Modernizing, Saudi-style

Men and women, side by side
The country’s leaders recently announced they would set aside a third of government jobs for women. And in a few offices, we saw Saudi women openly working alongside Saudi male colleagues — something almost unknown six years ago.

Women still pull on the long, enveloping black cloak called the abaya and veil their faces when outside. But inside, they wore only loose head scarves and participated in meetings.

Perhaps just as importantly, the government has allowed in a handful of independent human rights groups and outside journalists, who have probed sensitive topics like the lack of rights for those sentenced to execution.

Six years ago, I met Saudi women journalists cloistered in a newspaper’s back room who struggled mightily to gather any information at all. This time, we watched a woman reporter aggressively text-message a high-ranking official, demanding answers and getting a response.

What's it mean for relations with U.S.?
What does this slow change, and new confidence, mean for Saudi Arabia and its relationship with the United States?

My family and I left Riyadh just weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that badly rocked the U.S.-Saudi alliance. Americans blamed Saudis for allowing the religious extremism that drove the hijackers. Saudis called that unfair and dreaded the subsequent U.S. decision to invade Iraq.

Talking with officials here, it seems clear they believe Saudi Arabia’s long-term strategic interests still meld with America’s: Both sides want to contain or combat Iran, keep the region’s oil flowing and stabilize Iraq.

But there is bone-deep dismay with the current U.S. struggles in Iraq, and thus a pronounced willingness to take actions the United States may not favor. When King Abdullah recently called the U.S. presence in Iraq an illegal occupation, it may have shocked the West, but it made perfect sense in Riyadh.

It’s as if Saudi Arabia is saying: We share common goals on security, and we might even embrace some of the changes you wish for us. But we’re running our country, our way, like it or not.

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