Welcoming Women From the Middle East
The number of students in the United States from the greater Middle East and North Africa has more than tripled since 2000 to more than 103,000 in 2014–15. The largest number by far come from Saudi Arabia, whose generous King Abdullah scholarship program is now entering its second decade, but there have been significant increases in students from Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Yemen as well. More than a quarter of the 90,000 students coming to the United States from Saudi Arabia are women. Although the overall percentage of women is not tracked, U.S. campuses are finding it may take more than a simple foreign student orientation to help them feel comfortable and welcome.
Women from Middle Eastern countries have many different backgrounds. “Their identity is diverse—different countries, rural and urban, personal preferences. Arab, Muslim, Middle East get blanketed as monolithic,” says Lobna Ismail, founder of the training organization Connecting Cultures. Not all women are Muslim or even Arab, and not all Muslim women wear the hijab, or head scarf. Nonetheless, says Karen Bauer, regional education adviser for EducationUSA in Dubai, “Americans are very preoccupied with the hijab. It is typically assumed that a woman is forced to wear it.” Sandra Tamari, international affairs coordinator at Southern Illinois University, wishes it didn’t always generate conversation. “It’s not relevant. It’s a piece of clothing. If an African comes in a kente cloth, we don’t talk about it.” Ismail is fond of saying, “Don’t focus on what’s on my head. Focus on
