Monday, March 31, 2008

Kuwait: A guide for women’s rights and family law

Women’s rights in the family law in Kuwait and Shariah courts in Bahrain will be the focus of a study to be conducted soon as part of GCC women’s activists’ celebration to mark the International Women Day.


The Kuwaiti Chairwoman of the Cultural and Social Society Shaikha Al Nasaf said during the first GCC Forum that the study was divided to theatrical and practical as those conducting it would review family law in Kuwait and its commitment to protection of women’s rights and judgment differences between Jaffary and Sunni courts in Bahrain.

The study would also highlight activities conducted by the society and Bahrain’s Women Union and find mechanisms to enhance NGOs activities in empowering women.

The forum three-day event started on March 26 in Kuwait city and attracted activists from all GCC states.

Al Nasaf said that the society launched on March 8 a campaign entitled “Your Law is Your Light” to enhance women’s awareness on laws in general and the family law in particular.

The Bahrain’s delegation highlighted the long journey to pressure the government to comply Shariah principles in one law (family law) as the President of Women Union Mariam Al Ruwai said that activists had been fighting for the law for more than twenty years.

The debated law is facing mix reactions from the public as some are supporting it to regulate judgment process of court cases related to marriage, divorce, custody, alimony and inherences, while others object its importance as according to them the legislation is the first step to abandon Shariah judgments.

Al Ruwai said that the law would benefit all family members, mainly women. “Many women prefer to lead miserable marriage lives out of fear of being humiliated or mistreated at courts.”
While highlighting the benefits of the law, Al Ruwai explained that it wouldn’t bring magical solutions but situations at courts would be better after its implementation. “The role of the law could be reinforced with major reforms in the judicial authority, such as better criteria in selecting judges and the fast activation of the alimony fund.”

UNIFEM’s Executive Director Mona Ghanim called upon NGOs and women movements to pressure governments of Arab world to implement family laws to deal affectively with legal disputes related to Shariah. She said that the forum was good chance to motivate activists to join efforts for more rights for women.

The forum highlighted the publishing of a guide to highlight Bahrain and Kuwait experiences in fighting for the implementation of the family law.

-- Women Gateway

Middle East: Web site for Arab female journalists launched

The Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) launched a Web site titled “Arab Women and Media”( www.arabwomanmedia.net) on the occasion of International Women's Day, March 8.

According to a press release made available to IJNet, the Web site is “an online interactive space which copes with the rapid changes of the image of women and enriches the dialogue and the debate on the issue of women and media.

The Web site encourages networking among Arab journalists through the presentation of more than 50 resumes of journalists working on women’s issues in the Arab world. It also provides portraits of renowned Arab women journalists in 17 Arab countries, in addition to news on media development in the Middle East.

-- Women Gateway

Kuwait: Human Rights Watch Says Kuwait Enforcing "Repressive" Dress Code Laws

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - The Kuwaiti government has again begun arresting citizens who are "imitating the appearance of the opposite sex." Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the government of Kuwait to investigate these claims and to repeal what they called an "offending provision."

The rights group said that the law and arrests violate Kuwait's human rights obligations.

"This vague and sweeping law is based on prejudice and gives authorities a green light to abuse people over how they dress," said Joe Stork, Middle East director at HRW.

"It violates basic rights to privacy and free expression, and these continuing arrests show why it should be repealed."

The law was approved in an amendment to Kuwait's Criminal Code this past December. It reads that "any person committing an indecent act in a public place, or imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex, shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars ($3,500)."

At least 14 people were arrested during the first month the new amendment was added. More arrests began earlier in March as police began arresting more people for violating the code.

-- Joseph Mayton - AHN Middle East Correspondent

Saudi Arabia: Women to work in Saudi courts: Justice minister

Saudi women are to be employed in soon-to-be-established reception centers at courts, Minister of Justice Abdullah Al-Asheikh announced here yesterday.

These women-only reception centers will provide legal assistance before cases are brought before judges.

“We have come up with a mechanism in which women can reach judges without having to mingle with men,” said Al-Asheikh. “These reception centers will deal with women visitors and convey their requests to judges.”

Speaking to reporters on a host of issues after a meeting with members of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Al-Asheikh said that law graduates in the Kingdom would be accepted by the Ministry of Justice to work as legal experts along with Shariah judges.

Commenting on Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s call for stricter punishment for rapists following the pardoning of the “Qatif Girl” last year, Al-Asheikh said the matter was still in court and, therefore, he was unable to comment.

Asked whether Fatima and Mansour’s case — the couple who were forcefully divorced by a court in Al-Jouf in 2005 — would be sent to the Supreme Judicial Council, Al-Asheikh remarked, “The case has already been looked at in court.”

Regarding delays in issuing rulings, the minister said the Kingdom’s courts had become more efficient. He added that issues with the slow administration of justice were not just confined to the Kingdom but exist universally. Replying to a question about shortage of judges in the Kingdom — according to the HRC, there are only 1,300 judges in Saudi Arabia and that each judge issues rulings on around 560 cases per year — Al-Asheikh admitted, “The number of judges has still not reached desired levels.”

The minister also denied there was discrimination in the appointment of judges and that judges from certain regions of the Kingdom were being favored. “That is nothing but newspaper talk,” he said. “The judiciary is open to anyone qualified to apply.”

-- Arab News

Saudi Arabia: Women to Work in Saudi Courts - Justice Minister

RIYADH - Saudi women are to be employed in soon-to-be-established reception centers at courts, Minister of Justice Abdullah Al-Asheikh announced here yesterday.

These women-only reception centers will provide legal assistance before cases are brought before judges.

“We have come up with a mechanism in which women can reach judges without having to mingle with men,” said Al-Asheikh.

“These reception centers will deal with women visitors and convey their requests to judges.”

Speaking to reporters on a host of issues after a meeting with members of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Al-Asheikh said that law graduates in the Kingdom would be accepted by the Ministry of Justice to work as legal experts along with Shariah judges.

Commenting on Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s call for stricter punishment for rapists following the pardoning of the “Qatif Girl” last year, Al-Asheikh said the matter was still in court and, therefore, he was unable to comment.

Asked whether Fatima and Mansour’s case — the couple who were forcefully divorced by a court in Al-Jouf in 2005 — would be sent to the Supreme Judicial Council, Al-Asheikh remarked, “The case has already been looked at in court.”

Regarding delays in issuing rulings, the minister said the Kingdom’s courts had become more efficient.

He added that issues with the slow administration of justice were not just confined to the Kingdom but exist universally.

Replying to a question about shortage of judges in the Kingdom — according to the HRC, there are only 1,300 judges in Saudi Arabia and that each judge issues rulings on around 560 cases per year — Al-Asheikh admitted, “The number of judges has still not reached desired levels.”

The minister also denied there was discrimination in the appointment of judges and that judges from certain regions of the Kingdom were being favored.

“That is nothing but newspaper talk,” he said. “The judiciary is open to anyone qualified to apply.”

---Arab News

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Saudi Arabia: Lifting Ban on Women Driving Will Bring Economic Windfall: Experts

As women’s rights groups continue to steam ahead in full speed petitioning for the reversal of the ban on women’s driving in the Kingdom, experts on the issue conclude that the move, if successful, would not only lift the ban itself but the Saudi economy as well.

“Overall, lifting of the women driving ban in Saudi Arabia is expected to have a major effect on the local economy in three different ways,” said Dr. John Sfakianakis, chief economist at the Saudi British Bank (SABB) in Riyadh.

“First, by putting a large portion of house drivers out of work and increasing the purchasing power of Saudi families; secondly by causing a shift in the ownership of vehicles; and thirdly by a trickle down of additional vehicles being sold to women translating into greater opportunities of opening up new markets.”

Accounting for 49 percent of the population, the economic power of the Kingdom’s women is a force not to be taken for granted, according to a report published in December last year by state oil firm Saudi Aramco. The report said car ownership among Saudi women climbed to 60 percent between 2003 and 2006, taking the total number of automobiles owned by Saudi women to 120,334.

Realizing a limitless profitability, a number of local companies have been waking up to the impact that catering to the Kingdom’s women could make on their businesses. “I feel lifting the ban on women’s driving will cause a boom effect on local automotive businesses,” said Sam Maatouk, sales manager at United Motors in Jeddah.

“It is only logical that the lifting of the driving ban would create a chance for the opening up of so many different markets,” he said, adding that women’s driving schools would begin to be established, fuel consumption would rise, and tires and spare parts manufacturers would also benefit. “I feel the government would also gain financially from a lift on the ban through the issuance of licenses and auto insurance contracts,” he said.

Maatouk, who previously worked in the UK, said most English women prefer small, four-cylinder vehicles, which are easier to drive and park, but added that he expects Saudi women to be more assertive. “Maybe you might see a woman wanting to buy a Dodge Charger because her husband, brother or father has one,” he said.

Anees Salamah, marketing manager of Balubaid Automotive Co. in Jeddah, agreed that the economic consequences of the lifting of the driving ban would be a windfall. “We heard the news about a petition going around and the possibility of the ban being lifted, and have been working on facilities especially designed for women,” said Salamah.

He also said that the company has been dealing with women for a while now and has some women customers who are already owners of two or three cars. “We are currently working on catering to businesswomen by developing special links with financial institutions for them and also a training program for female staff in order to advise new car owners on maintenance procedures, such as changing tires and getting the car regularly tuned up,” he said.

Salamah concluded that they have just completed a survey into identifying the specific needs of Saudi women customers and found that entertainment features were the biggest attraction for women when purchasing a new vehicle. “GPS navigation systems were the most sought after feature,” he explained.

Another primary factor that could drive the number of women car owners up is what he calls economic necessity. “It simply means that some people can’t afford to hire drivers anymore and lifting the driving ban would make life more affordable for women, who would prefer to purchase a car and chauffeur themselves,” he said, adding that with a large population of divorced women and those who have no male guardian more money would be forced into the local economy, money that he says could be put to good use for improving the social infrastructure by developing Saudi ladies’ branches of police departments, gas stations, spare parts shops, and new ladies-only car showrooms.

The only question still remaining is when will be the driving ban lifted. When the question was posed to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, he was quoted in the local media as saying that the ban would be lifted “when the country is ready,” which when translated by automotive businesses and so many eager women means it’s only a matter of time.

-- Sarah Abdullah, Arab News

Kuwait: Women hit out at lack of political support

KUWAIT CITY, March 29: Several female candidates who took part in the last parliamentary elections are still contemplating on the possibility of running in the upcoming elections. Naeema Al-Hai said she needs to consider a lot of things before finalizing her decision on whether to stand for the next elections or not. In case she joins the electoral race, Al-Hai will run as a candidate from the Third Constituency, where women make up 58 per cent of the voters which, she said, is an encouraging consideration for female candidates. Affirming that political awareness amongst women increased lately, Al-Hai said “Kuwaiti women are now aware of male parliamentarians’ failure to advocate their causes so they are gearing towards supporting female candidates in the next elections.”

Criticizing the lack of political support given to women, Al-Hai pointed out “none of the political blocs — even the liberals — have shown definite interest to support female candidates. Tribes have not considered women as their representatives in Parliament while the government has failed with regards to women’s expectations.” Al-Hai lamented the government seems to imply that women are not yet ready to represent the nation at the Parliament. “It is disappointing to see how previous elections have been turned into a battle ground between businessmen and merchants. Numerous business heavyweights, who intend to run in the upcoming elections, are willing to spend large sums of money on campaigns, propaganda and food to attract supporters.

Female candidates, on the other hand, have very minimal financial support,” Al-Hai added. Meanwhile, Laila Al-Rashed, who intends to stand for election from the Fifth Constituency said the current situation is still hazy. Al-Rashed, who won 449 votes in the previous elections, opined “we have to conduct a comprehensive study on the five constituencies electoral system considering even long-time male politicians are unfamiliar with the new system.”

Admitting female candidates are currently facing difficult challenges such as tribal and bloc coalitions, Al-Rashed said “women have no tribal or political party support.” She also highlighted the need to come up with new mechanisms to reach out to voters under the new electoral system. On factors deemed to encourage women to run in the elections, Al-Rashed explained “since constituencies are now larger than in previous elections, there will be more chances for female candidates due to the bigger number of female voters in each constituency.” Agreeing with Al-Hai on the lack of governmental support to women, Al-Rashed described the Cabinet’s performance in this regard as ‘negative’.

“After granting full political rights to women in 2005, the government has done very little to actually help women win a seat at the Parliament. Women even doubt the government’s stand on women’s rights,” she concluded.

By Dahlia Kholaif, Arab Times Staff

Yemen: Hadramout workshop promotes political participation of women

The women’s movement in Yemen and women’s organizations worked to support the active participation of females in the elections of 2006 and politics in general. Many workshops and forums were organized with this goal towards women’s issues and to help them reach the ranks of Parliament and play a serious role in their country’s political arena.

Recently, a workshop, organized by various civil society organizations focused on women’s issues, was held in al-Kukala of Hadramout. Over 20 participants and trainers attended, holding such training sessions that were oriented on ways and strategies to support women’s issues. The result of this workshop was to create a forum to support women’s issues and facilitate their participation in the upcoming elections of 2009.


Workshop Participants

President Salah, among others, have expressed support in a quota system that would guarantee women 15 percent of the seats in Parliament. However, opponents to this system argue that its introduction would require a major legislative effort and prefer the status quo, yet a study completed by Khaled al-Anesi, executive director of the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD), found that the quota system could be enacted without major changes to the law.

Approximately 42 percent of Yemeni women, nearly four million, are registered voters, but even with such a number of voting women, the elections of 2006 saw little women elected or even candidates to political positions. Of the several thousand local council seats to be elected, only a few dozen women were accepted as candidates and even fewer elected.

The Deputy Governor of Hadramout, Awadh Abdullah, praised awareness programs such as this workshop that aim to participation in women’s issues and strengthen their political role. He said that the local authority is ready to provide civil society organizations with the facilities to enable them to do their social duty in the best way possible.

Reem Radman, the organizer of the training workshop, talked about the strategies of the workshop and how it aims to support women so that they can seriously participate in 2009 elections. She said that programs have been held since December 2007 that target many different governorates, including Dhamar, al-Kukala and Taiz. Members of civil society organizations from these governorates are trained and encouraged to form a team within their organizations to promote participation or women.

She also added that a team of lawyers and those interested in law will also be formed to formulate law strategies during the training and the supporting campaign.

At a political workshop, participants had an oppurtunity to question a panel of experts.In the opening seminar of the workshop, participants talked about how the number of women nominees has decreased, while the number of women voters has risen.

They placed an emphasis on including a quota system in Yemeni law in order to be sure of the participation of women in elections and enable them to reach Parliament. Following the introduction, the next activity of this program was a training course for people interested in supporting women’s issue in Sana’a. It resulted it the establishment of a forum consisting of ten organizations, as well as the formation of a team of lawyers, including Khalid al-Ansi and others.

Dr. Raufa Hassan, executive director of the Cultural Development Planning Foundation, gave speeches about the significance of civil society organizations working together in order to reach their goal of increasing women’s participation in the upcoming election.

Abdullah Ba Wazir, the director of the services committee in the Al-Kukala local council, spoke about the importance of supporting women in all fields and how they can reach the highest ranks if encouraged.

Dr. Ahmed Ba Mashmus, the director of Hadramout University, agreed with Ba Wazir, adding that women should not only be voters who put men in the Parliament, but they should also take part in the elections as candidates themselves.

At the end of the workshop, participants considered themselves the creators of the forum, with a firm goal to raise the participation of women in politics. They formed two teams with this goal in mind; one within their organizations, and the other covering the governorates.

-- News Varieties

Friday, March 28, 2008

Egypt: Making room on the bench

As the National Council for Women celebrates the first anniversary of the appointment of 30 women judges, Reem Leila looks back on a year in the courts...

To mark the first anniversary of the appointment of 30 women judges, the Cultural Committee of the National Council for Women (NCW) held a seminar on Sunday at which they spoke about their experiences. Headed by Gaber Asfour, the one day event was attended by Tahani El-Gebali, vice-head of the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), and the 30 women who joined the bench at the beginning of April 2007. Their promotion came a month after President Hosni Mubarak issued a statement encouraging women to apply for posts as judges and public prosecutors.

Last year's mass swearing-in followed the 2003 appointment of El-Gebali, Egypt's first female judge, to the SCC. El-Gebali, who was subsequently promoted to the position of vice- president of the SCC, says that though women were not legally banned from appointment to the bench, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which hires prosecutors, had consistently refused to hire female lawyers for the prosecution service's criminal division, the branch from which most judges are selected. That situation, she says, has changed, and now the "SJC is appointing as many female prosecutors as possible".

The 30 successful applicants were chosen from 124 women on the prosecution service's staff who applied for the vacancies.

"This decision came late but it was widely welcomed," says Rasha Mahmoud, head of the North Cairo Court of First Instance. "The idea of female judges is not something new. More than 11 Islamic countries, including Tunisia, Sudan and Morocco, allow female judges. Egypt was late in following their lead but once the decision was made there was no point taking a small step when so many women are qualified for the job."

"We are not just a little bit late in allowing female judges, we are 60 years behind. And even though it seems like a huge step it is only the beginning of a much-needed process. The idea of appointing female judges is about moving forward towards improving the country's statutes and not about women's rights as many are claiming," says El-Gebali.

She recalls that when first appointed she had to prove herself among 17 male colleagues. "It only took a week for them to get used to me and accept me as the only woman amongst them."

Ghada Abdel-Nasser, head of South Cairo Court of First Instance, points out that there are still no women serving as judges at the prosecutor- general's office or on the State Council. She expects more women will win appointment in the near future though not before the next judicial year, which begins in October. The application process starts in August and women candidates are already being examined with an eye to promotion. "Dozens will be appointed," believes Abdel-Nasser.

Female administrative prosecutors can apply for appointment to the bench once they have served a minimum of seven years in office. For the Court of Appeal, though, they must have served not less then 20 years in the courts of first instance, and for the Court of Cassation must acquire an additional 10 years experience.

Hundreds of cases have already been ruled on by women judges. "Studying cases and writing reports is not an easy mission. I have issued sentences in more than 300 cases, including personal status, financial and administrative suits," says Mahmoud. "Women are the backbone of society and it's perfectly possible that they make better judges than men. We should not be prevented from becoming judges on the grounds of gender. It was only a matter of time until our male colleagues, lawyers and the public accepted the idea. Their attitude towards us became supportive in a very short time."

Abdel-Nasser, who has presided over 400 cases, says the human rights and women's associations that first welcomed their appointment remain positive. And though some male judges and Islamist activists objected to the move initially, claiming Islam does not allow women to preside over the judiciary, she says they are now among the women judges' strongest advocates.

The number of cases a judge is expected to complete in any judicial year ranges from between 300 to 600, and they receive supplementary payments according to the number he/she completes.

"We are performing as well as our male colleagues," insists Abdel-Nasser, "and I only hope more women join the judiciary system."

--Al Ahram

Saudi Arabia: Don’t Underestimate Saudi Women, Says Samia Al-Amoudi

JEDDAH, 28 March 2008 — Several women attended a second workshop on breast cancer awareness run by Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at Dohat Al-Jazeera School yesterday.

A group of 15 women — including representatives from the health sector, social activists and breast cancer survivors — took part in five modules covering community profiles, development of volunteers and organizations, awareness and education, and fundraising and advocacy.

“I want you to leave class today knowing everything about gathering information and field surveys so that you can design your own strategic plans and community profiles,” said trainer Fatimah Al-Qarazi.

“Our goal is to set plans for awareness purposes. Nothing is done randomly. You have to know all details,” she added.

Speaking about participants’ cooperation and responsiveness, Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, member of the Saudi Cancer Society (SCS) and a breast cancer survivor, told Arab News that no one should ever dismiss Saudi women. “Don’t ever underestimate Saudi women. Just give them the chance to be part of any work, and wait and see,” said Al-Amoudi.

She said participants’ feedback to the course, which is being held in Jeddah, Riyadh, Qassim and Dammam, was overwhelming. She emphasized the importance of human interaction to build relations with other nations and countries.

“Especially in the fields of medicine and health,” she said, stressing that the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research has strengthened Saudi-US ties.

Al-Qarazi presented a plan that Najlaa, one of the participants, had worked on as part of the first module explaining the steps she had adopted from the module. Najlaa and her colleagues Lulwa and Dania are members of Al-Eman Cancer Society of Jeddah and were nominated to attend the workshops.

“Being part of society did us a favor in implementing what we’re learning by contacting other local cancer societies,” said Dania. “The workshop has given us a better understanding on how to start awareness campaigns. We’re still at the beginning and we definitely need time, effort and support,” she added.

Focusing on a new dimension in breast cancer awareness, Al-Amoudi is now trying to integrate breast care awareness into the Kingdom’s education system. “I hope the Ministry of Education adopts my idea. I’m willing to write the curricula so that it suits different age levels,” she said.

“Let us work together on teaching the new generation. I would love to see younger people doing more for breast cancer patients,” she added.

In January 2008, Howaida Darwish, member of KFSH-D Breast Care Program and SCS, and Al-Qarazi underwent an eight-day workshop for breast cancer awareness in Dallas, US.

Darwish said that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure exposed them to 25 years of the Komen experience in dealing with breast cancer. She added that it was a challenge for them to tailor the same tools to suit the Saudi environment.

“It’s encouraging to hear participants’ feedback and to be able to use adult learning techniques creatively to train them. I’m a believer in awareness and I gave a promise in Dallas at the Susan G. Komen headquarters. I’ve realized the seriousness of breast cancer problems and I’m doing this for myself, my daughter, my family and my generation,” said Darwish.

-- Hassna’a Mokhtar, Arab News

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Saudi Arabia: Experts Call to Rein In Domestic Violence

Riyadh: Experts are warning against an alarming increase in attacks against women, children and the aged in the Saudi society.

Following a recently-concluded awareness campaign against domestic violence, they called for serious efforts to curb the menace. The warning came at a time when the Ministry of Social Affairs has issued a report outlining the unpleasant level of domestic violence against women and children in the Kingdom.

"Among the 508 cases of domestic violence received at the Riyadh-based Social Protection Committee last year, the victims in 452 cases were women. Regarding men, it is only 56," the report noted. Of the domestic violence involving women, 48 per cent of the victims were between the ages of 19 and 35. The percentage of minors and babies subjected to violence during the same period accounts for 17 per cent, while cases of the aged stood at 4 per cent. The report blamed parents and husbands as major culprits.

The issue prompted Saudi oil company Aramco to conduct an awareness campaign last weekend, featuring a wide variety of programmes and activities, including seminars, lectures, family orientation courses and the distribution of pamphlets.

Warnings

Several prominent academics, social scientists, psychiatrists and experts delivered lectures and presented working papers at sessions held at the main venue of the campaign, the Prince Sultan Centre for Sciences and Technology in Dammam.

Presenting a working paper on "The Psychological impact of domestic violence", Dr Ebrahim Al Mudaifer, head of the psychiatry department at King Abdul Aziz Medical City for National Guards in Riyadh, noted that many children, who have either been subjected to domestic violence or been brought up in such a family environment, show symptoms of psychiatric problems.

"This deals severe damage to their mental growth. Criminal tendencies in them are the highest," he warned.

By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent for Gulf News

Kuwait: Forum on women's rights, civil status law kicks off

KUWAIT: The First Gulf Forum on Women's Rights and the Civil Status Law, organized by the Women's Cultural and Social Society, kicked off here yesterday under the auspices of Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Faisal Al-Hajji.

Chairwoman of the Women's Cultural and Social Society Sheikha Al-Nisuf said the forum coincided with a study on the Kuwaiti civil status law and the Bahraini laws, within celebrations of the World Women's Day. Both the forum and the study, she said, was being conducted in cooperation with the Freedom House and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and came as a culmination of a whole year's worth of effort by experts in the region.

Freedom House is a US-based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights. It is best known for its annual assessment of the degree of democratic freedoms in each country, which is widely used in political science research.

Moreover, Al-Nisuf noted that the society that she headed had launched on the occasion of the World Women's Day a national awareness campaign on the Kuwaiti civil status law under the slogan "Law is your beacon," adding that it was aimed at raising the awareness of women regarding their legal rights.

Since 2006, the society has been working on a comprehensive program, in cooperation with Freedom House and UNIFEM, for shedding more light on this area, she said. On her part, UNIFEM Regional Director Muna Ghanim said a study conducted in Kuwait just before the parliamentary elections of June 2006 indicated that more than half of the participants saw a need to amend the civil status law in a way that ended discrimination against women.

The political participation of women is constantly on the rise, despite it being relatively slow, and the presence of women in governmental decision-making positions is of utmost importance because they can provide the cornerstone for strong alliances that can help change priorities," she said. Ghanim noted that the road toward gender equality and women empowerment was a long one, calling for "working together to protect what women have achieved.

Meanwhile, Chairwomen of the Bahraini Women's Union Mariam Al-Ruwai'ey highlighted the efforts exerted in her country for issuing a civil status law, saying that a committee was formed upon an initiative by women's society in 1982 to follow up on this issue. As for Executive Director of Freedom House Jennifer Windsor, she expressed her joy at participating in this event, which highlighted the importance of women's attainment of their political rights.

She said the organization, which was established in 1941, had engaged in a number of partnership programs around the world with the aim of spreading knowledge and exchanging expertise. Prominent female figures and experts from the Gulf region are participating in the one-day forum, including Kuwait's Professor of International Law Dr. Badriya Al-Awadhi, who will be presenting a paper on the rights of women in the Kuwaiti civil status law compared to Arab legislations.

Chief Justice at Bahrain's Jaafari Court Sheikh Hamid Al-Mubarak will be presenting a paper on Jaafari laws and women's rights, while BahrainUniversity's Dr. Ahmad Al-Atawi will be presenting a paper on the rights of women in Sunni laws.

- KUNA, Kuwait Times

UAE: First woman judge

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates on Wednesday got its first woman judge, a job hitherto reserved for men in the conservative Gulf country.

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, acting in his capacity as ruler of Abu Dhabi, named Kholoud Ahmad Jouan al-Dhaheri as a judge in the emirate, the wealthiest and largest in the seven-member UAE federation, the official WAM news agency reported.

The move made the UAE the second Arab country in the Gulf after Bahrain to name a female judge.

The appointment reflects "the government's keenness to involve women in the development drive" and "boost their role in society," said Sultan Saaed al-Badi, a senior official of Abu Dhabi's judiciary.

"I will endeavour to perform my functions with utmost (competence) ... in order to provide a successful model of Emirati women working in the judiciary," Dhaheri was quoted by WAM as saying.

The new judge graduated in law and sharia (Islamic law) from UAE University and has been a practicing lawyer for eight years, the news agency said.

The UAE cabinet includes four women. Nine women also sit on the 40-member Federal National Council, an assembly that advises the government.

-- Agence France-Presse

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Jordan: Conference evaluates women’s participation in parliamentary elections

AMMAN (Petra) - HRH Princess Basma on Monday attended a conference on ‘’Jordanian Women and Parliamentary Elections’’ at the Hussein Ben Talal University in Maan.

In her address at the opening, the Princess said women were able to prove themselves despite challenges and hardships, thanks to efforts by women leaders.

“Constructive criticism gives an accurate picture and an indication for evaluating and improving the situation. It also helps in finding solutions for issues that need to be addressed,” Princess Basma said. She urged the public to act in order to improve the situation of women in the Kingdom.

Participants called on government institutions, civil societies and women’s groups to exert more efforts to change traditional misconceptions about women’s participation in political life and the workplace.

-- Jordan Times

Monday, March 24, 2008

Egypt: Women are still locked out of key leading posts

Despite constitutional articles and laws guaranteeing equal rights the process of empowering Egyptian women, who represent 49 per cent of the country's population, has a long way to go.
It was a problem highlighted at a conference in Brussels organised under the heading "Women: Stabilising an Insecure World" in advance of International Women's Day. Attended by female leaders from around the world -- the more than 50 participants included Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, foreign ministers, lawmakers and senior European Union and UN officials -- the conference addressed ways of ensuring a larger political role for women in conflict resolution and tackling poverty.

"It's up to women to take the lead in challenging the traditions and dogmas that have resulted in their exclusion from the political process," Mrs Mubarak told the conference. "Investing in women is essential if we are to meet the challenges we face, from poverty, hunger and illiteracy to environmental degradation," she said during a sideline meeting on gender equality and advancement.

A few days after the Brussels conference Mrs Mubarak inaugurated the National Council for Women's (NCW) branch in North Sinai, built at a cost of LE1 million, as part of NCW's own celebrations of Women's Day. Speaking at the new branch she appealed for a wider political role for women in addressing today's urgent problems. "In Egypt we should ensure that we hear the voices of women and address their concerns wherever we seek to establish or keep the peace. If we do that we are actually making the job of improving the status of Egyptian women easier," she said.

Women are vastly underrepresented in the ownership and/or management of private sector firms and in senior public sector positions. Farkhonda Hassan, secretary-general of the NCW, points out that as far as government employment is concerned, women tend to be concentrated in social service ministries. Yet while they constitute 70 per cent of the labour force employed by the Ministry of Health and Population, only 15 per cent of mid-level and senior management positions are held by women. Similar discrepancies are found in the Ministry of International Cooperation, where women represent 46 per cent of total employees, and the Ministry for Economic Development, where they account for 46 per cent of the workforce. In contrast, only eight per cent of the Ministry of Military Production and the Ministry of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs' employees are women. The situation is even worse at the Ministry of Justice: Egypt has only 30 women judges.

"Research confirms that very few women are empowered in leadership positions. The Egyptian cabinet includes only two women and there has never been a female prime minister, vice-president or president of the republic though nothing in the constitution or law prevents this," says Hassan. She revealed that the NCW is currently working towards the appointment of Egypt's first female governor.

The 1956 constitution, and its 2007 amendments, both guarantee women's full participation in political life. In 1956 women members of the legislature represented just 0.57 per cent of the total. Between 1979 and 1986 there were 35 female MPs, and between 1984 and 1987 just 36 despite the fact that Law 21/1979 allowed for 33 seats to be directly allocated to female candidates. That law was repealed in 1986, since which time the number of women in parliament has declined steadily. Only 2 per cent of the 444 seats in the current parliament are occupied by women.

Despite these figures Hassan believes that women are no longer the weaker players and that they must be allowed to make a difference at all levels, from grassroots family and community initiatives through to regional, national, and international decision-making roles. "Accordingly, the NCW engages across a broad spectrum of interests... the council does not have any direct interests of its own other than to see women in their right position, enjoying the stability and prosperity males enjoy."

"The NCW has succeeded in initiating the establishment of equal opportunity units in most ministries to look at issues of gender equality in recruitment, promotion and training. Though these units lack adequate funds and the authority to implement decisions they are still supporting women," says Hassan, who adds that the council is also preparing a comprehensive database of women in managerial positions in order to better target its activities.

Reem Leila, Al Ahram

Bahrain: Recruitment of judges not in govt purview

MANAMA - The government said it was not in its authority to appoint judges.

The Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa said judges were appointed by a Royal order on the recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council.

The minister was responding to a parliamentary question by MP Hamad Al Muhanadi on the recruitment and selection criteria of judges.

The MP asked the question in the context of appointment of some young judges. Recently a girl in her early twenties and who is just out the of the law school was appointed as judge.

“The government has no power over the judicial authority, just as it has no power over the legislative authority,” the minister said. “The Council is responsible for the affairs of judges, such as their promotion and appointment and not the ministry,” he added.

By Suad Hamada, Khaleej Times Online

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Bahrain: Move to amend nationality law rejected

A Bahrain parliamentary committee yesterday rejected a proposal to amend the kingdom’s nationality law to give Bahraini women the right to to grant their nationality to their foreign husbands.

The proposal was rejected by parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee with a view to protect women from being exploited by people who might marry them just for the sake of Bahraini passports.

The nationality law that was ratified in the 1960s is opposed by many women activists who alleged that it was discriminatory against women. It gives the right to men to grant their nationality to their children born to foreign wives and foreign wives after five years of marriage, but deprived Bahraini women from doing so.

Many women’s societies joined a campaign calling for the amendments to the law.

“If the amendment is approved it is possible that many foreign men will marry Bahrainis and divorce them soon after getting their passport and that cannot be accepted to protect women from being victims of greedy men,” head of the panel Adel Al Muawda said.

He said the amendment could harm also the children as they would be forced to suffer the negative implications of having divorced parents.

Women Activist and Politician Dr Muneera Fakhro, however, disagreed with Al Muawda and said that if foreign wives could get Bahraini passport, then why it could not be given to foreign men.

-- Khaleej Times

UAE: Voice For Abused Women Upsets Dubai Patriarchy

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - For years, Sharla Musabih has fought a lonely battle to protect battered wives and victims of human trafficking here.

She founded the Emirates' first women's shelter here and she became a familiar figure at police stations, relentlessly hounding officers to be tougher on abusive husbands.She has also earned many enemies. Emiratis do not often take kindly to rights advocates drawing attention to the dark side of their fast-growing city-state on the Persian Gulf, better known for its gleaming office towers and artificial islands.

Still, no one was quite prepared for the stories that started appearing in Dubai newspapers this month. Suddenly, unidentified female victims were coming forward to say that "Mama Sharla" herself had abused them, forced them to work as servants and sold their stories to foreign journalists for thousands of dollars, pocketing the proceeds. She even sold one woman's baby, the articles said, hinting at criminal investigations.

To Ms. Musabih and her supporters, the accusations, which appear to be baseless, are the latest chapter in a long campaign of threats and defamation that began with angry husbands and has grown to include prominent clerics, and even the directors of a new government-financed women's shelter, who, she says, would like to silence her.

The ferocity of the dispute is unusual for Dubai, and underscores a major challenge facing this proudly apolitical business capital. The city's few rights advocates have always been quietly shunted aside. But as the conservative Muslim ethos of Dubai's native Arab minority rubs against the varied perspectives of a much larger foreign population, debates about how to approach taboo subjects like domestic violence and the city's prevalent prostitution are getting louder.

Battling Tradition

Ms. Musabih, 47, a boisterous American transplant who was born and raised on Bainbridge Island, Wash., argues that confrontation is essential in fighting the patriarchal Arab traditions that allow men to beat their wives with impunity.

She and her supporters also say the Emirates have not acknowledged the severity of their problem with human trafficking, the brutal business in which foreign women are lured here with promises of jobs and then forced into prostitution or servitude. Last year the United States State Department placed the Emirates and 31 other countries on a watch list for failing to effectively combat the illegal trade.

"When a woman has three broken bones in her back, and the police don't take it seriously, yes, I get angry," Ms. Musabih said.

Others say Ms. Musabih's aggressive approach - which includes appeals to foreign news media as well as tough, face-to-face lobbying - is inappropriate in the Arab world, and has needlessly fueled the backlash she now faces. That assertiveness may also have made it easier to dismiss her as an outsider.

Although she has lived here for 24 years, converted to Islam, is an Emirati citizen, wears a veil and has raised six children here with her Emirati husband, Ms. Musabih is still unmistakably American, from her moralistic zeal to her habit of calling the women in her shelter "darlin'."

"I have told her sometimes I think she is wrong, she goes too far," said Lt. Gen. Dahi al-Khalfan, the chief of the Dubai Police, who has supported Ms. Musabih in the past but now tends to criticize her work as divisive. "There is a case between husband and wife; let the court decide! Leave it."

Safety and a Ticket Home

Ms. Musabih dates her work as an advocate from 1991, when she started tracking domestic violence cases and offering women shelter in her home in Dubai. In 2001, she rented a two-story house in the Jumeira district and opened a shelter for abused women and their children, naming it City of Hope.

On a recent afternoon, children's toys littered the floors in the shelter's sunlit living room, and several women snacked in the kitchen, while others sprawled on couches watching television upstairs. Although Ms. Musabih has had some dedicated assistants over the years, it is basically a one-woman show; she deals with everything from belligerent former husbands to buying plane tickets, sometimes with her own money, for foreign women to return to their home countries.

"I've repatriated 400 victims in the past six months," said Ms. Musabih, a fast-talking, energetic figure who presides over the shelter like an overworked mother.Establishing the shelter was unusual enough in the Arab world, where going outside the family to resolve domestic conflicts has little basis in law or custom.

Ms. Musabih's personal advocacy made her work even more startling. She would counsel women to leave their husbands if they were being beaten, and help represent them in courts or foreign consulates.

She would also march into police stations and yell at officers if she felt they were not protecting women in danger. In the Arab world it is virtually unheard of for a woman to behave this way toward a man, and the officers sometimes felt they had been publicly humiliated.

Some women who have spent time in the shelter say this tough approach is necessary. The police in Dubai "won't do anything to protect you while you're legally married," said one former resident of the shelter, who declined to give her name because she still fears repercussions, from her husband and from others who oppose Ms. Musabih.

After her husband beat her repeatedly, the woman said, she appealed to the police, who made her husband sign a promise that he would not do it again. He violated the pledge again and again, she said, but the police did nothing, even after he broke into another house where she was seeking refuge and raped her.

"The police told me, 'We can't do anything, he's your husband,' " she said.But Ms. Musabih's approach clearly shocked and angered many, and not just the husbands whose wives found shelter.

A prominent cleric, Ahmed al-Kobeissi, recently gave interviews to Dubai newspapers in which he said Ms. Musabih's work "goes against the traditions of Emirati people" because she "instigates wives against their husbands." Mr. Kobeissi also voiced indignation at Ms. Musabih's suggestion that Emirati men are among the clients of Dubai's many prostitutes.

Ms. Musabih's work took on a higher public profile when she joined a crusade against the practice of using children, some as young as 4, as camel jockeys, once common in the Persian Gulf. Her advocacy led to a number of television and newspaper reports about the horrific abuses practiced on young jockeys, and appears to have helped lead to a ban on the practice in the Emirates in 2005.

Ms. Musabih is full of praise for the Emirati government's response on this issue, and says it responded quickly and effectively to her appeals to change the laws. But her highly public approach to the problem is said to have angered some influential Emiratis, who felt she had embarrassed the leadership instead of allowing the matter to be settled quietly.

In the early spring of 2007, government officials approached Ms. Musabih about plans for a new state-sanctioned women's shelter, apparently intended to replace hers. At first she welcomed the idea, because her shelter was often crowded and she was struggling to manage financially. They praised her pioneering work and said she could help direct the new shelter as a board member.

As the project evolved, it became clear that the government's approach was vastly different from Ms. Musabih's. It hired a director with a background in management and a more subdued style. On the grounds of an old rehabilitation center 20 minutes from Dubai with high fences and guards, the new shelter, known as the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, resembles an American low-security prison.

Ahmed al-Mansouri, the chairman of the foundation's board, says there was a need for a more organized approach and a shelter that, unlike Ms. Musabih's, was licensed by the government. He says she was not making adequate progress on the legal cases of the women in her shelter, a claim she vehemently disputes. He also describes the familial chaos of the City of Hope shelter as a "horrible way of living."

Certainly, the new shelter is more spacious, and has better access to schooling for the women's children.

Feeling of Betrayal

In October, buses arrived at City of Hope and they moved 35 women to the foundation shelter.

But Ms. Musabih soon began to feel that the directors of the new shelter had betrayed her and were negligent with the women in some cases, a claim the foundation denies. She says the foundation was more interested in getting foreign women back to their home countries with a minimum of embarrassment, than in investigating wrongs that had been done to them and preventing those wrongs from recurring.

If the new shelter was meant to replace Ms. Musabih and quiet her down, it became clear over the following months that it would not work. City of Hope continued to take in new women, and as Ms. Musabih kept criticizing the Dubai Foundation's approach, her relations with its directors became steadily nastier.

When one of the women who was moved to the foundation tried to commit suicide in December, Ms. Musabih accused its staff of negligence. After a heated exchange, the foundation's director, Afra al-Basti, sued Ms. Musabih for slander.

It was then that the scandalous articles about Ms. Musabih began appearing in Dubai newspapers.

The sources for those articles appear to have been women at the foundation shelter who, like some of their counterparts at the City of Hope, are vulnerable or unstable, and have been drawn into the dispute boiling around them. Some speak no English or Arabic, and are easily manipulated. How exactly they came to spread false stories about Ms. Musabih's selling babies or taking thousands of dollars from foreign journalists is still not clear.Ms. Musabih, speaking by phone from Ethiopia, where she is setting up a shelter, said she felt betrayed.

"I never thought it would go this far," she said. "These people think I'm an enemy of the state and that I need to be controlled.

"But even some of her supporters wonder whether Ms. Musabih, for all her pioneering accomplishments, could not have avoided all the ugliness if she had been willing to do things more quietly.

"With Sharla, it is 'No, I am right,' and she always deals with people straight on," said Awatif Badreddine, a supervisor at City of Hope.

"But I tell her you have to deal with people differently here. The Arabs don't like this. Sometimes you have to go around to get what you want."

By Robert F. Worth, The New York Times

Friday, March 21, 2008

Tunisia: Arab conference targets improving women's participation in politics

A regional seminar on "Gender and Local Governance" held March 14th in the Tunisian capital highlighted the close link between "economic and domestic development and women’s participation in local politics".

Forum attendees from Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco and Bahrain also recommended organising an awareness-raising campaign for men concerning women’s right to play a significant role in local political affairs.

"The aim of holding this round-table meeting is to create an opportunity for exchanging experiences [and] to support women’s role in local governance among countries covered by the project and other countries outside the project such as Bahrain, Morocco and Kuwait," said Dr. Sekina Borai, head of the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR), which held the seminar in collaboration with the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).

Borai said, "As the Arab woman is currently incapable of participating effectively on the central level, at least, we aspire to achieve participation on the local level."

Allowing women to learn about what goes on within their region, she added, is "a straightforward route toward transparency and good governance".

Conference participants from Maghreb countries shared experiences and strategies about how the governance project is working. In Morocco, the Third Millennium Organisation is "working to open national dialog on democracy and assisting women to achieve broader participation on the national level", said Mohammad Balkoh.

Meanwhile, in Algeria, Faisal Bin Halilo of an NGO in Constantine, asserted that the country's legal and constitutional arsenal does not in any way hinder women’s participation in political life. In real life, however, women’s participation in local and central elections is slim and their voting turnout is on the decline, compared to the early years of independence.

Among the causes, he said, is an educational system that places women in an inferior position: "Our students still read in their textbooks, 'Father is in the field, and mother is in the kitchen'". Bin Halilo added that in Algerian politics, the fear of extremists has superseded women's issues.

The quota system, whereby a percentage of local council or Parliament seats is allocated to women, has been a bone of contention in countries represented at last week's conference. The majority of attendees rejected including such a provision in their countries' constitutions, arguing that it imposes a ceiling that women cannot exceed and is against Arab constitutions which emphasize equality among genders. "The quota system is part of positive discrimination," said Fawzeya Abdullah, a candidate in the 2006 Bahraini parliamentary elections.

To effectively boost Arab women's political participation, the general political environment and the status of freedoms in the Arab world must be considered, according to Tunisian economist Azzam Mahjoub. One of the first academics to compile a report on the subject, Mahjoub noted that in the Arab region, there is a high level of illiteracy among women and their presence in the workforce is minimal.

"The Arab woman," Mahjoub added, "is the victim of discrimination in male-dominated societies, and also suffers from the use of religion to justify such discrimination."

At the conclusion of the Tunis seminar, participants said they will work with decision-makers to set out strategic plans for improving women's participation in local governance.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis

Saudi Arabia: First Women-Only Hotel in Saudi Arabia Opens

Riyadh: For a country that goes to such great lengths to segregate unrelated men and women, it took Saudi Arabia a long time to hit on the idea of women-only hotels. The kingdom's first hotel exclusively for females opened on Wednesday, offering plush lodgings with a full-range of health and beauty facilities.

"Inside this physical structure, we are all women. We even have bell-women. We are women-owned, women-managed and women-run, from our IT engineer to our electrical engineer," said Executive Director Lorraine Coutinho. "This is meeting a very big demand. There are women's hotels all over the world, from Berlin to the United States to everywhere," she said.

New rules announced in January allow women to stay in standard mixed-gender hotels without a male family member in tow, but bureaucracy and conservative family values mean few have been able to make use of their new-found freedom.

"This meets the Saudi woman's need for a place to stay as she moves around her country," he told a large pack of male journalists who stomped around rooms delicately adorned with incense candles, rose-red fabrics and bas-reliefs of cherubs.

Prices range from 350 riyals ($93) per night to 979 riyals, with weekend "spa break" rates for around 2,000 riyals, though the hotel is located some distance from central Riyadh.

-- Gulf News

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Yemen: Laws discriminate against women

Reviewing the legislative system of Yemen for the first time, one gets the impression that the laws are well-drafted and ensure the rights of both men and women. Upon analyzing and dissecting those laws and regulations, one will inevitably realize that certain elements of this system, which regulates private and public relationships, involve a considerable degree of discrimination against women.

This conclusion is supported by the legal teams formed by the National Women's Committee (NWC), which have been working since 2000 to examine Yemeni laws for gender bias.

The NWC wanted to ensure this system complies with the Islamic tenets and principles as the main source of legislation, with the Constitution and with the international conventions ratified by the Republic of Yemen, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The legal review teams came up with proof that there is flagrant discrimination embedded in some provisions, most severely in the Personal Status law, the Nationality law and the Penalty law.

The Personal Status law does not specify an appropriate age of marriage, which as a result, inadvertently permits early marriage among young females – an especially common problem in rural areas. Early marriage in turn affects girls’ ability to continue their education. With early marriage comes early pregnancies, which can cause problems like fistula (a condition that causes incontinence) or even to death during childbirth.

The Personal Status law arbitrates against a wife, as it gives a man the absolute right to polygamy, without provisions mandating that he inform his wife of his plans. The law doesn’t restrict polygamy according to Sharia rule, which stipulates non-harassment, equality and justice among wives. The same law discriminates against divorced women to the same degree when it comes to alimony and child custody.

The Nationality law’s treatment of a Yemeni man's foreign wife and children is different from its treatment of the foreign husband and children of a Yemeni woman.

Moreover, the Penalty law severely undervalues a woman's worth, since the law claims that the blood of a woman is worth only half as much as a man’s. According to this law, a woman, when injured, shall be compensated with half the financial amount given to a man for the same injury. A man's penalty for murdering his wife or any of his female relatives over adultery is mitigated by the law, while the same law says that a female who commits the same act is to be executed.

Around 61 discriminatory provisions have been submitted to the decision-makers since 2001.Last March, the Cabinet of Ministers approved - in principle - some suggested amendments to laws that discriminate against women. However, the Cabinet excluded the provision to define a legal age of marriage in the Personal Status law, on the grounds that it should be amended in the Child Rights law, as proposed by the Higher Council of Childhood.

The Cabinet also excluded the provisions that call for the application of the "quota" system aimed at rejuvenating women’s political participation, under the pretext that this issue is still subject to discussion among different political parties. The Cabinet formed a ministerial committee comprised of the Ministers of Endowments, Justice, and Legal Affairs, in addition to the Chairperson of the National Women's Committee to study, examine and legally redraft certain laws.

Approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the legal provisions were then referred to the Parliament last year and were put on the agenda for review and discussion. The Parliament circulate the drafted legal amendments on the specialist committees for discussion and opinion before they are discussed and decided upon by the MPs.

Many laws find their way through the Parliament quickly, but for some reason, those laws related to women’s rights are always considered with mistrust and doubt. The proof of this is that the amendments to the Personal Status law were first raised in the early days of the National Women's Committee – back in 1996.

Since that time, this issue has stood still. Ironically, this does not invite suspicion because the nature of the Parliament is still the same, not conducive to change. Nor does it facilitate the improvement of women’s legal status, despite the dialogue initiated with the Parliament and its various committees.

Although there are voices that support women, they are few, separate and not influential. Women hope that the Parliament will spend time on legal amendments which logically shouldn’t be delayed, especially because those provisions were revised by professional jurisprudence specialists. A ray of hope still glimmers when women remember that most of the MPs, if not all, have won due to female voters.

The earlier the Parliament approves those amendments, the more time all of us save. Moreover, such a step would enable the National Women's Committee to proceed to Phase III of the continued Legal Amendments Project, which reacts and adapts to new developments and requirements.

The civil society and women's organizations must play a greater role in terms of mobilization, advocacy, and even pressuring the Parliament to look into and approve those laws. Only then can discrimination against women be eliminated.

Hooria Mashoor is deputy chairperson of the Women National Committee and a strong advocate for women’s rights.

By: Hooria Mashoor, Yemen Times

Morocco: Awkward trial and error

What a difference three years, half-a-dozen postponements and plenty of stalling makes.

On Wednesday, Nadia Yassine, a leader of the banned Justice and Charity Islamic movement and one of the biggest thorns in the side of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, did not even bother to make an appearance at the Rabat courthouse to face charges of publicly criticizing the monarchy.



It was a far cry from her first court appearance in the controversial case back in June 2005.

Back then, the veiled Moroccan grandmother grimly marched to the courthouse, under the full glare of international TV cameras, surrounded by scores of chanting, agitated supporters. But even more embarrassingly for the Moroccan monarchy, Yassine prominently sported white tape over her mouth, emblazoned with a red “X,” a taunting reminder that a basic human right to free speech was at stake.

The reason for Yassine’s arraignment was a 2005 interview with a Moroccan daily in which she stated she preferred a republican system of government to a hereditary monarchy.

Morocco is a country ruled by one of the world’s oldest reining dynasties. The 1,200-year-old Alaouite dynasty traces its ancestry back to the Prophet Mohammed, and is not historically known for tolerating dissents.

Yassine was promptly charged with damaging Morocco’s “holy institutions”.

A colossal mistake?

It was an act that most experts agree was a colossal mistake on the part of the Moroccan authorities.

Certainly the makhzen - a term popularly used to refer to the palace and the country’s ruling elites - underestimated the infectious charm and sheer media savvy of the 49-year-old Moroccan grandmother.

The daughter of Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, the 79-year old founder of the virulently anti-monarchist Justice and Spirituality movement, Yassine has impeccable credentials. Her father, a revered – if somewhat ideologically erratic – Muslim scholar, spent considerable chunks of his adult life in jail for criticizing the monarchy. Articulate, intelligent and a darling of the international press, Yassine has adeptly exploited the case.

“This trial is a gift, a present, to Al Adl wa al-Ihssane,” said Aboubakr Jamai, a Nieman fellow at Harvard University, referring to the Arabic name for Justice and Charity. “Nadia Yassine is shrewdly using the issue of openness and freedom of expression because it poses a tricky situation for the palace - to crackdown on this would run counter to the values espoused by the West.”

Certainly the trial is under careful scrutiny by the international community. In a statement emailed to FRANCE 24 Wednesday, a US State Department official said: “We support freedom of expression in Morocco, and consider a free press and the free exchange of ideas to be a fundamental aspect of a democratic society. We follow this case, as we do all cases related to human rights in Morocco. We also continuously advocate for fair and impartial judicial proceedings in all cases.”

Given the controversial nature of the case, the Moroccan judiciary appears to have taken the path of inaction over the past three years. Since the initial June 2, 2005 hearing, there have been six court hearing dates that end with a postponement. “They really don’t want to judge her,” said Ali Amar, editor of Le Journal Hebdomadaire, Morocco’s leading weekly news magazine “They wish it would just go away.”

Emerging from the ‘years of lead’ - leadenly

After two decades of brutal political repression in the 1960s and ‘70s under former King Hassan, locally known as the “years of lead,” Morocco has been making a slow, democratic transition. Perched at the western extremity of the Arab world with only a few miles separating one of its edges from Europe, Morocco is often viewed as a model Arab nation, one that has close ties to the US and European capitals.

Since he ascended the throne in 2000, Mohammed’s moves to put a lid on the “years of lead” as well as his efforts to stem the rising tide of Islamism in the region have won him many admirers in Western capitals.

But within the kingdom, political opposition and freedom of expression is still strictly – and sometimes bizarrely – suppressed.

Last month, a Moroccan computer engineer was sentenced to jail for creating a Facebook profile in the name of Prince Moulay Rachid, King Mohammed’s younger brother. The sentencing came despite defense pleas that the computer enthusiast was an admirer of the prince and the profile was only intended as a bit of fun.

Following a massive outcry by the international rights community, the fake Facebook profiler was granted a royal pardon Wednesday in the lead-up to the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed.

As the bearer of the title amir al-muminin or “commander of the faithful,” Morocco’s 44-year-old monarch is particularly well placed to offer such a pardon.

But a royal pardon for Yassine however seems unlikely, according to Jamai. For one, he notes, she would need to be convicted in order to be pardoned. To attain that, Jamai explains, “The case would have to be argued in court. Given that Nadia only said she thinks a republic is superior to a monarchy -- an idea that’s so widely accepted in modern society -- it would make an interesting debate. But that’s the last thing the monarchy wants.”

By Leela Jacinto/ FRANCE 24

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Kuwait: Country faces new elections

The emir of Kuwait has dissolved the country's parliament and ordered early elections to be held to try and resolve a stand-off between the government and the deputies.

The cabinet resigned on Monday, less than a year after being sworn in, complaining that a lack of co-operation from parliament has blocked legislation. State news agency Kuna said the new elections will be held on May 17 and cited "irresponsible conduct".

As the head of all authorities in Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah could either have accepted the government's resignation or issued a decree dissolving the parliament and calling for fresh polls.

If Sheikh Sabah accepts the cabinet's resignation, then he can ask Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti prime minister, to form a new government or ask someone else to become the premier.

However, in a televised speech the emir announced he had decided to dissolve parliament and hold early elections.

Blame game

The government has placed the blame entirely on the parliament while the speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament said even the government should share the responsibility of the crisis.

However, a number of parliamentarians had expressed fear that the parliament could be suspended altogether and said if that happened, then they 'will go to the street to oppose it.'

The Kuwaiti parliament has been suspended twice before for five years in 1976 and for six years in 1986.Kuwait wants to diversify its economy away from gas and oil, emulating Gulf neighbours such as Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain, but a bill to set up a financial regulator and open the stock market to foreign investment has stalled.

While parliament has made some progress on reforms by cutting tax on foreign investors, matters came to a head on Monday after deputies demanded another raise for public sector workers, just a month after the cabinet had approved one. More than 90 per cent of Kuwaitis work in the public sector. Saad Al-Anazi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kuwait City, said new elections may still not resolve the differences.

"It will still be a tug-of-war," he said. "Here we are going to find there are still some more prices to pay."

Chronic crisis

Ahmad al-Mulaifi, a parliamentarian, said 'the government should go' and called for changes within the ruling al-Sabah family.

He said the premier had failed to carry out reforms and resolve the nation's crisis.
Kuwaiti commentators on Wednesday said that neither dissolving parliament nor sacking the government would resolve the country's chronic political dilemmas.

Madhi al-Khamees, a columnist, said: "The crisis will not be resolved by sacking the government or its head. It wil not be resolved by dissolving parliament or even by suspending democratic life."

Chequered past

Over the past two years, Kuwait has gone through several political crises triggered by power struggles, the resignation of four governments, dissolution of parliament and general election in 2006.

The country has also been experiencing sectarian tensions after activists from the Shia minority held a rally last month to mourn the death of Imad Mughnieh, Hezbollah militia commander, killed in a car bombing in Damascus, Syria.

Political parties are banned in Kuwait and elections are fought on individual bases though groupings are allowed to operate.

Unlike western-style democracy, the prime minister in Kuwait is picked from the ruling al-Sabah family only.

-- Al Jazeera

Kuwait: New faces from 5 constituencies

KUWAIT CITY: Political analysts and constitutional experts say Kuwait will soon witness a totally different parliamentary election due to the implementation of the five constituencies electoral system in the upcoming election.

Speaking to the Arab Times on Wednesday after HH the Amir issued a decree on the dissolution of the Parliament, Constitutional expert Dr Mohammed Al-Maqate said the next parliamentary election will be a novel experience for Kuwaiti voters due to the implementation of the five constituencies electoral system, instead of the 25 constituencies.

“The new Parliament will consist of new faces since the five constituencies electoral system is touted as a means to tone down tribal and familial influence — on a voter’s decision — hypothetically, from 75 percent to 30 percent. Citizens will no longer vote based on their tribal and friendly relations with candidates but on the candidates’ experience and qualifications,” Al-Maqate added.

When asked to explain the new electoral system, Al-Maqate underscored the fact that according to the Constitution, an election should take place within 60 days after dissolving the Parliament. Under the new system, Al-Maqate clarified that each constituency will elect 10 MPs instead of two under the previous system. He added citizens can vote for no more than four MPs out of 10 candidates in each constituency. Al-Maqate said the Ministry of Interior will supervise the election. It will be in charge of allocating polling stations, announcing their locations, and monitoring electoral records while the counting of votes will be under the jurisdiction of an impartial authority headed by the Ministry of Justice, he added.

The new electoral system was approved in 2006 after a heated argument between MPs and Cabinet members on the number of constituencies. The Cabinet pushed for ten constituencies while the MPs demanded only five constituencies. The Parliament was dissolved later since the two authorities were deadlocked on the issue. After the election, the new Parliament passed a law on the five constituencies.

According to the new law, the number of voters in the five constituencies will range from 38,000 to 90,000 instead of 5,000 to 31,000 under the 25 constituencies electoral system. Those who opposed the previous system have argued that the small number of voters encourages political corruption and vote-buying. Other MPs, however, were skeptical saying that the new legislation will not guarantee equality among citizens due to a wide disparity in the number of voters in the constituencies.

In related developments, Al-Maqate commented on the role of women in the upcoming election. He said women have very limited chances in the election “as none of the political blocs have shown any interest in supporting female candidates.”In 2005, Kuwaiti women were granted their full political rights.

None of the 27 female candidates, who ran for office in the 2006 parliamentary election, won a seat at the National Assembly. Recently, the Parliament amended a law on organizing parliamentary elections. According to the new conditions stipulated in this law, candidates are not allowed to put up tents or banners for their candidacy. They can also hold meetings only in these designated locations — school auditoriums, theaters or wedding halls.

Talking about the consequences of the abovementioned law, political activist and economist Rola Dashti said “this law guarantees equality among candidates as it is no longer based on who pays more to win votes. Media will play a great role in this election as there are no restrictions on utilizing any of its forms.” Under the new system, Dashti hopes voters will choose sincere candidates, who are keen on serving the nation and its people. “Kuwait is going through a very critical phase in its history made worse by the escalating tension in the region. At this point, the nation needs highly professional leaders with the ability to take wise decisions,” Dashti added.

Talking about the campaign procedures, Dashti explained those who intend to run in the election should file their candidacy immediately after the issuance of an Amiri decree on the dissolution of the Parliament. She added the decree includes the election date and candidates have the right to withdraw from the race any time before the election.

-- Arab Times

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Morocco: Group launches innovative campaign against religious extremism

tAlarmed by recent terrorism arrests in Morocco, some women's rights activists have taken a bold step to counter the threat of extremism: bringing an awareness-raising programme to schools and performing community outreach in poor neighbourhoods.

While women's rights activists around the world celebrated International Women's Day earlier this month, one women’s group in Morocco opted to concentrate instead on raising awareness of terrorism.

The Democratic League for Women’s Rights (LDDF) dropped all the celebrations it had planned, having decided in the wake of the discovery of a new terrorist network – the Belliraj Cell – that the country needed an emergency action plan to draw attention to the threat of posed by extremism.

LDDF President Fouzia Assouli told Magharebia, "We have found that there is a lack of unity among associations, particularly women’s associations, with regard to tackling this phenomenon. Most NGOs have other priorities. We therefore decided to raise people’s awareness by bringing the issue into the spotlight."

Under the slogan "No to extremism and terrorism, yes to equality and citizenship", her association has organised an awareness-raising and training programme for secondary schools and universities. The targeted institutions are located in Casablanca's working-class districts, which have traditionally been breeding-grounds for terrorism.

As well as working in schools, the association is also conducting outreach activities in residential neighbourhoods about "the threat of extremism and indoctrination [and] the danger of religion being used for political ends".

Fatiha Moukhlisse, a teacher who volunteered to run workshops in a number of secondary schools, says that the organisation’s work is vital. "We all need to respond to the terrorist activity which is taking place. These efforts to raise the awareness of secondary-school pupils are highly commendable. This kind of face-to-face contact in workshops with schoolchildren enables us to instil values of decency into them."

"With the children aged 11-15, who are still open-minded, we had no problems – on the contrary, they were very receptive and we really got the message of tolerance and respect for the ideas of others across to them," she said.

Moukhlisse found the situation much different with the older children aged 15-18. "We realised they have a lot of prejudices," she said. "A lot of them have been indoctrinated by their teachers, who instil undemocratic ideas into them, so we had difficulties with them," she told Magharebia.

The director of one of the schools included in the LDDF awareness campaign praised the initiative. Abdelakrim Idlhaj said the workshops provided an opportunity for his students "to receive lessons in citizenship, and also for them to do something different which is not part of their normal school routine".

This enthusiasm was mirrored by young students at a school in the working-class district of Moulay Rachid. "This activity is a good thing for us because it gets us to think about political topics like terrorism. It gives us a chance to say what we think… because often people treat us like children, as though we don’t have minds of our own," Said Hdidou remarked as he and other students gathered around a young trainer to work on a wall painting project.

"How are we supposed to be happy about new ways of learning and discussing things in workshops when our school is lacking in so many things," asked fellow student Mustapha Khaloudi. "We don’t have a sports hall or a library, and outside, in our area, there aren’t any clubs for young people. This is why extremism exists."

As part of the LDDF strategy to open a debate on the role of certain Islamist movements in the rise of extremism, the group plans to hold a public forum on March 28th.

Fouzia Assouli told Magharebia that the LDDF is also working to form a consortium of several associations to address extremism. "There are a lot of NGOs which have agreed to become involved in our plan," she said.

-- Magharebia

Saudi Arabia: Shura Council Recommends Allowing Saudi Women to Drive With Limitations

On March 17, 2008, Alarabiya.net reported that the Saudi Shura Council has recommended allowing women to drive. The recommendation follows recent efforts by Saudi women rights activists headed by Wajeha Al-Huwaidar and Fawziya Al-Uyuni.

Ten days ago Al-Huwaidar marked the International Women’s Day, March 8, 2008 by driving her car in Saudi Arabia appealing to the minister of interior, Prince Nayef to allow women to drive. Her driving was posted on Youtube and received international attention.

[To view the clip translated into English see MEMRI TV clip No. 1712, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1712.htm ]

The following is a summary of the Saudi Shura Council recommendation.

The Recommendations

A source in Saudi Arabia's Shura Council reports that the council has submitted a recommendation to senior elements in the country to permit women to drive vehicles, with the following stipulations:
  • The woman driver must be under 30.
  • The woman's driving is conditional upon the permission of a relative [father, husband, brother, or son].
  • The woman driver must obtain a driver's license from the center for teaching women to drive.
  • The woman driver must be modestly dressed.
  • The woman driver will be permitted to drive alone in the cities, but outside the cities she must be accompanied by a relative.
  • The woman driver will be permitted to drive Saturday through Wednesday between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM.
  • The woman driver must have a cell phone with her, so she can call for help in an emergency.
  • The woman driver must pay a certain sum when her license is issued; this sum will be set aside for car repairs.

The Shura Council also ordered the following:

  • The establishment of a special women's transportation department; this department will collect the fees.
  • The establishment of a telephone emergency center.
  • The establishment of transportation centers for women in the cities, which will be under religious supervision.
  • The council stipulated that a woman driver who violates these rules will have her license revoked.

In the framework of this recommendation, the Shura Council is required to impose a one-month prison sentence and a fine on anyone talking with a woman driver from another car, and an eight-month prison sentence and a fine on anyone who sexually harasses a woman driver.

A transportation administration source reports that the Shura Council has as yet issued no guidelines for establishing a women's transportation department.

From MEMRI.org

Saudi Arabia: Al Jazeera Coverage of Woman Driving on YouTube (in English)

Saudi Arabia: YouTube Video of Woman Driving

Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider sent a video message -- while driving in the kingdom -- to all Saudi women about driving on International Women's Day.

This is the video:

Saudi Arabia: Authorities studying law to allow women to drive, says report

Riyadh, 18 March(AKI) - Saudi Arabia's Majlis al-Shura or advisory council is reportedly debating a proposal to allow women to drive in the conservative Muslim country, said Arab newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, the law would only allow women over 30-years-old to drive, but they must first have written permission from their legal guardians, whether it's their husbands, brothers or fathers.

Only with this authorisation will women be allowed to enroll in driving classes in the women's section of the motor vehicle division, an entity created by the government especially for women.

"For the woman to avoid falling into sinful temptations, she will be allowed to drive alone in the city centre, while she will have to be accompanied by a male family member if she is outside urban centres," said the newspaper report.

Moreover, women will only be allowed to drive from Saturday to Wednesday from 7am to 8pm, and will also be allowed to carry a mobile phone in case they need assistance.

In the last few days, the Saudi police have arrested several women who were seen driving openly in the kingdom.

The move comes after a video by a Saudi female activist, showing her driving a car alone, was aired on the website YouTube on 8 March (International Women's Day). In the video, the activist asked the advisory council to approve a law which would allow women to drive.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Yemen: Quota system as the way to increase women’s political participation

SANA’A, March 16 — A legal solution is the only option left for Yemeni women to participate effectively in the elections as candidates through the 15 percent quota recommended by the president Saleh in 2006.

Floor Beuming, Program advisor of the NDI, concluded this at the second day of a seminar on elections reform in Yemen. “Most problems faced by women candidates in the past are not cultural but are political challenges,” she said. Women lacked the institutional protection they needed because political parties failed in increasing the representation of women as candidates from their political parties. Therefore, women were forced to run as independent candidates facing double burden of being a female as well as an independent candidate.

The quota system means either adding 45 seats to the 301 existing members of the Parliament or reserving 45 of the 301 seats creating 15 percent for women.

Bojien suggested a combination of two quotas is the best solution to women’s political participation in the Shoura (Consultative) Council and the Parliament. In the Shoura council 15 percent means increasing women’s presence from 2 to 17. But it will continue to be an advisory body whose members are nominated by the president. There is a risk that this will be largely symbolic.

However, the parliamentary quota would give women the opportunity to compete in elections, they would be able to win seats by electoral power and have more responsibility than those women in the Shoura Council. Also the nomination would give women more exposure to the public and increase their experience in a competitive environment.

Most of all, women’s quota in the Parliament does not require any constitutional changes, only a few in the electoral laws and with a committed political will this can easily be achieved.

According to legal experts and former candidates committee’s research in 2003, female candidates complained that they were treated dismissibly by the very people who were responsible for the operating of the elections.

Also the requirement to gather the 300 signatures of most of the electoral constituency in support of their candidacy as independent candidates was a big problem, which party candidates did not have to deal with.

“The question is: are women ready and qualified to participate in elections as candidates, and are the political parties ready to nominate them as representatives? Without sufficient training and qualification of female candidates women will not be able to compete adequately especially when they are let down by the political parties,” said Ilham Abdulwahab, general director of the general department for women’s affairs at the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum. She added that the legislations are made by men this is why they don’t adhere to women’s needs or demands.

The seminar was organized by the NDI in partnership with USAID and International Foundation for Election Systems. The seminar included discussions on the electoral system in Yemen and the bodies managing it. On voters list and registration, candidate nominations, campaign expenditure, counting and reporting, and the complaints systems.

By Yemen Times Staff

Saudi Arabia: Government needs to tackle unemployment among youth

Recently published statistics point to the rising problem of unemployment in Saudi Arabia. According to the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the jobless rate among Saudis stood at 11.2 per cent in the first half of 2007.

The figure compares unfavourably with a reported unemployment rate of 11 per cent in the first half of 2006.

The number of Saudis without jobs stood at 453,994 in the first half of 2007, up by some 8,796 compared to the corresponding period in 2006.

In fact, the opposite should have been true in the light of improved economic conditions, thanks to rocketing oil prices. The petroleum sector accounts for more than three quarters of the budgetary revenue, and thus plays a primary role in the country's economic activities. Saudi Arabia's real (adjusted for inflation) gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.5 per cent in 2007. The kingdom saw an inflation rate of 6.5 per cent last year.

Statistics released by the ministry suggest worsening employment prospects for women. The jobless rate among women has increased from 24.7 per cent in the first half of 2006 to 26.6 per cent in the same period in 2007. Conversely, the unemployment rate among males continued to hover around eight per cent during the same period.

Still, men and women between the ages of 20 and 24 account for 44 per cent of jobless nationals.
Undoubtedly, the Saudi economy loses the contribution of an active age group. Needless to say, unemployment among the youth poses a threat to public order. Terror organisations look for recruits among youths suffering from social problems and neglect.

The latest jobless figures make the prospects of achieving manpower goals of the 8th Development Plan only more difficult. The plan envisages some 139,000 job seekers by 2009 versus 268,000 Saudis looking for employment opportunities in 2004. In fact, the plan expects the Saudi unemployment rate to drop from seven per cent in 2004 to merely 2.8 per cent by 2009.

Likewise, it would be extraordinarily difficult to achieve the Eighth Development Plan forecasts with regards to contribution of females in the workforce. The plan envisages females representing 17.9 per cent of Saudi national workforce by 2009 versus 12.2 per cent in 2004.
At stake is not creating enough employment opportunities per se, but rather the right jobs for Saudi nationals. Saudis do not just desire any kind of jobs. They do not want low-paying menial jobs.

One plan for tackling unemployment proposes restricting certain jobs for nationals. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs restricts some 40 kinds of jobs to locals. These include taxi drivers, training and purchasing managers, public relations officers, administrative assistants, secretaries, operators, debt collectors, customer service accountants, tellers, postmen, data handlers, librarians, booksellers, ticket kiosk keepers, auto salesmen, janitors, internal mail handlers and tour guides. Officials say that Saudi nationals prefer such professions.

Undoubtedly, the government cannot overlook the employment problem. For one, it is believed that extremist groups often find recruits among the jobless. Also, some 38 per cent of Saudis are below the age of 14 and hence expected to enter the job market soon. The authorities have an opportunity to make maximum benefits of outstanding economic conditions to address the problem. Suffice to say, the budget recorded surplus of $47 billion in fiscal year 2007.

- Written byDr. Jasim Ali, a member of parliament, Bahrain, for Gulf News

UAE: Women empowerment in UAE unique: GWU official

The experience of women empowerment in the UAE is unique considering the number of women nationals who have made significant achievements in different fields in a record time, said a senior official.

“The UAE women have managed to make their presence felt in various fields in a record time,” said Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the UAE General Women’s Union (GWU). “We are proud to have four women ministers and nine women members in the Federal National Council. Emirati women have managed to earn several rights in a short span,” said Al Suwaidi in a statement to Khaleej Times recently.

She hailed Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the GWU, for her continuous efforts and support to ensure emancipation of women nationals. “One of the many tangible and significant efforts of Shaikha Fatima was the national strategy on development of women, which she launched a few years back to enhance the role of women in economic, social, media, education, labour, culture as well as political fields,” said Al Suwaidi.

She underlined that being the head of the GWU, Shaikha Fatima had set clear targets for the union - to serve women’s issues in accordance with the Islamic values and authentic Arab traditions.

“The GWU has been working hard for the past 32 years to guarantee emancipation of Emirati women in social, economic, cultural and political fields,” reiterated Al Suwaidi.

-- Khaleej Times

Friday, March 14, 2008

Saudi Arabia: Students survive Miami culture shock

BY OSCAR CORRAL, from the Miami Herald

Rahmah Ali Al Shamrani leaned over a life-size mannequin, which was eerily breathing and blinking like a person, and sheepishly adjusted her head scarf in front of several other nursing students at Miami Dade College.

While working at a hospital in her native Saudi Arabia, Shamrani wears outfits that cover her entire body except her face. For her classes at MDC, she wears a lab coat -- but also covers her hair as a sign of respect to her Saudi peers and her culture.

The biggest cultural shock that she experienced in Miami: women studying with men.
''There, we are not allowed to have male friends -- only female,'' said Shamrani, who wore a diamond nose stud``We cannot shake hands with men. Here, we study together. It was unusual at the beginning. Here, we have more freedom.''

Shamrani is part of the first class of students from the Saudi Institute for Health Services to come to Miami as part of a six-week exchange program with MDC to learn in health-related fields. This week, the students learned about monitoring patients using MDC's human patient simulator laboratory.



The program represents a new chapter for MDC and illustrates the swelling number of Saudi Arabian students coming to the United States to study.

Last year, the number of Saudi students studying in the United States shot up 128 percent to 7,886 from 3,448 the year before. Saudi enrollment in U.S. universities, second only to Turkey among Middle Eastern countries, spiked last year after the Saudi government started the Saudi Scholarship Program, according to the Institute of International Education. Florida is second only to Virginia in the number of Saudi students that have studied in the United States under that program.

MDC Professor Carol Miller, who taught the group, said the students spent months going through a lengthy visa application process, where they had to fly to another city in Saudi Arabia to interview with several American and Saudi officials. The year after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Saudi enrollment in American universities plunged 25 percent and continued to decline until 2005, when participants in the scholarship program began flowing in, according to IIE.

The six female nurses and four male opticians who studied at MDC will complete the program during a ceremony Friday.

It marks an unusual relationship in which young people from one of the most religiously conservative societies on Earth are sent to study in one of the world's most famous party towns.
''I wanted to experience a different way to do things, the way you teach here, the way hospitals are set up,'' said nursing student Shatha Salem, 21, who has studied English since kindergarten.

GOVERNMENT PAYS

The program costs about $15,000 per student, and includes tuition, food, housing and transportation around Miami. The Saudi government footed the entire bill, said MDC spokeswoman Beverly Counts Williams.

Miller, who taught a few sessions, including medical ethics, to the group, said it was as much a learning experience for her as it was for the Saudi students. The students prayed five times a day, she said, and adhered to their religious beliefs with loyalty that she found surprising.

''This gave me a firsthand opportunity to really learn about a culture that is very, very different, especially for women, than anything that we experience in the U.S.,'' Miller said. ``They are a very family-centered society, and very religious people, and their day-to-day decisions are really guided by their religion.''

THE ROLE OF WOMEN

The battle of the sexes, Saudi-style, surfaced during Miami Herald interviews with the Saudi students, if only in flashes.

Yousef Saleh Ghous, 24, left his 16-year-old fiancée in Saudi Arabia to come study in Miami. Ghous, the youngest of 13 siblings, was excited about his time in the United States, although he steered clear of nightclubs and booze.

''The difference [between the United States and Saudi Arabia] is the relations between a woman and a man,'' he said, adding that men can marry up to four women in Saudi Arabia, as long as they have the means to care for each of them. ``There, it's wonderful. [Women] respect their bodies. Here, they don't cover up.''

He said he didn't see any reason for Saudi women to complain.

''The women, they live there like queens,'' he said. ``We do everything for them. Over there, we're not scared of the government, we are scared of God.''

Abdulaziz Olayam decided he didn't want his 19-year-old daughter, Somaiah Olayam, to come study in Miami alone. So he booked a flight and chaperoned the whole group for six weeks.

''For us, the most important thing is religion,'' he said. ``They have to wear head scarves and respect their religion, to be good Muslims.''

The female students said that in Saudi Arabia, women can't drive, dance in front of strangers, or date or befriend men. In Miami, they have chosen to adhere to the custom of wearing head scarves in public. Once they get back to their Brickell Avenue apartment, they explained, they let their hair down -- literally -- by removing their scarves.

SELF-RELIANCE

Salem said their trip to Miami was difficult in many ways. One observation she made about life here: Women don't seem to give as much importance to family. But she came to a conclusion as to why: Here, women often have to work to help support their families. In Saudi Arabia, any income a married woman makes is for herself. The man cares for the whole family.

In Miami, ''we have to depend on ourselves to do everything,'' Salem said. ``Over there, we have our maids to do everything for us -- shopping, cooking, cleaning, everything. We have drivers.
''I know myself better now,'' she said. ``I can see how I can depend on myself now. Maybe I can teach it to my sisters.''