Fahda bint Saud

Fahda bint Saud (born 1953) is a Saudi Arabian artist and a member of House of Saud.

Early life and education

Princess Fahda was born in 1953. She is daughter of King Saud.^[1] She received primary education in Riyadh until 1964.^[2] Then, she attended the English boarding school in Beirut. In 1969, she completed her high school education at the Beirut Evangelical School for girls that was an American school.^[3]

She received her bachelor's degree in political sciences from Beirut College for Women (now the Lebanese American University) in 1974.^[2] She obtained a master of arts degree in political sciences from the American University of Beirut in 1976. She then studied in the School of Oriental and African Studies for one year.^[2] There she participated non-degree research courses in the department of political science.^[3] Later, she moved to Paris to study art and participated in courses on Islamic geometric patterns there.^[2]

Activities

Fahda bint Saud participated in some exhibitions that have feminist focus through her watercolours.^[1] One of such exhibitions was organized by the Royal Society of Fine Arts in Jordan and the Pan-Mediterranean Women Artists Network of Greece to eliminate the negative stereotypes concerning women across the Islamic world.^[4] The first exhibition was in Australia under the organization of the Interfaith Centre of Melbourne from 25 January to 23 March 2008.^[5] Princess Fahda's watercolour work in this exhibition entitled Three Women is a visual representation of the Japanese Golden Rule “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” so dominant in the Islamic world.^[4] She herself also organized exhibitions mainly concerning with her father's memory.^[1] Additionally, Princess Fahda supported the exhibitions of other artists in Saudi Arabia, for instance that of Farha Sayeed, an Indian artist who focuses on decoration of eggs.^[6]

Princess Fahda painted the pictures of the book dedicated to her father published by King Saud foundation that was seen as part of the rehabilitation of King Saud.^[7] She is president of the Al Faisaliyah women’s welfare society, that is a Jeddah-based organization mainly targeting women.^[2][3]

Views

Princess Fahda expresses anti-Zionist views in her newspaper columns. She has written several articles on similar topics in leading Saudi newspapers such as Okaz and Arab News.^[8]

Like her sister, Basma bint Saud, she is also concerned with women's problems. In February 2007, her article entitled "Saudi women's concerns" was published in Al Hayat. There Princess Fahda clearly expressed that debate continuing about the rights of women in Saudi society has been "pivotal to the nation's renaissance."^[9] However, she is described as a traditionalist, but not a reactionary. She supports reform towards women, but largely depending on the country’s own values, including religious values.^[10]

Interview with Fahda bint Saud was one of the interviews included in Mona Almunajjed's book entitled Saudi Women Speak: 24 Remarkable Women Tell Their Success Stories, published in 2011 by the Arab Institute for Research and Publishing in Amman and Beirut.^[11]

Personal life

Fahda bint Saud is married with one child, a son, Abdulaziz. Her husband is Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Abdullah.^[12]

References