Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04MUSCAT1993
2004-11-13 13:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Muscat
Cable title:  

BIO: DR. SHARIFA AL-YAHYAI, MINISTER OF SOCIAL

Tags:  PGOV PINR MU 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 001993 

SIPDIS

NEA, NEA/ARP, INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2014
TAGS: PGOV PINR MU
SUBJECT: BIO: DR. SHARIFA AL-YAHYAI, MINISTER OF SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT

REF: MUSCAT 01991

Classified By: Ambassador Richard L. Baltimore III.
Reason: 1.4 (b, d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 001993

SIPDIS

NEA, NEA/ARP, INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2014
TAGS: PGOV PINR MU
SUBJECT: BIO: DR. SHARIFA AL-YAHYAI, MINISTER OF SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT

REF: MUSCAT 01991

Classified By: Ambassador Richard L. Baltimore III.
Reason: 1.4 (b, d).


1. (SBU) Reftel reported on the Ambassador's November 7
meeting with Dr. Sharifa bint Khalfan bin Nasser al-Yahyai,
the newly appointed Minister of Social Development. This
cable provides additional biographic information.

--------------
WHY HER?
--------------


2. (U) Dr. Sharifa al-Yahyai, a former Arabic literature
professor at Sultan Qaboos University, was appointed Minister
of Social Development October 20, 2004. She described her
keen interest in women's issues and the progressive vision of
Sultan Qaboos as the most probable factors contributing to
her surprise appointment. While in her new post, she
admitted having to ask a lot of questions and spending many
late nights in the office just getting to understand the
basics.

--------------
BACKGROUND
--------------


3. (SBU) Dr. Sharifa hails from Barka, about 70 km. west of
Muscat on the Batinah coast. At 34 (she was born in 1970,
the year Qaboos came to power),Dr. Sharifa is one of the
youngest ministers in the cabinet. She is married to
Abdullah al-Kindi, Deputy Dean of Student Affairs at Sultan
Qaboos University (SQU) and has two children, Azzan (four)
and Shareem (two and a half). Her brother Mohammed (a press
freedom activist) currently lives in Alexandria, VA and works
for the USG-funded "Al-Hurra" Arabic satellite TV channel.
Dr. Sharifa has never been to the United States but has had
at one trip to Washington and Florida postponed within the
past year. She spoke fondly of her time at Leeds University
in the U.K. and her visit there last summer with her
children.


5. (SBU) Prior to her appointment, Dr. Sharifa worked for
two years at SQU teaching Arabic poetry. In addition to her
successful academic career, Dr. Sharifa has also been
published. Her works include articles on women in Omani folk
tales (published in Saudi Arabia),women in poetry, and
images of Omani women in Arabic literature.

--------------
HIGHLIGHTS
--------------

-- 2004 Appointed Minister of Social Development
-- 2004 Led a 32 female student delegation from SQU to
Malaysia & Singapore
-- 2002 Associate Professor of Arabic at SQU
-- 2001 Ph.D. from Leeds University in the United Kingdom
"The early beginnings of the prose poem in the
Gulf States"
Ph.D. dissertation project
-- 1995 Master of Arts from SQU
-- 1992 Bachelor of Arts from SQU


6. (C) In conversations with friends, colleagues, and former
students of Dr. Sharifa, she has been described as
hard-working and very bright. While even her friends were
surprised at her appointment, all agree that Dr. Sharifa is
quite intelligent. She appears to lack the conventional
practical skills of Ministry work, but she is highly educated
and boasts a passion for women's issues and their development
in Omani society. Dr. Sharifa spoke often of women's role as
mother and wife, and stressed the importance of further
research and writing to foster understanding of the important
roles women play in society's development.


7. (C) Dr. Sharifa met the Ambassador alone, with no
assistant present. She outwardly appears quite modest,
donning the traditional abaya and headcovering, with an
apparent affinity for pink lace. Dr. Sharifa's English was
impeccable as she spoke nostalgically of her time at Leeds
and even at SQU before her surprise appointment at the
Ministry. While she admitted to finding it difficult
adjusting to the rigorous demands of the Ministry as opposed
to those of academia, she did appear confident that she will
rise to the challenge to "serve the people."
BALTIMORE