European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Joan Mower associated press Omen reporters covering the . Military buildup in male dominated saudi Arabia exulted when the invitation came to join female soldiers in their exercise exclusive we gloated. But the Chance to swim and sweat with the . Women in uniform nearly backfired when the three reporters a myself included a walked through the front door of the $80 million gymnasium at a saudi air base. Several saudi custodians All men leapt up and followed us to the registration desk complaining loudly ii i it to had violated custom by using the front Entrance. Women they said must enter through the rear door. Our Liming it appeared could t have been worse we had committed this Faux Pas on a Friday a islam s holy Day during moslem prayer time. 1 he saudis were not the Only ones who were annoyed. Quot you nearly ruined it for All of us Quot one angry air Force nurse told the sheepish reporters. Quot they almost kicked us  the military women had fought hard for the privilege of using the gym three times a week and they dreaded the idea of losing it. The culture clash was an example of the hidden challenges that american women encounter in saudi Arabia a country where females done to vote Don t drive Don t go out in Public without covering their faces and treads with veils Don t socialize in meeting places and rarely hold jobs that bring them in Contact with the general Public. Most saudi women seem to accept the social Structure that is based on the Laws of islam. They say they Are put on a Pedestal in their Homes and treated generously by their men. The female reporters a writers television and radio correspondents photographers and television camera crows a have been treated fairly by both saudi and american officials in terms of Access to events and opportunities to cover the .-led military deployment. We have slept on cots in the desert with the 82nd airborne out of fort Bragg . We have visited egyptian paratroopers near the saudi kuwaiti Border interviewed the powerful saudi Petroleum minister and toured the strategic Petroleum refinery at Ras Tanura. In deference to saudi custom we cover our arms Wear longer skirts and keep Bare skin to a minimum. But none of us wears the Black cloaks known As Bayas or head coverings. The heat argues against wearing stockings. We act generally As we do in the United states eating in restaurants sipping Coffee in the hotel lobbies. But we remain oddities on the social scene the Only women attending an arabian nights dinner under a big tent hosted by a saudi Prince for example. We were warned about the Mattawa the so called religious Polico who enforce the islamic dress code and insist conservative standards Are upheld but an informal Sun of indicated none of the reporters has been accosted by the Mattawa who have the Power to make arrests. On the streets or in the souks Market sour Small cadre of female reporters has grown accustomed to female reporters defer to saudi ways it a .1 a i my . A  Wmma my Mem w Milim Iii ii Ihns a i i a a a a i. A a. Or a. \ % him a family at half Moon Bay on the persian Gulf female reporters Are not wearing Black cloaks but they respect Sami customs in other ways. Stares from curious saudis but the incredulous looks did not interfere with work. The major complaint a and the biggest frustration a is the ban on driving. We must hire taxis Drivers or rely on male colleagues to ferry us around an expensive inconvenience in a country with a Modem system of interstate highways. The . Embassy also advised women not to sit next to a Man to whom she was not married. In one Case i drove to a Remote Post on the saudi kuwaiti Border with a male colleague 300 Miles from the coastal City of Dhahran to meet with the governor of the province. 1 he trip would have been impossible without a male escort. Air travel was potentially a problem because saudi custom dictates that women must be accompanied by a male relative. Expatriate women have to obtain a letter approving their travel from their sponsoring company. Airports have Check in lines designated for a males Quot and �?ofamilies.�?T�?T. Saudi officials seemed to ignore the rules for the foreign reporters. 1 was never asked about my marital status for instance when i flew to Riyadh the saudi capital in the company of an american male reporter. Female reporters Benefit from the famed saudi hospitality and generosity. When one reporter mentioned she had lost a Contact Lens her Host insisted on having his Driver take her the next Day to the clinic for a replacement. At Prince Mohammed bin fahd a daily majlis a a urination of a town meeting and a magistrate s court saudi citizens ask the governor of the Eastern Vince to resolve problems ranging from land Putes to homelessness. Mer meeting the Prince i jokingly told him i had some Ibi Ems he could solve. Pressed on what they were i sure him i was Only kidding. That night i received a Call from the Princess worried iss officer Quot you mentioned you had some problems j the Prince wanted to know if there was anything he Ltd do Quot the press officer said. A car to take you shopping some interviews thing Quot arabian of a a3 non reporter for the associated press reported from Page 14 the stars and stripes a it is so strange Quot said a female saudi doctor speaking of the sight of uniformed american women. Cultural confines saudi women win a measure of liberation by James Lemoyne new York times Ane s. Fisher hopped into her jeep and drove out to the flight line at an air base in saudi Arabia where f-15 jets and c-5 cargo planes kicked into the sky above a desert filling with american troops. For Fisher an air Force major it was a Short drive to another Long Day s work supervising the handling of american Jet fighters before Takeoff. But her duties reflect one Side of a wide cultural chasm that american military women and their saudi hosts Are still struggling to comprehend. Saudi Arabia is after All a conservative islamic country where women Wear Black veils walk on the streets two Steps behind their men and Are prohibited from driving As Well As from doing a great number of other things Quot being Here makes me glad to be an american Quot Fisher said in an interview. Quot in a thankful i m not a saudi woman. I just done to know How they do  but it is just As easy to find saudi women who Are every bit As grateful not to be american. Quot it is so strange a said Aisha Al Ruwaida a saudi doctor speaking of the sight of uniformed american women who make up roughly 10 percent of the More than 150,000 american troops deployed in saudi Arabia and the Region. A i am glad not to be an american  Are not made for violence with guns Quot she said. Najat Al Fadel a saudi medical internist agreed. Quot i did not expect women to come with the troops and live together like this Quot she said almost stammering to express her amazement Quot it is it is a surprising to  that is probably a great understatement it not easy for a visitor to understand the Shock Feit by saudis on seeing american women working and living As the equals and in Many cases the military superiors of men. Sgt. Sherry l. Callahan 25, is the assistant Crew chief tending the Lead f-15 of the 1 St tac fighter Wing at the base whose precise location cannot be disclosed under the Pentagon a ground rules for journalists. Quot at first we were angry a she said describing what she and other women Felt after arriving in saudi Arabia. Quot we were deployed to save these people and like they done to want us because we re women Quot Callahan had been in saudi Arabia More than a month but still noticed the reaction of saudi soldiers when they saw her Elbow next to a Man to work on the innards of her Jet fighter or even worse order one of her men to carry out a task. Quot they re shocked to see me work beside american men Quot she said. Quot and when i Teil a Guy to do something you see them staring and saying to themselves a hey that a not right for a woman to be ordering around a Man Quot in saudi society women appear to be prohibited from having authority Over men except in rare cases among physicians for example or within the private confines of some Homes. Public physical Contact is equally rare. Many saudi women not Only cover their head and face but also Wear gloves to ensure that they do not touch men when a reporter Shook the hand of one saudi woman she seemed stunned for a second to have had physical Contact even in a formal greeting. To photograph a woman invites the Wrath of her husband her family and the police. There is no dating or dancing. Pre Marita sex remains the object of enduring family shame and social censure. Infidelity can be and is punished by execution. Within those strict confines however saudi women appear to have won a measure of liberalization. Most go to school and Many aspire to be doctors teachers designers architects and office workers in Banks and businesses that Cater to women. Recently King fahd in a statement prompted by Iraq s invasion of Kuwait said that he would encourage saudi women to participate More fully in National life. But the occupations that he mentioned As befitting women particularly teaching and nursing Are those already open to women and both saudi and Western officials did not consider the Kings statement a signal that there would be Radical new opportunities for women. Inside the House several saudi men and women said wives and Eider daughters can exercise great authority often controlling family finances and organizing the menus lives. Quot saudi Arabia is not a tent with a Man inside with four wives Quot declared Shadiah Al Sham Mary a notably outspoken 25-year-old saudi woman who is a doctor at the teaching Hospital Here. A a we re a developing country and a pretty Good  Al Sham Mary is an example of what might be called one variant of the new saudi woman she said she would never marry a Man she did not love nor permit him to take another wife. If he did she says she would leave him. Nor does she Wear a veil Over her face a practice she Calls a matter of personal Choice. Quot we Are changing faster than Many people think Quot at Sham Mary said. A you can see the  yet even she thinks it is a Little strange that american women should want to become soldiers though she adds that Quot american women have the right to choose for  saturday ocl the stars and stripes a a a Page 15