Rania al-Baz had become one of the best known and best loved faces in her home country of Saudi Arabia. She was the presenter of a program called The Kingdom this Morning on state-owned television. She lives in Saudi Arabia. Catherine Spencer works as a French translator and specializes in nonfiction about the Arab world. She lives in Marrakesh, Morocco.
I am trying as a Saudi woman to raise the awareness of unstable men
who see women as inferior, who resort to violence, and who are
abusive to women.--Rania al-Baz, on 60 Minutes
I don't feel like I'm a hero... I feel that no woman should be a
victim to her husband, or a victim in any way. A woman should have
the ability to choose her own destiny.--Rania al-Baz, on The Oprah
Winfrey Show
I want to use what happened to me to draw attention to the plight
of women in Saudi Arabia.--Rania al-Baz, on BBC News
Rania al-Baz's autobiography traces her life from girlhood in Saudi
Arabia to her high-flying career as one of the country's premier
female TV journalists by way of two calamitous marriages- the first
ending when she was barely out of her teens, and the second with a
severe beating from her husband that left her with a three percent
chance of survival. This is the kind of lady you really, really
want to root for. Al-Baz's willingness to tell her story in a
country in which women are primarily relegated to the kitchen and
the bedroom... is an achievement itself, and her perspective on the
world at large is nuanced. Al-Baz lucidly defends Saudi Arabia, its
cultural heritage, and Islam, managing to cogently explain how a
society in which women are at a significant disadvantage
politically and socially is not synonymous with the promotion of
violence against women. After pictures of her attack landed on the
front pages of newspapers, Al-Baz was thrust into the role of
spokesperson for women in Saudi Arabia. She has successfully put a
much-needed spotlight in the problem of violence without attacking
her country's way of life, which won her support in all areas of
Saudi society.-- "Bust Magazine"
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