ISLAMIC LIFE

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 5 April, 2005, 11:22 GMT 12:22 UK

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My life: Saudi Arabian women speak

In the conservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, women often struggle to get their voices heard.

Lama:
22, student

"I want to be a role model to show we Saudi women are like other women"

Rotana:
21, student

"Saudi girls are very ambitious and very smart... they want to be heard"

Abla:
22, student

"Saudi women want to prove that it's not only men who are capable"

Rosana
21, student

"I see myself as a happy mother and wife, that's the most important thing"

Baiyanne:
17, student

"No matter how much I study, I'm always just me, doing what I want"

Hasna:
27, translator

"I see myself having my own publishing house that serves religion"

Asma:
21, housewife

"I'm trying to achieve a balance between home, husband, pregnancy and study"

Although women now make up more than half of all graduates from Saudi universities, they comprise only 5% of the kingdom's workforce. They cannot vote, take an open and active part of public life or even drive a car.
The BBC spoke to eight young Saudi women, aged between 17 and 27, who attend a private college in Jeddah. The women have revealed snapshots of their lives and spoke of their aspirations for the future in a country which has long constrained their freedom.
Their stories form part of a BBC World Service Trust project called My Life, which focuses on educating young women in various Arab countries through the innovative use of media and asks them where they would like to be by 2015. It is conducted jointly with BBCArabic.com.
You can comment on each chapter using the form at the end of each woman's story.

The panel may not be representative of wider public opinion.

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