AGAINST THE ODDS: FIRST WOMAN IN MIDDLE EAST WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000538 SIPDIS RIYADH PASS TO DHAHRAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2018 TAGS: ECON ELAB KISL KWMN SA SOCI KMPI KPAO SCUL SUBJECT: AGAINST THE ODDS: FIRST WOMAN IN MIDDLE EAST WITH RE/MAX FRANCHISE REF: JEDDAH 508 Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn, reasons 1.4b and d. ¶1. (C) Summary. Aziza Mansour, the first woman in the Middle East to receive a RE/MAX franchise, fought for recognition of her right to sell real estate for fourteen years. Appreciated and befriended by a royal benefactor when she thought her cause was lost, Ms. Mansour overcame the many barriers set before Saudi businesswomen and now is passing on her entrepreneurial fighting spirit to three US-educated daughters. Her experience suggests a potential focus for USG programming on the women of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Fourteen years ago when her husband died and left Aziza Mansour the real estate and automotive spare parts company they had started together, Aziza had no idea she would become the first woman in the Middle East to be granted a RE/MAX franchise. Nor could she have imagined the challenging road she would travel to achieve that end. Left with 4 children, the youngest of whom was only 5 days old, Aziza, a woman now in her fifties, found that local regulations did not allow her to register the company in her own name, nor officially to practice the real estate business. Legal commercial registration was only granted to men. Such restrictions, pervasive in Saudi Arabia, are principal deterrents to women's entry into the economy. FLYING UNDER THE RADAR ========================= ¶3. (SBU) Despite isolated examples of limited progress on paper, reality for Saudi women today is that they must either "fly under the radar," fight numerous governmental authorities, or permit a man to become the official owner and manager of their business in order to set up shop. At first Aziza flew under the radar, working for more than 12 years under the license of &spare parts dealer8 while she built houses, office buildings and warehouses -- a total of 21 projects -- on the land she inherited from her late husband. She then proceeded to either rent or sell these developed properties. Eventually she brought her three grown daughters into the business and, based on her broad experience in property development, RE/MAX granted her a franchise two years ago. ¶4. (C) Having obtained the recognition of an international property company, Aziza thought she was finally in position to request and receive a license to deal in real property from her own country. For months, she approached the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI),the Ministry of Commerce and the Governor of Makkah without success. All refused to grant her this license unless she would appoint a male manager. Having made a success of herself on her own, she refused and instead continued to fight for her entrepreneurial rights. As she tells it, she believed she had the qualifications and experience needed without having to employ a male stranger to represent her. ROYAL INTERVENTION ==================== ¶5. (C) In October 2006, Okaz Arabic newspaper interviewed Aziza and published a detailed story outlining her experiences and the roadblocks she was encountering from all levels of government. In the interview, she called for more independence for businesswomen and for their right to deal and invest in real estate without &hiding behind a man,s name.8 Princess Dr. Munira al Bawardi, the wife of Prince Mishal Bin Abdulaziz, the King's brother, read the story and took up Aziza's cause, personally contacting the Minister of Commerce to facilitate her registration. Reportedly, the Ministry didn't make it easy for her, requiring her to write an essay outlining all her experience in real estate and explaining why she required the license. A year and a half ago Aziza finally received her realtor's license. She claims that thus far she is the only woman in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who has been granted this right. ¶6. (U) Aziza Mansour came to Pol/EconOff's attention in November 2008 in an article in the Saudi Gazette with an accompanying photo of a large group of Saudi women touring the sales center at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). Aziza had been selling property there as a sub-subcontractor and decided to eliminate the middle-man and enter into a direct relationship with Emaar EC, the general contractor for the project -- the largest private development project in the world. She transported her potential clients, many of whom hail from the wealthiest Jeddah families, to the KAEC site to market the property. And through her mostly female staff of real estate sales agents, she does the same in and around JEDDAH 00000538 002 OF 002 Jeddah, catering to both female and male clients. SEEKING HELP FROM OTHER WELL-PLACED WOMEN ============================================= == ¶7. (C) Aziza asserts that the career of real estate broker is exceptionally well-suited to Saudi women since they can work from home, set their hours around the demands of family, and work at the pace they desire. Aziza even makes male associates available to show property to male clients if a female agent is not comfortable showing the property herself. Recently, she approached the women board members of the JCCI with a proposal to open a training academy to train women to sell property. She reports that she was told that too many government approvals would be required and essentially was turned down. This sort of roadblock is not unusual here, demonstrating that even those women nominally in a position to advance the cause of women's economic development have insufficient training, experience, and support to help the thousands of eager, educated women in Saudi Arabia who seek employment or simply the tools to start their own businesses. ¶8. (U) Aziza Mansour has at least passed the torch to her own daughters. All three daughters hold graduate degrees from the U.S. and stand poised one day to break down more barriers, following the example set by their highly exceptional mother. Effat Bin Yaqoub was registered by the JCCI last February as the first female real estate appraiser in the Kingdom. Another daughter, Olfat, now holds a position in strategic development at Emaar while continuing to work with her mother's company. ¶9. (C) Comment: Considering the difficulty Aziza Mansour faced when she reached out to the women leaders at the JCCI, women who are uniquely positioned to assist vanguard women such as Aziza in navigating unfriendly government entities, there is a potential role for the USG in bringing more training and development to the women at the JCCI in order to help them to realize and then exercise their advocacy powers. Current focus is largely on reforming institutions and rewriting laws. But unless these reforms are applied to real cases, their work may be for naught. End comment. QUINN