Women-only hotel in Saudi Arabia

By Stephanie Hancock BBC News, Riyadh From the outside, the Luthan Hotel and Spa in Riyadh's diplomatic quarter looks just like any other modern hotel.
But step inside the discreet, frosted-glass building and you enter a women's world which men are forbidden to enter.

The Luthan is the Middle East's first women-only hotel, and as well as catering just for female guests, all the staff are women too.

Western travelers like the Luthan because, once safely inside the hotel's walls, they can remove the headscarves and long black abayas that all women must wear in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia.

As you might expect, the hotel's decor is a tribute to all things girly.
Instead of the corporate beige that many top hotels favor these days, rooms at the Luthan are decorated in bright pinks and purples, and tea lights twinkle around the clock - the staff is constantly lighting candles.

"It's delightfully feminine, I think," says hotel manager Lorraine Coutinho.
"The concept was an all-women idea, the owners and investors are all women, and the designer was a female. It's a place created by women, for women." You might think that staffing a hotel entirely with women in Saudi would have been problematic, but Ms Coutinho, who has hired women from around the Arabic-speaking world, insists the recruitment process was easier than expected. "We have female duty engineers and IT technicians, and it wasn't at all difficult to find women for front office or housekeeping positions," says Ms Coutinho.

"We don't survive entirely without men - we haven't been successful in finding plumbers or electricians - but I feel it's more than an achievement and we are making history." At just 26, Samira Ali is the hotel's chief IT engineer and says the women-only environment at the Luthan has allowed her to find work in what's still a male-dominated field.

"As an IT specialist here in Saudi Arabia it's difficult for ladies," says Samira, who comes from neighboring Yemen. "It's not easy to work in a company, male and female together, so I feel really lucky. It looks like women can do anything and everything in their world, and nothing is difficult."

The Luthan also employs what are possibly the world's first female bellhops.
Kenyan Mildred Obaga originally applied for a job as a room attendant but, when offered the bellhop position, jumped at the chance.

"At times the guests will come with heavy, heavy luggage," admits Mildred.
"I find it so hard to lift the luggage but I try my level best because I like challenges. In most of the hotels in the world you only have bellboys, so I think I'm the first pioneer bellgirl!"

Several Saudis also work at the hotel, a sign of how much the kingdom has changed over the past few years. Saudi Arabia's ruler, King Abdullah, recently appointed the country's first ever female minister to his cabinet, and barriers to women working are being gradually stripped away.

That is especially important because, despite its vast oil wealth, the country currently has a big unemployment problem. Things are particularly grim for women - official estimates say 25% of women are unemployed, but some analysts suggest the real figure could be far higher.
Concerted efforts are now being made around the kingdom to lure Saudi women into the labor market.

Susan Alshami runs a specialist training academy where women are taught how to make goods from home that can later be sold on to shops. She says that 10 years ago, few women actively sought employment, but today things could not be more different.

"Every year the demand for ladies to be employed is increasing and the private sector is now asking for more females," explains Susan. The emergence of a niche "women-only" market in the kingdom is also helping to create more jobs.

Shopping malls designed exclusively for women are now all the rage in Saudi Arabia.
As well as providing an income for female shopkeepers, everybody from the security guards to the malls' marketing managers are women too. At least 20 such malls will open in Saudi Arabia over the next few years, and there is a sense that women are finally starting to get a proper foothold on the job ladder.

But for all its advances, Saudi Arabia is still deeply conservative at heart.
Although women can now work everywhere from the private sector to the government, they still have to be driven to work by a man, as the law forbids them to drive.
Saudi women may be making strides in the workplace, but - for now - men are still firmly in the driving seat.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7922279.stm

Published: 2009/03/04 08:34:28 GMT

Michelle Obama Inspires Women Around the Globe

by John Blake CNN

Heather Ferreira works in the slums of Mumbai, India, where she has watched thousands of women live under a "curse."

The women she meets in the squalid streets where "Slumdog Millionaire" was filmed are often treated with contempt, she says. They're considered ugly if their skin and hair are too dark. They are deemed "cursed" if they only have daughters. Many would-be mothers even abort their children if they learn they're female.

Yet lately she says Indian women are getting another message from the emergence of another woman thousands of miles away. This woman has dark skin and hair. She walks next to her husband in public, not behind. And she has two daughters. But no one calls her cursed. They call her Michelle Obama, the first lady.

"She could be a new face for India," says Ferreira, program officer for an HIV-prevention program run by World Vision, an international humanitarian group. "She shows women that it's OK to have dark skin and to not have a son. She's quite real to us."

Those who focus on Michelle Obama's impact on America are underestimating her reach. The first lady is inspiring women of color around the globe to look at themselves, and America, in fresh ways.

"She might be the first woman of color that females in male-dominated countries have seen as confident, bright, educated, articulate and persuasive," says Barbara Perry, author of "Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier."

A symbol for women around the globe

The notion of a woman being a first in anything is alien in many parts of the world. Millions of women struggle against sexual violence, discrimination and poverty, several women activists say.

But Michelle Obama offers a personal rebuke to that message. Her personal story -- born into a blue-collar family; overcoming racism and once even making more money than her husband -- makes her a mesmerizing figure to women across the globe, says Susan M. Reverby, a professor of women's studies at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Reverby says this is the first time many women have seen their class and color reflected in America's first lady. Watch how Michelle Obama has done during her first 100 days »

"This is someone who appeals across the usual divides," Reverby says. "She is a celebrity you can imagine being, not a celebrity you have to watch from afar."
A hint of Michelle Obama's global appeal came recently when she spoke at an all-girls school in London, England. The students came from various backgrounds: Muslim, Christian, black and white. Yet they all surged forward, shrieking and even crying, as they hugged the first lady.

Thu Nguyen, a native of Vietnam, wasn't at the London school, but she experienced a similar sense of elation when Obama became first lady.

In her native country, she says women "are not human beings." But when Obama became the first lady, Nguyen called her niece and told her that any hard-working woman could become the first.

Vietnamese women can identify with Michelle Obama, Nguyen says.
"We have a yellow color because we're Asian, so we felt a bond with [Michelle] Obama when she became the first black first lady," says Nguyen, who works at a nail salon in South Pasadena, California.

Some women's identification with the first lady, however, goes deeper than skin color.

Sue Mbaya of Nairobi, Kenya, says the first lady inspires African woman to assert themselves in their personal and professional lives.

Many African women are conditioned to be subservient, she says. They're prevented from rising to management positions in the workplace, and their families often relegate them to taking care of household tasks while sending their brothers off to school.

But Obama is a high achiever who didn't intimidate her husband, says Mbaya, a native of Zimbabwe who is the advocacy director for World Vision's Africa's region.
"I've always liked knowing that she was Barack Obama's supervisor when they first met," Mbaya says. "He once said that he wouldn't be where he is without his wife. That really appeals to me."

Women in the West also find inspiration in Obama.

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, who lives near Munich, Germany, says the first lady impresses German women because she is a powerful public figure who doesn't seem threatening. German history is marked by charismatic leaders who wielded personal power for malevolent ends, she says.

"She's the perfect blend of power and civility. That's important in German culture," says Hohlbaum, author of "The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World."

How does Michelle Obama define herself?

While other women have defined Obama's appeal, the first lady is refining her role.
She has talked publicly about the pressures military families face. She has encouraged healthy eating by planting a White House garden. She's opened the White House to ordinary people and children. Service to community and family seems to be her theme.

She recently drew the most attention for what she did, not said, during a visit to London. She briefly embraced Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, breaking royal protocol. The Queen, however, according to press accounts, responded warmly to the first lady's embrace.

Obama has often been compared to another regal woman: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. But Autumn Stephens, author of "Feisty First Ladies," says that Obama reminds her more of former first lady Hillary Clinton.
"But Hillary really downplayed the mom part whereas Michelle has really played it up," Stephens says. "She is straddling both worlds."
In a poll of first ladies, certain women are invariably cited by historians as the most noteworthy: Abigail Adams, Lady Bird Johnson and Eleanor Roosevelt, who is widely considered to be the most influential first lady, Stephens says.
Where would Stephens rank Michelle Obama?

"She's got the whole package," Stephens says. "She's in a class by herself."

Culture Shock Cure

article coming soon

Phases of Culture Shock

According to Michael Winkleman, a scholar on culture shock, “there are four distinct phases of culture shock that are experienced by virtually everyone who spends an extended period of time in a different culture.

1. The Honeymoon Phase
During this phase the newcomer romanticizes every aspect of the new culture. Everything appears to be new and exciting in the newcomer floats through life with an open mind. It is characterized by interest, excitement, euphoria, sleeplessness, positive expectations, and idealizations about the new culture. This phase is typically experienced by honeymooners, business people and tourists. They may remain in this phase, because they never truly live in the culture. Expats who spend a week or two, from time to time, may never move beyond this honeymoon phase as their stay might be confined to resorts, airports, or business meetings.

2. The Crises or Cultural Shock Phase
Once the novelty wears off, after a few days or weeks frustrations, helplessness, and even anger may set in as the new comer adjusts to differences between their new world and their old world. It is during this phase that the sojourner suffers from the classic symptoms of culture shock described in the previous post such as insomnia, hostility, paranoia, and isolation. They may begin to fantasize about returning home, call home frequently, become overly critical of their new environment, and sometimes question their decision for ever agreeing to come to this strange place.

I experienced and witnessed this entire process while spending a year abroad in a university in Normandie, France with 30 Americans.

3. The Adjustment and Gradual Recovery Phase
After a few more weeks or months, the new comer begins to feel a sense of belonging and appreciation for their new environment. They begin to feel comfortable navigating day-to-day situations, and they no longer react out of intolerance or arrogance to what they are experiencing. An entire pychic transformation takes hold of the sojourner.

According to Winkleman, “One develops problem-solving skills for dealing with the culture and begins to accept the culture’s ways with a positive attitude. The culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced as one recognizes that problems are due to the inability to understand, accept, and adapt. An appreciation of the other culture begins to emerge and learning about it becomes a fun challenge. During the adjustment phase, the problems do not end, but one develops a positive attitude toward meeting the challenge of resolving the issues necessary to function in the new culture. Adjustment is slow, involving recurrent crises and readjustments.”
It is during this phase that one begins to become bicultural integrating aspects of their native culture with aspects of their new culture into their being.

4. The Adaptation, Resolution, or Acculturation Phase
According to L. Robert Kohls, “full recovery from culture shock will result in an ability to function in two cultures with confidence.”

The fourth stage is achieved as one develops stability in adapting and grows successful at resolving problems and managing the new culture. Although full assimilation is virtually impossible, one will acculturate and in the process, may undergo substantial personal transformation, leading to the development of a bicultural identity and the integration of new cultural aspects into one’s previous self-concept. Like a cucumber transitioning to a pickle, the sojourner in essence, becomes a new person.

When the expat reaches this phase, they will most definitely experience reverse culture shock (re-entry shock) upon their return home.

We will discuss Re-entry Shock in the next post.

Prepare Yourself for Culture Shock

Melissa has been living overseas for 2 1/2 months and lately, finds herself feeling disorientated, anxious, and frustrated. much of the time. She is surprised by these feelings because when she first arrived, she had fallen in love with her new culture, where she was enraptured with the novelty and wonder of everything she explored. Lately however, her patience is weak, her temper flares often, and she overreacts to the smallest differences between her old and new worlds.

She now has insomnia, feels nauseated often, feels frustrated when riding on a bus without knowing where to get off, becomes impatient when a salesperson asks her to repeat herself for the third time, and she feels the need to bathe and wash her hands frequently. Sometimes Melissa feels she is being treated like a child. All of a sudden, nothing seems familiar or automatic, and for the first time in her life, she feels hopeless and helpless and embarrassed. She feels homesick, mentally fatigued, and lonely.

What Is Culture Shock?

Melissa is experiencing culture shock, something that everyone who lives in a new culture for an extended period of time experiences in reaction to the differences which surround them in a new environment. In short, culture shock refers to the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country

Causes

Most experts in intercultural communication agree that the basic cause of culture shock is the abrupt loss of the familiar, which in turn causes a sense of isolation and diminished self-importance. "Culture shock", says anthropologist Kalvero Oberg, "is brought on by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situation of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people; when and how to give tips; how to give orders to servants; how to make purchases; when to accept and when to refuse invitations; when to take statements seriously and when not."

According to Dr. Oberg, these cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions or customs, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind on hundreds of these cues, even though we may not be consciously aware of them. "When an individual enters a strange culture," Dr. Oberg says, "all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or full of good will he may be, a series of props has been knocked out from under him."

Symptoms

Common symptoms of culture shock are as follows: hostility toward the new environment, anxiety in public situations, irritation over delays and other minor frustrations, refusal to learn the language of the host country, paranoia of being harmed, physical illnesses, insomnia, changes in diet, preoccupation with returning home, depression, isolation, excessive criticism of the new culture, and longing to be around people from one's own culture

Those unaccustomed to being part of a minority group, generally suffer from culture shock the greatest.

Spouses, accompanying their mates or a work assignment abroad are particularly vulnerable to severe culture shock, because they are interacting with the new culture on a regular bases, often without support from members of their own culture.

Phases of Culture Shock

According to Michael Winkleman, a scholar on culture shock, “there are four distinct phases of culture shock that are experienced by virtually everyone who spends an extended period of time in a different culture.

We will discuss these 4 phases in the next post.

1,500 Farmers in India Commit Suicide: A Wake-Up Call for Humanity

Mallika Chopra writes: I read with horror this morning that over 1,500 farmers in India committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure.
Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today. The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels.

"The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago," Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts, told Down To Earth magazine.

"Most of the farmers here are indebted and only God can save the ones who do not have a bore well." Mr Sahu lives in a district that recorded 206 farmer suicides last year. Police records for the district add that many deaths occur due to debt and economic distress.

The crop failures, which took place in the agricultural state of Chattisgarh, were prompted by falling water levels. Nearby forest depletion and poorly planned government dam projects contributed to the falling water level. Combined with the vicious money-lending schemes that are prevalent in the region, many farmers felt that death was the only option in the face of insurmountable debt.
Suicides by Indian farmers have been an ongoing reality for years -- Vandana Shiva, an Intent Voice, friend and someone I admire tremendously for her advocacy of the land and its people, wrote an article several years ago about farmers committing suicide due to debt.

But 1,500? To give a more tangible visualization of that number, that's about four full jumbo jet planes' worth of passengers suddenly committing suicide. The death toll also does not hint at the countless men, women and children who are still ensnared in these dire situations, and now must grieve the loss of their family, friends and neighbors.

Almost every village in Punjab has witnessed a suicide in their once-prosperous farming families, the BBC reported.
National Crime Records Bureau statistics say close to 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in India since 1997.

The Punjab government says the state produces nearly two-thirds of the grain in India. But the state has faced many economic crises since the the mid-1990s.
While researching more for this article, I learned that this latest tragedy bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the problem in Australia's agricultural sector, where many of the country's farmers are committing suicide in response to the severe droughts, heat waves and wildlife fires that have been ravaging the country for the last several years. It is estimated that one Australian farmer commits suicide every four days. The severe weather changes are a direct manifestation of global warming.

These stories are a reminder that our personal wellness is inextricably linked to global wellness. We need to nurture Mother Earth, and address the tangled hierarchy of pollution, global warming, human rights, production, economies, wealth, etc.
With Earth Day approaching next week, I hope that all of us will set intentions, followed up with action, on how we can make the planet, and in turn, the lives of our fellow humans, healthier and more peaceful.

Mallika Chopra blogs regularly at Intent.com

Tips on How to Dress Appropriately Abroad

I will voyage on the Queen Mary this summer and will have many opportunities to observe formal codes of attire, on board and while in Europe.

Whether traveling for business or for pleasure, it is important to dress appropriately when traveling abroad. Here are some tips to help you avoid fashion faux pas.

• Dress up, although comfortably, to travel - you'll get better service
• Don't go native
• Never visit a place of worship in shorts, jeans, T-shirt - it's disrespectful
• Even if jeans are acceptable (never for business), they must always be clean, in good repair and PRESSED!
• Shorts are almost never acceptable except at the beach or in Bermuda, and then they must be sufficiently long.
• For business, dress up and dress conservatively almost anywhere in the world
• Shoes
o forbidden in Muslim mosques & Buddhist temples
o never in Japanese homes or restaurants
o in Indonesian or Indian homes follow lead of host
• Slip-on shoes are not appropriate with business attire for men in Europe. However, slip-on shoes are ideal in Japan where you'll be taking them off and on.
• Don't remove your jacket in Europe or Latin America when wearing a suit
• Don't wear striped ties in Great Britain. They will look like imitation regimental stripes
• No green baseball caps in China - green hats used to be the sign of a cuckold
• The French, Argentines and Spaniards are very clothes conscious. Wear your finest conservative clothing.
• Italians have the concept of 'La Bella Figura', cutting a fine figure. There and in many other countries the way you dress is a sign of respect for yourself, the people you're dealing with and any organization you may represent.
• Belgium - wear your finest on Sundays
• In Muslim countries, standards of modestly require that the body be covered. Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts buttoned to the neck.
• In conservative Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, neck jewelry is forbidden for men.
• Avoid wearing blue or white at social functions in Hong Kong. They are the colors of mourning.
• Don't wear leather, including belts, in India where the cow is sacred. This would be especially offensive when visiting a Hindu temple.
• When in doubt, always dress more conservatively than you think is necessary until you learn otherwise.

Remember, always do your homework to ensure your attire is appropriate when traveling to new cultures.