Sasson - Princess Sultanas Daughters

Princess Sultanas Daughters is a true story. Names have been changed and various events slightly altered to protect the safety of recognizable individuals. In telling this true story it is not the intention of the author nor of the princess to demean the rich and meaningful Islamic faith.

An earlier book, Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia (first published in 1992, and due to its popularity, re-released in a new edition in 2003) set the stage for this work by depicting the life of Princess Sultana from early childhood to the Gulf War of 1991. This book is the continuing story of Princess Sultana, her daughters, and other Saudi Arabian women they personally know. While readers are encouraged to read the first book about Sultana, Princess Sultanas Daughters is a story in itself and can be read on its own.

Additionally, the third and last book in the trilogy is titled Princess Sultanas Circle. Although many facts are revealed about a land that is little understood by the Western world, none of these three books propose to be a history of Saudi Arabia, or to reflect the lives of all women who live there.

Know that these three books, linked by one woman, come to one conclusion: that the degradation of women is a worn out habit. Though the double standard is still alive and well in most countries, it is time for male dominance over women to end.

I lived in Saudi Arabia from 1978 until 1990, a country well known for its segregation of the sexes. I quickly came to see that forced gender segregation created a close bonding between women.

During that time I met and befriended a number of Saudi Arabian women. After living in the country for five years, I came to know an extraordinary woman the world now knows as Princess Sultana in Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia. What a brave woman! I admire Sultanas strength and courage more than I can say for she literally risked her life for her story to be told.

After the amazing success of Princess, Princess Sultana requested that I continue to write the stories of abuse that continue to occur in her homeland, Saudi Arabia. And so I have. Like most women who are mothers, Sultanas deepest concerns are for her own daughters, yet I believe that Sultanas determination to right wrongs also stems from a basic goodness and desire to help mankind.

Although my small town American life has been nothing like the royal life of Princess Sultana, we do share several common bonds: both of us want to help all women who are unable to help themselves; both of us are relentlessly determined to continue fighting the men and women who have made numerous efforts to stop us from revealing these truths; and, both of us are optimistic in character. Princess Sultana and I both truly believe that by the telling of these true stories that we can make a difference in womens lives.

When I was young, my optimism in all things knew no bounds. I truly believed that I could solve every problem and right every wrong. In part I believe this optimism stemmed from the fact that I grew up in Americas deep south in a tiny town of only 800 people. Small town life carries a happy innocence that clings to its inhabitants forever. And, the people in my little community were for the most part, decent and kind. Due to this inherent goodness, I cant recall a single incident in my youth where I felt females were less valued than males.

Although Sultana grew up in a wealthy environment that I could not have begun to imagine in my poverty-stricken youth, I now know that I was more fortunate than a royal princess, for I never felt I was second-class in any way, to anyone. This wonderful confidence instilled a great sense of optimism in my every emotion and action.

After years of living an adventurous life that, thus far, has taken me to 66 countries, my optimism has survived, although it has been battered by the reality of life for so many women of the world. I have found that the oppression of women and the social pressures to which they are exposed, are a worldwide problem. Sadly, some governments and social systems are downright hostile to their female population. Too many women of the world are condemned to a life of heart-breaking and even cruel discrimination. Too many men, who are the worlds social or political leaders, turn a blind eye to this war against women.

How anyone with an ounce of feeling can turn a blind eye to the horrors inflicted on women is beyond my comprehension. I know that I am haunted by many incidents of abuse against women. I am sad to report that I have personally seen the following:

While working at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, I personally knew of young girls admitted to the hospital to give birth. Babies having babies, as we often sadly observed. For the most part, those young girls were the third or fourth wife of an aging man.

I have seen young Asian women auctioned off to the highest bidder for the purposes of unlimited sex. I witnessed young girls, some that looked no older than eight-years-old, stand weeping as heartless men inspected their bodies. I was shocked to see that most of the men buying the young girls were citizens from Western countries.

I visited a brothel in Asia where beautiful young women had been bought to serve men as sex slaves. During the day the owners of these young girls forced them to work in a clothing factory located on the premises. At night they were compelled to return to the brothel on the ground floor to allow strangers to take possession of their bodies.

I once saved a young woman from a slave-like existence and supported her for years. This same woman later gave her own three-year-old daughter away to a group of men so that she could devote herself solely to supporting her treasured son.

Many well-meaning people have often advised me to temper my reactions to such abuses, that social change comes slowly, and that I must be patient. Although history tells me this is true, as far as I am concerned, change cannot come quickly enough for young females who are so brutally mistreated.

And so a princess from Saudi Arabia and an American woman from small town America continue to tell the stories that we hope will provide knowledge to readers, and that this knowledge will compel people to gather their courage and take action to bring change to our planet.

I am proud to be the voice for Princess Sultana. And, I am proud to present the second book in the Princess Trilogy: Princess Sultanas Daughters

Jean Sasson, March 2001

For additional information about Jean Sasson and her books, including maps, timelines, glossaries, and key facts about Saudi Arabia, please visit the authors website: http://www.JeanSasson.com

A great rock is not disturbed by the wind; the mind of a wise man is not disturbed by either honor orabuse.

BUDDHA

Once, I read that any good pen can stab any king. As I study the photograph of my uncle, Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz, the king of Saudi Arabia, I contemplate the fact that I harbor no desire to stab our king, or even to spark the wrath of a man I know to be kindly.

I trace my fingers across his face, calling to mind the man, Fahd, from the days of my childhood. The photograph portrays the king in maturity and reveals not a spark of the youthful figure I remember.

The kings stern brow and strong jaw belie the charming man I wistfully summon into my mind. My thoughts wander back in time, remembering the king before he was crowned. Standing tall and broad-shouldered, with his large hand outstretched, he had offered a sweet date to a child in awe.

That child had been me. Fahd, like his father before him, was a robust man, and, to my young eyes, had looked more like the son of a bedouin warrior he was than like the statesman he would become.