Hail Literary Club elections were held and complaints immediately surfaced regarding the exclusion of some college-educated individuals. They were excluded from HLC General Assembly because, it was said, they had not literary works to their credit and did not hold a university degree in Arabic language. While some of them preferred to stay silent, others decided to protest in the hope that they could solve the mystery of the reasons behind their exclusion. Hanan Muslim Al-Rwaili faced the problem after her membership requests were rejected several times, despite the fact that she had met all the required criteria. Al-Rwaili said she has a university degree and that she has written a novel, but the Hail Literary Club felt it was not enough. She decided to write to Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, and explain that perhaps her exclusion was because she did not belong to a certain religious or tribal group. There has been no response, she said. “I don't know why I was excluded because I met all required criteria of membership,” said Al-Rwaili, calling for an investigation into why the HLC secretary imposed conditions on her that were not imposed on others. “I don't understand how some members who do not hold a university degree in Arabic language and have not any literary work to their credit were accepted as members.” “We are sure that the minister will protect our rights to join any literary club,” she added. Nasser Al-Hejailan, undersecretary of Ministry of Culture and Information, promised to look into the matter and solve the problem. “The ministry is keen on serving college-educated individuals and amending membership regulations,” he said, emphasizing that the doors of the Ministry of Culture and Information are always open to all citizens. Meanwhile, Saudi Gazette reported this week that a recently elected administrative manager at the board of directors of Hail Literary Club is running for the post of chairperson or vice chairperson at the organization. Aysha Al-Shammari said it is the legitimate right of any person with qualifications to serve the body. She said she was quite hopeful of getting elected as administrative manager as did the four other women who were successful in making to the board. Al-Shammari has a master's degree in literature from Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University. She has a bachelor's degree in Arabic from the Education College in Hail. __
