisoner of the house (Gamrah), a prisoner of a man (Sadeem),
or a prisoner of her vanity (Lamees).” (Alsanea 222)The four young women each represent a different
part of Saudi society.
Gamrah represents Saudi tradition. Coming from central Saudi Arabia, she had a conservative
upbringing and is the youngest to marry. By the end of the novel, she is still traditional which is gathered
when the narrator informs the readers that Gamrah severed all ties between her and her friend in fear of
being gossiped about after the emails.
Sadeem also comes out of the same conservative, Nadji upbringing of Gamrah but is willing to
experiment with her faith when she travels to London and through her relationships to Waleed and Firas.
By the end of the novel Sadeem returns to her culture by accepting the proposal of her close cousin,
Tariq, through traditional Saudi demeanor.
Michelle considers herself a liberated Saudi women who is proud of her mixed heritage and is not
afraid of being judged by the older generations. She outwardly criticizes parts of her religion and society
that she views as “poisonous.” Michelle embodies the ideals of “Western Feminism.” This directly seen
when Gamrah speaks of Michelle: “Michelle had become truly frightening lately, the way she talked
about freedom and women’s rights, the bonds of religion, conventions imposed by society and her
philosophy on relations between the sexes. She was continually advising Gamrah to become tougher and
meaner in asserting herself and not to give an inch when it came to defending her own rights.”
Lamees represents the modern Saudi woman who is independent and logical. She takes control of
her love life and decides to wear the hijab for her personal benefit. Lamees embodies the ideals of
“Islamic Feminism.” (Alsanea 175) “How long are we going to keep doing whatever pleases these old
ladies and their darling little boys?” The novel expresses each young woman’s defiance against passivity.
Lamees takes control of her fate by planning what will happen to her and who will love her. Michelle has
interests outside of marriage, she lands a great job as a television producer in Dubai: “Working in the
media opened up new horizons for Michelle, and for the first time she felt truly liberated from all the
restrictions that had always been imposed on her.” (Alsanea 207) Sadeem starts her own business and
recruits Gamrah to work with her. Both women are later admired for being such successful and young
business women.

4. “O God, we- the Girls of Riyadh- have been forbidden many things. Do not take the blessing of
love away from us, too!” (Alsanea 231) Each of the girls try to find love in a similar way at the start of the
novel- by impressing future Aunties and mothers. But by the end, each girl is following her own fate and
creating her own love story. Girls of Riyadh is a lesson not only for young Saudi women but women
around the world. Any society, Saudi Arabia or even the United States imposes restrictions and prejudices
on its women. The beauty of feminism is that it can be found in even the most conservative or liberal
societies, it can be advocated publicly or even in the mind of one single woman.