Entering a male dominated profession, Fouzia Mohammad Mubarki has broken the traditional barriers by becoming the first Saudi woman to take a profession out of expediting paperwork at government and private offices for her clients. An expediting job requires the agent to track and finalize a client's transaction on his/her behalf. Fouzia obtained a license to operate her business from the Ministry of Commerce. She is planning to open the first female office in the profession, by which she aims to attract Saudi women into working as paperwork expediters. She said she was proud of the permit, marking it as the beginning of a new stage for Saudi women. Now women are officially allowed to practice public services like hers. She said she started to practice the profession with no permit in 2002. She praised the Ministry of Commerce for their understanding and quick response that granted her the permit, ending the suffering she had been going through over the past years. Fouzia said she feared to be compelled to go to the women's sections of some government offices which would have no authority to help her complete transactions for her clients. Saudi women are qualified to succeed in the job as long as they have basic skills and principles within the society's culture, she said.- Okaz __
