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"I am really very nervous," says Carmen bin Ladin in guttural French-Arabic tones. "My heart is pounding and my knees are shaking, but I am very delighted and honoured to be here." Polite laughter. We have queued in the wintry drizzle to hear this aristocratic Iranian-Swiss estranged sister-in-law of the infamous Osama talk in the debating chamber of the Oxford Union.
Bin Ladin wears all black save for her red shirt. She looks the epitome of international chic. "I would like to talk to you first as a mother of three daughters, who had to fight very hard to give them the freedom he thought they deserved, to talk about my life and experiences in Saudi Arabia, and my decision that I had to take my daughters to the free world." She pauses, looking for words. English is her fourth language. "I am sorry, I am very nervous," she says again.
Born and raised in Lausanne in a secular household, she married the loth bin Laden son, Yeslam, in 1974. (Yeslam spells his name slightly differently to his famous relative and Carmen has adopted the same spelling.) He was the most westernised of the 25 brothers and 29 sisters -- the product of 22 wives -- of the wealthy and respected bin Laden family. But he failed to prepare her for the repression of Saudi society.
The couple moved to Jeddah in 1976. Because of soaring oil prices, the kingdom had been catapulted into unimaginable wealth - yet its society remained a parody of modern living. By the late 1980s, she says, nothing had changed for Saudi women. After 14 years of marriage, she feared for her daughters. "A woman has no rights. Saudi men keep the children after a divorce." During a family summer in Switzerland, she realised her marriage was disintegrating and refused to return with the children. She still fears they will be kidnapped.
Her account of her life is absorbing, though the predominantly male audience does not appear to be captivated. However, when she says "having the name bin Ladin is not easy if you don't share those values", one can feel a bristle of attentiveness.
"If I am worried about the future, it is because my experience of Saudi Arabia made me understand that no matter how open-minded [the Saudis] want us to believe they are, there is so much that is ingrained. For years the relationship between the bin Ladens and the Saudi royal family has been very strong through business and friendship; it is difficult to believe all there have rejected Osama."
Her entire speech lasts less than 10 minutes, and then it is time for questions. A questioner wants to know if she knows whether Osama bin Laden is dead or alive? "You saw the tape before the American elections. I believe he's alive."
What's Osama like as a man? "As I say in my book, The Veiled Kingdom, I hardly knew him. Osama is very religious; he would only talk to his female [blood] relatives. For most people in Saudi he is much admired, liked and very respected, especially after his fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Some of the family might condemn the terrorist act but brotherhood is everything."
A female student asks about the difference between Taliban and Saudi women. "You know," she replies in a rare moment of humour, "Saudi women are the Taliban in luxury."
Eventually, the questions peter out. Carmen bin Ladin, sister-in-law, author and mother, takes the applause and walks out into Oxford's chilly evening air.
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