DAMMAM: Saudi women educators who attended the three-day conference here on the problems of women deans, professors and administrators in college and universities across the Kingdom want more power in dealing with their problems, in improving their condition, developing their curriculum, and wider empowerment in their duties.
The women educators are also seeking separate campuses for them to be managed and administered by them.
Some 300 women attended the conference, which had the theme Challenges and Development of Female Section in Saudi Colleges and Universities.
This is the first time such conference was convened. The conference was held at the King Faisal University (KFU) in Dammam.
The present structures in higher education do not allow us to have more mandate and flexibility in the management of women affairs, which is why we are making these demands, said Dr. Dlal M. Al-Tamimi, chairperson of the conference organizing committee, during the women s interaction with male educators who attended the conference in separate venue in the university.
Tamimi, who is also the Vice Dean of all Female Sections at KFU and professor of pathology in the women section of the College of Medicine, said women educators are also seeking for the unification of basic infrastructures in colleges and universities assigned to women.
Saudi women educators have also agreed to establish a channel of communications among themselves. Their demands will be forwarded to the Ministry of Higher Education.
Male educators, who were moderated by a panel, composed of Dr. Salem A. Sahab, Vice President for Development at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Dr. Abdulaziz Jamal Al-Saati, Vice President of KFU, and Dr. Saad Al-Hareky, Advisor to Dr. Yousef Al-Jindan, Rector of KFU, interacted with the women delegates during the closing ceremonies.
Dr. Salem A. Sahab said the demands of Saudi women educators are valid. Our women educators are working hard to have more control of their problems and needs; they should be given more flexibility to address their concerns and common issues, he said.
He said the rigid obstacles should be studied and replaced with accurate and definite support for women educators and female students.
Sahab said the Ministry of Higher Education has been very receptive in addressing the needs of women educators and students.
The Minister, Dr. Khalid M. Al-Angari, is listening to these needs of our Saudi women educators. He used to be in the teaching academe himself and he knows the problems, Sahab said.
Our women educators are pushing vigorously towards the realization of their rights and doing it in the right and very organized and civilized way. They will keep up the momentum, Sahab added.
He said there is a general trend in the empowerment of women education in Saudi Arabia.
Even in the lower girls education, there are clamors for more empowerment; there are demands for curricula development, provision of special needs for girl students, and addition of more subjects, such as sports, which they also wanted to engage in.
By Joe Avancena
© The Saudi Gazette 2006
