The other day I was reading a magazine article about Ameerah Al-Taweel, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, who at the age of eighteen married Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Even though she lives in a country where most employers require the permission of a woman's guardians to work and where the testimony of one man is equal to the testimony of two women, Al-Taweel decided to do more than just be another princess. She stepped into the spotlight and cohelmed Prince Alwaleed's charity, the Alawaleed Bin Talal Foundations. But that's not all she did, she also became a vocal advocate for women's rights - which includes the right to drive, the right to inherit equally, and the right to retain custody of children after divorce. Even though Al-Taweel divorced the prince last year, she has continued to work on advancing the rights of women in the Middle East by working with people like President Bill Clinton, Jordans' Queen Rania and the British royal family. She keeps her issues in the spotlight by asking her many Twitter and Instagram followers to remain involved. Because of her advocacy of Saudi Arabian women there has been an enormous impact on how we view the rights of women around the world. When I first read the quote above I was inspired because I am a western woman. But after I read the article about Al-Taweel I realized that by putting this quote up I was reducing the amount of women that I was trying to reach and impact; you don't have to be a western woman to save or change the world. Just look at woman like Al-Taweel and Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, who has fought for human rights and democracy despite being imprisoned. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, you can make a difference in this world and reach all of your dreams and goals. Believe in yourself and what you stand for.
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