Layan Damanhouri
GROWING up as a teenage girl is not easy especially in closed, conservative societies, says Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, an activist for women’s health and empowerment.
In addition to medical and health issues, Al-Amoudi, who is a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist, says there are emotional and psychological changes that girls go through during this period.
“Most of the time they don’t understand these changes and don’t have answers to many questions,” she adds.
Speaking to Saudi Gazette, she discussed her latest book “Tamkeen Al-Fatayat” (Empowering Girls), which was released last month.
The book that targets teenage girls and young mothers in the Arab region tries to address “issues people usually avoid talking about”.
“Empowering girls is important because they are the future generation,” she said.
Girls need to get the correct information on developmental issues from the right sources, Al-Amoudi explained. “Because of the absence of dialogue and a lack of sources in the Arab world, I wanted to publish a book that introduces tools available for mothers and their daughters to use so they could break the barriers between them,” she said, stressing the need for mothers to be the first source of knowledge for their daughters.
“One mother told me, ‘You made my life easier with my daughter because I was very confused about how to approach these subjects’,” she said, adding that the daughter was willing to read the book since it was written by a professional.
In the age of easily accessible information and media exposure, Al-Amoudi continues, teenage girls should also look for accurate information from medical professionals, social workers and authentic books and websites. “Now with the information and media revolution, there is no limit on reading material, unfortunately. This is why we have to bring them back to information that conform to ethical and Islamic teachings.”
The book, a colorful collection of short and informative pieces, discusses a range of subjects from Al-Amoudi’s medical expertise and personal experience as a mother from communicating social issues, dealing with physical changes and addressing challenges during every girl’s teenage years.
“The idea behind the book is to give them basic knowledge to build their strength so that they will be empowered,” she said. “It enables them to take good decisions about their health issues in the future.”
Such basic information is not taught in schools, especially in remote areas where dialogue is nonexistent, she added. “Nobody explains to the girls what’s going or how to deal with these secrets or worries in their life.”
Readers are introduced to knowing one’s rights in the first chapter. “With globalization and ongoing development in the country, there is now awareness about rights. I wanted to build this knowledge for teenagers so that they can understand that Islam honored the woman and gave them all the rights they deserve as a human being,” Al-Amoudi said, adding that certain cultural traditions are misunderstood as Islamic.
Challenges like living through a divorce or dealing with harassment are major issues that require lots of improvement, said Al-Amoudi, who emphasized in her book ways of dealing with abuse and family troubles, among other matters.
One theme throughout the book is giving confidence to young girls for their femininity. About the chapter titled “I wish I were a boy”, Al-Amoudi said, “I think many girls in Saudi Arabia have this feeling whether we believe it or not. Boys enjoy a full range of freedom such as the freedom of movement, for example. Sometimes they think they wish they were boys so they can enjoy all these things. I still try to emphasize feeling proud of being a female.”
Al-Amoudi, a breast cancer survivor and activist, was named one of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women in 2015. Al-Amoudi’s previous book was titled “Memoirs of a Saudi Woman”.
