Who is Princess Sultana?
Princess Sultana is said to be a real Saudi princess from one of the highest royal families in Saudi Arabia. This Arabian princess kept diaries detailing the gut-wrenching treatment of Saudi women and passed her story on to an author named Jean P. Sasson. Sasson then wrote a book from the provided diaries, allowing the world to get a glimpse of the oppressed and often horrific lives of Saudi Arabian women.
Princess Sultana’s story is not for the faint of heart, as it includes tales of the torment, rape, and murder of Saudi Arabian women. While her story has not been proven 100-percent factual, many assert that there is enough evidence to suggest that Saudi women do lack even the most basic of human rights and are treated, in some circles, as less than animals.
Princess Sultana is not the princess’ real name; Sasson changed her name in Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia to protect her from the harm that would likely befall her if her identity was revealed. Public acknowledgment might also lead to the harm of Sultana’s children. From her veil of secrecy, Sultana reveals a place in which males take up certain and unrelenting dominance over their female counterparts. She does not stop with merely showing how male dominates female in adult relationships. She also shows how the oppression begins with children, offering details of a time when she was severely punished as a child for eating an apple that was hers, but was desired by her brother.
Princess Sultana describes ways in which Muslim women are denied human rights. For example, she discusses how they are often undereducated or refused education altogether. She tells tales of women who are starved or locked in rooms for what most would consider minor infractions. She details how they are tormented and, in some cases, stoned to death, all within the confines of the laws of the land. She even gives accounts of women being raped, and then executed as punishment for their supposed seduction of their rapists.
For many, the horror of Princess Sultana’s story stems from the accounts she gives of the lives of other women. However, many find the personal history of her childhood, marriage, and motherhood equally, if not more, alarming. The tales of her brother’s life serve as a vivid reminder of the differences between men and women in some Islamic countries. It is important to note that some people believe the stories of Princess Sultana to be fully contrived or merely based on extreme and rare situations. Others, however, believe her stories to be true.
Written by N. Madison
