FEMALE SAUDI JOURNALIST IS PICTURED AT NEWS CONFERENCE IN RIYADH, 2002-11-13 (photo)

A female Saudi journalist attends a news conference in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Women in Saudi Arabia, which follows a purist form of Islam, live a complex existence which mingles strict traditions and codes of conduct with modern demands of education and freedom. While women in the conservative kingdom must wear a veil in public, may not drive and need a male relative as chaperone when they go out, they are a far cry from the stereotype of down-trodden underlings often perpetuated in the West. Trying to balance the challenges of modernity with the demands of traditional past has meant that change is cautious and slow, but women insist that change is afoot. Picture taken October 27, 2002. FOR RELEASE WITH STORY BC-SAUDI-WOMEN REUTERS/Ali Jarekji AJ/CMC