Badria al-Bishr
Badria al-Bishr

Dr. Badria al-Bishr is a multi-award-winning Saudi columnist and novelist. A PhD graduate from the American University of Beirut, and an alumnus of the U.S. State Department International Visitor program. Her columns put emphasis on women and social issues in Saudi Arabia. She currently lectures at King Saud University's Department of Social Studies.

Stirring hatred in the Muslim world

A Kuwaiti actor’s grandson passed away whilst the former was shooting a series. The actor stopped shooting and his Saudi colleague went to offer him his condolences in Kuwait in a...

Ladies of Saudi’s Shura Council, remember us!

Dear reverend female Shura members, perhaps you remember how we celebrated you and how we were thrilled when we heard of the news that 30 females have been assigned to the Shura council. Perhaps you...

For the real terror threat, look beyond London

I saw the image of a Muslim Nigerian young man's hands covered in blood after he butchered a British policeman in the streets of Woolwich. This is the image he wanted to appear as to Britain’s...

Twitter engulfs Saudi cyberspace

“An orientalist returned surprised after he visited Saudi Arabia,” goes an age-old expression but it’s a truth which seems relevant today in our interactions with digital networks,...

Women driving in Saudi; forever a thorny issue

It is narrated that a semiliterate man liked the phrase “of course” the first time he heard it so he started using it whenever possible. So he would go to the grocery shop and tell the...

Saudi women victims of ‘restriction for protection’

I arrived to Dubai airport last week with my daughter. It was around midnight and I waited in line for a taxi, like I would do in any other country. When my turn came, I was surprised to see a lady...

A recipe for ‘homemade’ extremism

All you have to do is turn on the T.V. and switch to C.N.N. to feel like you are in Boston. You can feel the terror through the screen, see the armed police, whose number exceeded 9,000, and hear the...

The lack of tolerance of Saudi’s religious police

The National Heritage and Culture Festival, which has for the past 30 years been held in Jenadriyah, is always inaugurated with an operetta held under the auspices of the king and senior official and...