The author of the popular blog Saudi Jeans posted about the “We’re All Laila” blogging day during which authors muse on society values and ideas about women and the implications those values and ideas have on women themselves. Maha al-Faleh wrote a post for the author about Stockholm Syndrome.
al-Faleh comes from a home in which girls and women were treated with the utmost respect and were expected to reach for the stars. Despite her happy upbringing and generally optimistic disposition, she wonders if she is becoming numb to injustices done to Saudi women, partially because she has not had to overcome the same ordeals as less privileged girls. al-Faleh believes she and many other Saudi women are suffering from Stockholm syndrome, a condition that causes hostages to show loyalty to their kidnappers/oppressors. She thinks Saudi women in bad circumstances are simply trying to deal with their situations by making the offenses seem less grand. She notes that this is healthy on some level, but can cause the very numbness she describes. She worries they, “are not getting shocked anymore”. After starting a job at a large philanthropic organization in Riyadh her eyes opened even further, and she wondered why so many women were accepting conditions they did not have to.
After this, she tells a story about a woman who came to her one night late at work looking for a job. al-Faleh was moved by the women’s story of her forced abusive marriage, set up by her own father. al-Faleh offers advice and money, then sends the woman away. Two months later she received a call from the woman saying she did not marry the abuser and had enrolled in nursing school. This story shows an example of her main message for more privileged Saudi women: “get off your high horse, look around you, speak up!”. She urges Saudi women to escape from under the thumb of their oppressors by speaking up, getting interested in their country and becoming aware of the happenings in their communities.

The obvious bias in the article leans towards Saudi women. If these Saudi women must escape oppression, there must be someone or something that oppresses. She portrays them as victims while there are people like her who grew up well without many obstacles. However, she does place some onus on Saudi women by encouraging them to bring about change themselves and not rely on others.