If Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has a natural constituency for his reform programme, it is his country’s cohort of well-educated young people who are living abroad.
Amid the chandeliers, fruit cocktails and discreet luxury of Mayfair’s Dorchester hotel, Saudi youth – predominantly students or entrepreneurs resident in the UK – came out in force on Wednesday night to celebrate the changes being pushed through by the prince.
There were some hijabs in sight, but just as many leather jackets, iPhones and unaccompanied groups of women for an event run by the prince’s foundation, which took the format of somewhat stilted TED talks-style presentations.
Young Saudis, some in their early twenties, took to the stage with slideshows and no lectern to talk earnestly about their fledgling careers, ambitions and how Saudi society will change under the prince. Denunciations of Iran, the common currency of their leaders, were in short supply.
If there was a theme, apart from personal ambition, it was the need for Saudi Arabia to learn from the world while retaining its identity. Sara al-Aqeel, a 23-year-old who came to the UK with her family 10 years ago, and regularly returns to Riyadh, spoke for many when she said: “I can compare both cultures and I have decided to choose the best of both worlds.”
There was no fawning towards the prince – who was not in attendance – but equally no direct reference to politics, let alone difficult foreign policy adventures such as the war in Yemen. Afterwards the attendees made a point of saying they welcomed his modest social reforms, such as the right to drive, and wished they would go further. But they also said they had no interest in politics and seemed indifferent to a rush to western democracy.
The prince’s foundation, known as Misk, is a non-profit organisation that “aims to empower youth to become active participants in Saudi Arabia’s emerging knowledge economy”. If his reforms are to work, the generation at the Dorchester will form the backbone. Saudis under the age of 25 represent 51% of the population; add Saudis up to their mid-30s and the proportion approaches 75%.
Eman al-Khalifah spoke about her plans for a “modest fashion house” that would allow Saudi women to express themselves, but not be forced into a western fashion straitjacket, or simply buy western fashions and convert them into modest attire at home.
“I could not see how Muslim women could be engaged with modern fashion,” she said. “Many Muslim women feel unhappy with the products available to them at the moment … No big competitor has emerged in this market yet, it is a big opportunity for our community to focus on this market.”
Wareed al-Enaini, a healthcare student, discussed how Saudi Arabia’s obese citizens could be lured off the couch by taking a collective virtual walk to Mecca, or even to the World Cup in Russia, where the Saudi team will compete this summer. Others spoke about their struggles with confidence, or even mental illness.
The impression was of wired, ambitious young people who are not going to allow the Saudi leadership to offer them tokens of modernity.
If the Dorchester showed one face of Saudi society, a less glamorous side event in Geneva at the UN human rights council reflected another – the extent to which anti-terror laws are being used to suppress free expression around women’s rights.
“Yes, the women’s rights movement is more vigorous than ever, but the movement has to operate in the private sphere and take huge risks to their own safety,” said Yasmine Laveille of the International Federation for Human Rights.
“As women, they face multiple forms of repression, including the male guardianship system in which women remain minors throughout their lives. Formal permission from the guardian can be required for obtaining a passport, travelling abroad, renting an apartment, enrolling at university or getting a job. Often the role of guardian can be disputed within a family.
“The Saudi government has made considerable efforts to improve its image on the international scene, but the country needs to take more than just symbolic measures such as the right to drive or to enter stadiums. The reality is very different.”
On that the speakers in the Dorchester and Geneva are likely to agree.
