In the Land of Invisible Women : A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom

From Publishers WeeklyThis memoir is a journey into a complex world readers will find fascinating and at times repugnant. After being denied a visa to remain in the U.S., British-born Ahmed, a Muslim woman of Pakistani origin, takes advantage of an opportunity, before 9/11, to practice medicine in Saudi Arabia. She discovers her new environment is defined by schizophrenic contrasts that create an absurd clamorous clash of modern and medieval.... It never became less arresting to behold. Ahmed's introduction to her new environment is shocking. Her first patient is an elderly Bedouin woman. Though naked on the operating table, she still is required by custom to have her face concealed with a veil under which numerous hoses snake their way to hissing machines. Everyday life is laced with bizarre situations created by the rabid puritanical orthodoxy that among other requirements forbids women to wear seat belts because it results in their breasts being more defined, and oppresses Saudi men as much as women by its archaic rules. At times the narrative is burdened with Ahmed's descriptions of the physical characteristics of individuals and the luxurious adornments of their homes but this minor flaw is easily overlooked in exchange for the intimate introduction to a world most readers will never know. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromDenied visa renewal in America, British-born Pakistani physician Ahmed, 31, leaves New York for a job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she celebrates her Muslim faith on an exciting Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca even as she encounters rabid oppression from the state-sanctioned religious extremist police. She is licensed to operate ICU machines in the emergency ward, but as a woman, she is forbidden to drive, and she must veil every inch of herself. Her witty insider-outsider commentary as a Muslim and feminist, both reverent and highly critical, provides rare insight into the upper-class Saudi scene today, including the roles of women and men in romance, weddings, parenting, divorce, work, and friendship. After 9/11, she is shocked at the widespread anti-Americanism. The details of consumerism, complete with Western brand names, get a bit tiresome, but they are central to this honest memoir about connections and conflicts, and especially the clamorous clash of “modern and medieval, . . . Cadillac and camel.” --Hazel Rochman From The Publisher: In This Stunningly Written Book, A Western Trained Muslim Doctor Brings Alive What It Means For A Woman To Live In The Saudi Kingdom. I've Rarely Experienced So Vividly The Shunning And Shaming, Racism And Anti-semitism, But The Surprise Is How Dr. Ahmed Also Finds Tenderness At The Tattered Edges Of Extremism, And A Life-changing Pilgrimage Back To Her Muslim Faith.--gail Sheehy. The Decisions That Change Your Life Are Often The Most Impulsive Ones. Unexpectedly Denied A Visa To Remain In The United States, Qanta Ahmed, A Young British Muslim Doctor, Becomes An Outcast In Motion. On A Whim, She Accepts An Exciting Position In Saudi Arabia. This Is Not Just A New Job; This Is A Chance At Adventure In An Exotic Land She Thinks She Understands, A Place She Hopes She Will Belong. What She Discovers Is Vastly Different. The Kingdom Is A World Apart, A Land Of Unparalleled Contrast. She Finds Rejection And Scorn In The Places She Believed Would Most Embrace Her, But Also Humor, Honesty, Loyalty And Love. And For Qanta, More Than Anything, It Is A Land Of Opportunity. A Place Where She Discovers What It Takes For One Woman To Recreate Herself In The Land Of Invisible Women. 1: Bedouin Bedside -- 2: Time To Leave America -- 3: My New Home, A Military Compound -- 4: Abbayah Shopping -- 5: Invisible And Safe -- 6: Saudi Women Who Dance Alone -- 7: Veiled Doctors -- 8: Lost Boys Of The Kingdom -- 9: Father's Grieving -- 10: Invitation To God -- 11: Epicenter Of Islam -- 12: Into The Light -- 13: Child Of God -- 14: Million-man Wheel -- 15: Committing Haram -- 16: Calling Doctora -- 17: Daughters Of The Desert -- 18: Next Stop: Absolution -- 19: Prayer Under The Stars -- 20: Between The Devil And The Red Sea -- 21: Mutawaeen: The Men In Brown -- 22: Single Saudi Male -- 23: Calm Before The Storm -- 24: Wahabi Wrath -- 25: Doctor Zhivago Of Arabia -- 26: Love In The Kingdom -- 27: Show Me Your Marriage License! -- 28: Eye For An Eye -- 29: Princes, Polygamists, And Paupers -- 30: Divorce, Saudi-style -- 31: Saudi Divorcee -- 32: Desperate Housewives -- 33: Making Of A Female Saudi Surgeon -- 34: Hot Mamma -- 35: Gloria Steinem Of Arabia -- 36: Champion Of Children -- 37: 9/11 In Saudi Arabia -- 38: Final Moments, Final Days -- Afterword: Rugged Glory -- Endnotes -- Bibliography -- Reading Group Guide -- Acknowledgments. Qanta A. Ahmed. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [445]-446). A strikingly honest look into Islamic culture?—in particular women and Islam?—and what it takes for one woman to recreate herself in the land of invisible women. Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong. What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a world apart, a land of unparalleled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and love. And for Qanta, more than anything, it is a land of opportunity. Very few Islamic books for women give a firsthand account of what it's like to live in a place where Muslim women continue to be oppressed and treated as inferior to men. But if you want to learn more about the Islamic culture in an unflinchingly real way, this book is for you. "In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I've rarely experienced so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti—Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life—changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith." — Gail Sheehy From the Publisher: "In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I've rarely experienced so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti-Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life-changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith."- Gail Sheehy. The decisions that change your life are often the most impulsive ones. Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong. What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom is a world apart, a land of unparalleled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and love. And for Qanta, more than anything, it is a land of opportunity. A place where she discovers what it takes for one woman to recreate herself in the land of invisible women. "In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I've rarely experienced so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti-Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life-changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith." - Gail Sheehy The decisions that change your life are often the most impulsive ones. Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong. What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom is a world apart, a land of unparralled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and love. And for Qanta, more than anything, it is a land of opportunity. A place where she discovers what it takes for one woman to recreate herself in the land of invisible women. The decisions that change your life are often the most impulsive ones.;The Bedouin bedside -- A time to leave America -- My new home, a military compound -- Abbayah shopping -- Invisible and safe -- Saudi women who dance alone -- Veiled doctors -- The lost boys of the kingdom -- A father's grieving -- An invitation to God -- The epicenter of Islam -- Into the light -- The child of God -- The million-man wheel -- Committing Haram -- Calling Doctora -- Daughters of the desert -- Next stop: absolution -- Prayer under the stars -- Between the devil and the Red Sea -- Mutawaeen: the men in brown -- Single Saudi male -- The calm before the storm -- Wahabi wrath -- Doctor Zhivago of Arabia -- Love in the kingdom -- Show me your marriage license! -- An eye for an eye -- Princes, polygamists, and paupers -- Divorce, Saudi-style -- The Saudi Divorcée -- Desperate housewives -- The making of a female Saudi surgeon -- The hot mamma -- The Gloria Steinem of Arabia -- Champion of children -- 9/11 in Saudi Arabia -- Final moments, final days -- Rugged glory -- Reading group guide.