Royalty isn't always treated as royalty

If you haven't read Jean Sasson's Princess, you need to check it out from your local library today! A dear friend of mine lent this mind-boggling biography to me recently. I was a little unsure of it at first since I was at the beach and the last thing you want to read at the beach is non-fiction. I gave it a try anyway and was amazed.

This well written, true story was, first of all, informative. There are appendices in the back with verses from the Koran on how that religion views women and their roles, excerpts from Saudi law that show how the Koran is interpreted regarding women, and time lines of the royal family. With my only experience of the Islamic religion being very limited and informed by our media post 9/11, I was in much need of an education. I assumed that Saudi royalty, male or female, were treated differently since they "made up" the law. This book opened my eyes to the fact that growing up female in the royal family household meant diddly squat! Sultana, Sasson's friend and subject for the book, couldn't attend the mosque, had to bend to her evil brother's every whim, was forced, along with her sisters, to marry men chosen by her father, and was expected to be fully covered outside her home.

Secondly, this book was an uncommon insight into the very private life of Saudi royalty. Sultana told of prostitutes hired by her father, husband and brother and the STD she got as a result. She recounted the punishments her girlfriends received for various "crimes." One was sentenced to life in a dark, padded room after she lost her virginity to man in London where she was studying. A second was sentenced to death by drowning in her family's pool for soliciting the company of foreign men. Sultana also described a rape committed by her brother and his friend and the horrible marriage her sister endured. Accounts such as these are almost never revealed outside the royal family circle.

Finally and most importantly, this book was a call to arms for me. It made me want to be a champion for human rights around the world. I'm currently researching ways I can help through Sultana's and Jean's websites (www.JeanSasson.com and www.PrincessSultanasCircle.com). I have also requested Princess Sultana's Daughters and Princess Sultana's Circle form my local library. More posts on those to come.

Princess was frustrating to read because of all the injustices experienced by women throughout the story. It was difficult to stomach occasionally. However, it did make me thankful to be a Christian woman in America who can marry whom she chooses, hold a job, show her face, and worship God in the church of her choosing!