Personal Statement
I am one of the few Saudi women have graduated from law school in my country predominantly patriarchal. Reflecting on my social and educational experience, I appreciate the immeasurable impact of equal justice to all. As a Saudi woman, I have experienced injustice and discrimination firsthand due to my gender. Despite having attained the legal adult age, the system prohibits me from doing basic things such as studying, working or even acquiring a passport without permission from my father and or husband. My legal practice also suffered setbacks due to these backward cultural norms that prohibit interaction with fellow male lawyers. This has hindered me from securing proper employment due to the limited practice imposed on female lawyers. Correspondingly, through studying international women rights agreements that Saudi government signed on, I will be able to sensitize the Saudi society on the need to provide a fair and just platform for women who have been subjected to humiliation and gender mistreatment. I believe the knowledge I will acquire whilst studying LLM at American University will propel me to champion crusades on social change in my country. In the first place, my short term goal is to enhance the legal culture that will be instrumental in the transit of Saudi Arabia to a society that understands and respects the rule of law that encompasses all. My role as an assistant tutor in the university, in conjunction with governmental and non-governmental organizations will complement my goal of enhancing Saudi’s legal culture. I believe my expertise and societal experience will be vital in my quest to do comparative research about Saudi women's rights within Islamic law, Saudi law, and international human rights conventions. I will strive to carry out thorough research on the plight of women attributed to backward laws that do not incorporate the basic human rights that are universally acknowledged. This will be insightful and will furnish efforts to improve the plight of women in Saudi Arabia because they will be in a position to understand their legal and human rights. As for the long term, I hope to work with UN Commission to enhance the legal culture and uphold human rights world over. I will also strive to be incorporated in the Shura Council which enable me to discuss the role of law and ratification of international agreements that the Saudi government committed itself to. The Shura was a preserve of men, but after King Abdullah’s direction in 2011 to have women considered for membership, I believe I will be likely candidate being the first generations female law graduate. It is my sincere desire to champion for change in my country and witness fruits borne form my legal efforts nurtured and incorporated into the Saudi society.
