Have you ever felt that other people expect you to be or act a certain way because of your culture or  your nationality?

My answer is yes. Nearly everyday of my life. I am a  Saudi Arabian female raised in a Saudi Arabian society, and yes, like multiple other ethnic groups and nationalities, there is a set standard I have to live up to, but thats not all. Outside of the Middle East, Saudi Arabians are characterized by social media and westerners mindset.

I started writing this thinking "I should write about the expectations and standards of living in a saudi community.", then I heard the news, and it finally dawned on me that it’s the Western stereotype of veiled Saudi woman hidden away from modern-day opportunities that needs to change. They seem to think that were' undereducated, lack job opportunities, and are "deprived of common rights". Although what they don't know is that in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia there is "700,616 female high school students, 10,558 female schools, 455 collages, 129 research centers..." (Ministry of Education) and so many fast growing female-run business that even the government cant count. The other day I sat next to my mother who recently started her own Architectural and Interior Design firm, while being on the board of 2 major charities, and her closest friend, Nada, who is currently the dean of admissions in Darr Al-Uloom University. Today, women who are knowledgeable in the Islamic legal system can defy the hardliners and argue about Islamic laws and principles to revise the current religious teachings that are imposed to govern the lives and roles of women in society. We are finally taking a stand. People seem to believe that all Islamic laws are based on the assumption that women are "inferior" and should be totally shunned, rejected,not encouraged and indoctrinated. Now, divorced women seemed to be less affected by the financial devastation of divorce than women in the West, thanks to more equitable protections they receive under Saudi Arabia’s Islamic laws.

This year, Saudi Arabia granted women the right to vote. The world is changing, people are changing, so why don't their frame of mind?