Galal Fakkar | Arab News
JEDDAH: The new law for the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI) gives greater powers to businesswomen, Fahd Al-Sultan, secretary-general of the council, said yesterday.
“The new law, which replaces the existing 50-year-old law, will be passed within a few days,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News after attending a seminar on “Developing a new concept and culture of chamber elections” at the JCCI, Al-Sultan said the new law was designed to provide the council with necessary flexibility.
“The law has already been studied by the committee of experts at the Council of Ministers and has been passed to the minister of commerce and industry for his endorsement before presenting to the Cabinet for final approval,” he said.
Al-Sultan said the new law gives businesswomen a greater role in the council as well as in the development of the country.
“Even if only women are elected to the CSCCI board, there is nothing in the law to prevent it,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, three businesswomen, Madhawi Al-Hassoun, Lamy Suleiman and Nashwa Taher, yesterday announced their decision to contest the upcoming election to the JCCI board. They said they wanted to deepen the concept of women’s participation in elections to civil organizations in the country.
Showing posts with label Jeddah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeddah. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Shoura call raises virtual storm
Omaima Al-Fardan & Fatima Sidiya | Arab News
JEDDAH: Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Makkah region, is generally supportive of the Shoura Council’s call to include women as members of the commission. He said there was need for a “body that can penetrate women’s groups such as those in the education and business fields.”
“There is no other monitoring body that does this job (except the commission). I believe the presence of women, after educating them and teaching them the necessary procedures, would produce positive results,” he added.
The Shoura Council recently approved the inclusion of women members in the commission. The approval not only upset certain groups in the Kingdom but also sparked heated debates in Saudi society. Both women and men were quick to point out what they saw as the inherent contradiction in the move and they were vocal in their arguments against the recommendation.
The primary argument they presented was that the commission would go against itself by including women as members. The commission in general opposes women working and also considers the presence of women in public places as “khulwa” (unrelated men and women being together). How then could women serve as members of the commission? they asked.
The blatant inconsistency was pounced upon by Amina Kashgari, a Saudi columnist in Al-Watan newspaper. She asked: “Would it be necessary for a female commission member to have a legal guardian with her?”
Kashgari also raised the point that the commission is instrumental in opposing women working in the government sector and, more recently, it has also opposed women selling lingerie in shops.
She said that approving the Shoura’s recommendation was one thing but that its implementation could be catastrophic. It would give commission members an opportunity to go into women’s only groups and private ceremonies and would raise many questions about individual freedom. “If this recommendation is implemented, it will prove an obstacle for development and reform that the various (government) bodies in the country are working for,” added Kashgari.
A'azib Al-Misbil, the head of the Islamic, Judicial and Human Rights Affairs Committee in the Shoura Council, said such a recommendation cannot be implemented. "I, as head of the committee, voted against the recommendation, because the commission's work should be only fieldwork," Misbil said, adding that the council had approved the recommendation.
According to him, the recommendation to include women as commission members was made by three committee members, and was not a primary recommendation. Nonetheless, the council adopted it. Al-Misbil said the commission denied any plans to establish a women's section when asked about it in the Shoura Council.
The head of the Social, Family and Youth Affairs Committee of the Shoura Council, Talal Al-Bakri, also warned at the council session on Monday about approving the recommendation. Despite his objection, the recommendation was approved. Al-Bakri said that commission members would fall into the same trap they accuse people of concerning khulwa. Al-Bakri added that such a recommendation could not be implemented unless women were allowed to drive in the Kingdom.
Rights activist Suhaila Zain Al-Abidin said it would be a "disaster" if "conservative ignorant women" began going into women's sections and setting off "catastrophic incidents". She said Islam certainly allowed women to promote virtue; indeed, it is considered one of their rights. This is clearly stated in the Qur'an. But she raised her concern about the "selection of women."
"I fear they would be like those in the mosques of Makkah and Madinah. They are conservative and accuse others of being nonbelievers," she said, adding women commission members must know the Shariah and must be moderate and treat all with respect and consideration.
Zain Al-Abidin said that before approving the recommendation, there should be firm procedures and regulations put in place in order to prevent women from infringing public privacy and rights.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi was cautious in his approval of the move. He said the recommendation would not be implemented unless it was approved by the ministerial council. Al-Ghamdi said when he backed the move, he realized that society needed "awareness and guidance" and not the commission itself. He added that every new idea needed "complete procedures and administrative comprehension."
The Shoura Council also approved an increase of 20 percent in the salaries of commission members who do fieldwork. Al-Ghamdi justified the pay hike, saying that the commission members' fieldwork was exhaustive and tiring. "There is a difference (in workload) between these commission members (who do field work) and others who only do administrative work."
Zain Al-Abidin, on the other hand, said that the pay hike might result in more unwelcome field inspections by the commission.
JEDDAH: Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Makkah region, is generally supportive of the Shoura Council’s call to include women as members of the commission. He said there was need for a “body that can penetrate women’s groups such as those in the education and business fields.”
“There is no other monitoring body that does this job (except the commission). I believe the presence of women, after educating them and teaching them the necessary procedures, would produce positive results,” he added.
The Shoura Council recently approved the inclusion of women members in the commission. The approval not only upset certain groups in the Kingdom but also sparked heated debates in Saudi society. Both women and men were quick to point out what they saw as the inherent contradiction in the move and they were vocal in their arguments against the recommendation.
The primary argument they presented was that the commission would go against itself by including women as members. The commission in general opposes women working and also considers the presence of women in public places as “khulwa” (unrelated men and women being together). How then could women serve as members of the commission? they asked.
The blatant inconsistency was pounced upon by Amina Kashgari, a Saudi columnist in Al-Watan newspaper. She asked: “Would it be necessary for a female commission member to have a legal guardian with her?”
Kashgari also raised the point that the commission is instrumental in opposing women working in the government sector and, more recently, it has also opposed women selling lingerie in shops.
She said that approving the Shoura’s recommendation was one thing but that its implementation could be catastrophic. It would give commission members an opportunity to go into women’s only groups and private ceremonies and would raise many questions about individual freedom. “If this recommendation is implemented, it will prove an obstacle for development and reform that the various (government) bodies in the country are working for,” added Kashgari.
A'azib Al-Misbil, the head of the Islamic, Judicial and Human Rights Affairs Committee in the Shoura Council, said such a recommendation cannot be implemented. "I, as head of the committee, voted against the recommendation, because the commission's work should be only fieldwork," Misbil said, adding that the council had approved the recommendation.
According to him, the recommendation to include women as commission members was made by three committee members, and was not a primary recommendation. Nonetheless, the council adopted it. Al-Misbil said the commission denied any plans to establish a women's section when asked about it in the Shoura Council.
The head of the Social, Family and Youth Affairs Committee of the Shoura Council, Talal Al-Bakri, also warned at the council session on Monday about approving the recommendation. Despite his objection, the recommendation was approved. Al-Bakri said that commission members would fall into the same trap they accuse people of concerning khulwa. Al-Bakri added that such a recommendation could not be implemented unless women were allowed to drive in the Kingdom.
Rights activist Suhaila Zain Al-Abidin said it would be a "disaster" if "conservative ignorant women" began going into women's sections and setting off "catastrophic incidents". She said Islam certainly allowed women to promote virtue; indeed, it is considered one of their rights. This is clearly stated in the Qur'an. But she raised her concern about the "selection of women."
"I fear they would be like those in the mosques of Makkah and Madinah. They are conservative and accuse others of being nonbelievers," she said, adding women commission members must know the Shariah and must be moderate and treat all with respect and consideration.
Zain Al-Abidin said that before approving the recommendation, there should be firm procedures and regulations put in place in order to prevent women from infringing public privacy and rights.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi was cautious in his approval of the move. He said the recommendation would not be implemented unless it was approved by the ministerial council. Al-Ghamdi said when he backed the move, he realized that society needed "awareness and guidance" and not the commission itself. He added that every new idea needed "complete procedures and administrative comprehension."
The Shoura Council also approved an increase of 20 percent in the salaries of commission members who do fieldwork. Al-Ghamdi justified the pay hike, saying that the commission members' fieldwork was exhaustive and tiring. "There is a difference (in workload) between these commission members (who do field work) and others who only do administrative work."
Zain Al-Abidin, on the other hand, said that the pay hike might result in more unwelcome field inspections by the commission.
Saudi Arabia: Women may get jobs in judiciary
Saudi Gazette
By Adnan Shabrawi
JEDDAH – Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Issa revealed Tuesday a study into the possibility of allocating offices for women in courts and “channels for appointing women in the judiciary.”
The minister was speaking at a function organized by the National Committee for Lawyers here.
Office jobs in the judiciary can be as managers, supervisors, courtroom clerks, IT technicians and specialists, research librarians, etc.
So far no woman has been appointed as a judge in Saudi Arabia and Saudi scholars have said that women should not be burdened with such a job.
Al-Issa, in an interview with the Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat last week, was asked about the chances of a woman becoming a judge in Saudi Arabia, whether this was “possible or impossible.”
The minister replied: “The answer goes beyond possibility or impossibility; we all know that some countries that do not follow Islamic Shariah do not have female judges even today. In many countries there are only a few female judges in comparison to male judges, for well known reasons. It’s not due to any fault in women and does not reduce their importance. Only a short while ago we decided on the possibility of women becoming lawyers, which is an important profession, and takes into account scientific and mental potential, and other skills.”
Elaborating on “well-known reasons,” he said: “I mean the natural condition of women, and the family role that a woman plays that men are unable to fulfil. I am talking about the clear physiological differences between a man and a woman. This is why some countries that are not governed by Shariah law do not have any reservations with regard to their reluctance to allow women to become judges.”
Bahrain is the only Gulf country to allow women to become judges, and the UAE is reportedly considering such a move.
Saudi Arabia is in the early stages of implementing judicial reforms, starting with developing the infrastructure.
Al-Issa said Tuesday that the Ministry would float tenders for the construction of a series of specialist courts in the major cities – including labor, commercial and personal statute courts – in addition to housing complexes.
“The ministry has 2,000 vacant posts which will be filled by highly trained experts in the judiciary,” he said.
Al-Issa also said that the ministry is in the process of issuing a new regulation governing the selection of judges by the Higher Judiciary Council. – Okaz/ SG
By Adnan Shabrawi
JEDDAH – Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Issa revealed Tuesday a study into the possibility of allocating offices for women in courts and “channels for appointing women in the judiciary.”
The minister was speaking at a function organized by the National Committee for Lawyers here.
Office jobs in the judiciary can be as managers, supervisors, courtroom clerks, IT technicians and specialists, research librarians, etc.
So far no woman has been appointed as a judge in Saudi Arabia and Saudi scholars have said that women should not be burdened with such a job.
Al-Issa, in an interview with the Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat last week, was asked about the chances of a woman becoming a judge in Saudi Arabia, whether this was “possible or impossible.”
The minister replied: “The answer goes beyond possibility or impossibility; we all know that some countries that do not follow Islamic Shariah do not have female judges even today. In many countries there are only a few female judges in comparison to male judges, for well known reasons. It’s not due to any fault in women and does not reduce their importance. Only a short while ago we decided on the possibility of women becoming lawyers, which is an important profession, and takes into account scientific and mental potential, and other skills.”
Elaborating on “well-known reasons,” he said: “I mean the natural condition of women, and the family role that a woman plays that men are unable to fulfil. I am talking about the clear physiological differences between a man and a woman. This is why some countries that are not governed by Shariah law do not have any reservations with regard to their reluctance to allow women to become judges.”
Bahrain is the only Gulf country to allow women to become judges, and the UAE is reportedly considering such a move.
Saudi Arabia is in the early stages of implementing judicial reforms, starting with developing the infrastructure.
Al-Issa said Tuesday that the Ministry would float tenders for the construction of a series of specialist courts in the major cities – including labor, commercial and personal statute courts – in addition to housing complexes.
“The ministry has 2,000 vacant posts which will be filled by highly trained experts in the judiciary,” he said.
Al-Issa also said that the ministry is in the process of issuing a new regulation governing the selection of judges by the Higher Judiciary Council. – Okaz/ SG
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Municipal councils ‘not ready to employ women’
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – The time is not ripe for municipal councils to employ women, a city council official here said.
Hassan Al-Zahrani, vice chairman of the municipal council here said that the councils are still in their inception stage and need time before involving females in their work.
Overly hasty moves to open the door to women’s participation could have negative consequences, he said.
The issue of men and women sharing responsibilities is not up for debate, Al-Zahrani said, as each one has their responsibilities specified in Shariah Law.
He said women were taking part in extensive areas of society that are suited to their nature, citing social issues and district centers and other societies.
More women working in those areas would have a positive effect on the structure and cohesion of society, Al-Zahrani added. – Okaz/SG
JEDDAH – The time is not ripe for municipal councils to employ women, a city council official here said.
Hassan Al-Zahrani, vice chairman of the municipal council here said that the councils are still in their inception stage and need time before involving females in their work.
Overly hasty moves to open the door to women’s participation could have negative consequences, he said.
The issue of men and women sharing responsibilities is not up for debate, Al-Zahrani said, as each one has their responsibilities specified in Shariah Law.
He said women were taking part in extensive areas of society that are suited to their nature, citing social issues and district centers and other societies.
More women working in those areas would have a positive effect on the structure and cohesion of society, Al-Zahrani added. – Okaz/SG
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Businesswomen want male agent out
Hassna’a Mokhtar | Arab News
JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed yesterday that some of the ministry’s regional departments were violating a ministerial decree issued in April 2004. The decree states that Saudi women can set up businesses without needing a male agent. Nonetheless, businesswomen have reported that the decree was only implemented in a few locations in the country. The male legal agent is required to conduct affairs with various government organizations. He is granted full powers in company matters and acts with a power of attorney.
“The requirement for a legal agent is an obstacle for many businesswomen,” said Alia Banaja, chairwoman of the Jeddah-based IT company 2 The Point. “I closed down my local operations last week after demanding the removal of this requirement.” According to the decree, a Saudi woman can own and manage her business if her work employs and caters only to women. When, on the other hand, the business is aimed at both men and women, she can own the establishment but has to hire a Saudi man to manage the business.
In March, Banaja started a campaign with a group of businesswomen from the Eastern and Central regions calling for the implementation of the 2004 ministerial decision everywhere in the Kingdom (www.saudibwc.com). The next step was to close down their businesses if their demands for the removal of this requirement were not met. And finally, if closing businesses did not produce positive results from the authorities, they would appeal directly to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. They wanted to have the requirement for a male Saudi general manager canceled, even in the case of a woman’s owning a business that deals with both sexes.
Banaja and other businesswomen spoke to Hassan Aqeel, undersecretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Trade at the end of April. He restated the requirement for a male Saudi manager. “A businesswoman doesn’t need a male legal agent when she manages the work herself in an all-women establishment,” said Aqeel on April 26 to Al-Madina newspaper. “If her business employs or deals with men, then she has to hire a male to manage the affairs of these men.”
Contacted for further comments, Aqeel confirmed the newspaper report.
Nashwa Taher, board member at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News that the Khadija bint Khuwailid Center for businesswomen had printed a small leaflet to educate women on how to limit the authority given to a male manager. “The leaflet has guidelines businesswomen must use when hiring a manager for the business. It clearly defines what authority he is given,” said Taher.
She added that the center was now studying the reasons why a manager had to be hired. “We require more openness for businesswomen. Therefore, we want to update and change old procedures,” said Taher.
Lawyer Tariq Al-Ibrahim, who advised the Khadija bint Khuwailid Center on the legal aspects of the leaflet, said it was the women’s responsibility in the end to limit the male manager’s power. “All it needs is a contract between the businesswoman and the manager specifying the duties and the extent of his control and responsibilities,” he said, adding: “The owner also needs to oversee all the papers and legal contracts that pass through the manager’s hands in order to exercise total control and avoid any future problems.”
JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed yesterday that some of the ministry’s regional departments were violating a ministerial decree issued in April 2004. The decree states that Saudi women can set up businesses without needing a male agent. Nonetheless, businesswomen have reported that the decree was only implemented in a few locations in the country. The male legal agent is required to conduct affairs with various government organizations. He is granted full powers in company matters and acts with a power of attorney.
“The requirement for a legal agent is an obstacle for many businesswomen,” said Alia Banaja, chairwoman of the Jeddah-based IT company 2 The Point. “I closed down my local operations last week after demanding the removal of this requirement.” According to the decree, a Saudi woman can own and manage her business if her work employs and caters only to women. When, on the other hand, the business is aimed at both men and women, she can own the establishment but has to hire a Saudi man to manage the business.
In March, Banaja started a campaign with a group of businesswomen from the Eastern and Central regions calling for the implementation of the 2004 ministerial decision everywhere in the Kingdom (www.saudibwc.com). The next step was to close down their businesses if their demands for the removal of this requirement were not met. And finally, if closing businesses did not produce positive results from the authorities, they would appeal directly to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. They wanted to have the requirement for a male Saudi general manager canceled, even in the case of a woman’s owning a business that deals with both sexes.
Banaja and other businesswomen spoke to Hassan Aqeel, undersecretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Trade at the end of April. He restated the requirement for a male Saudi manager. “A businesswoman doesn’t need a male legal agent when she manages the work herself in an all-women establishment,” said Aqeel on April 26 to Al-Madina newspaper. “If her business employs or deals with men, then she has to hire a male to manage the affairs of these men.”
Contacted for further comments, Aqeel confirmed the newspaper report.
Nashwa Taher, board member at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News that the Khadija bint Khuwailid Center for businesswomen had printed a small leaflet to educate women on how to limit the authority given to a male manager. “The leaflet has guidelines businesswomen must use when hiring a manager for the business. It clearly defines what authority he is given,” said Taher.
She added that the center was now studying the reasons why a manager had to be hired. “We require more openness for businesswomen. Therefore, we want to update and change old procedures,” said Taher.
Lawyer Tariq Al-Ibrahim, who advised the Khadija bint Khuwailid Center on the legal aspects of the leaflet, said it was the women’s responsibility in the end to limit the male manager’s power. “All it needs is a contract between the businesswoman and the manager specifying the duties and the extent of his control and responsibilities,” he said, adding: “The owner also needs to oversee all the papers and legal contracts that pass through the manager’s hands in order to exercise total control and avoid any future problems.”
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Saudi women to sell goods in Jeddah mall
Saudi Gazette
By Mohammad Hadhadh
JEDDAH – Twenty-two Saudi women have signed contracts to rent stalls at Al-Murjan Mall in Jeddah after being selected in a public draw at the Jeddah Mayoralty in conjunction with Abullatif Jamil Center for Community Service.
The contracts were signed to put an end to a problem created when municipality staff removed the stalls of some women from the mall almost two months ago. It is important to reorganize stalls since some women used to sell their goods randomly in front of the mall, said Dr. Nasir Al-Jarallah, Director General of Public Interest Markets and head of the Stalls Organizing Committee in Al-Murjan Mall.
However, Ali Al-Qahtani, Director of Bab Rizq Jameel Program in Jeddah, explained that the stalls project is aimed at finding job opportunities for women and at supporting small businesses.
He said that the problem started when a number of women erected stalls randomly in front of Al-Murjan Mall without licenses. We contacted the municipality which chose appropriate places for the stalls. The mall owner volunteered space for the stalls inside the mall, while the Bab Rizq Jameel Program agreed to pay the rental fees which have been reduced from SR3,600 yearly to SR2,400. Women investing in the stalls will pay back the amount in installments. – Okaz/SG
By Mohammad Hadhadh
JEDDAH – Twenty-two Saudi women have signed contracts to rent stalls at Al-Murjan Mall in Jeddah after being selected in a public draw at the Jeddah Mayoralty in conjunction with Abullatif Jamil Center for Community Service.
The contracts were signed to put an end to a problem created when municipality staff removed the stalls of some women from the mall almost two months ago. It is important to reorganize stalls since some women used to sell their goods randomly in front of the mall, said Dr. Nasir Al-Jarallah, Director General of Public Interest Markets and head of the Stalls Organizing Committee in Al-Murjan Mall.
However, Ali Al-Qahtani, Director of Bab Rizq Jameel Program in Jeddah, explained that the stalls project is aimed at finding job opportunities for women and at supporting small businesses.
He said that the problem started when a number of women erected stalls randomly in front of Al-Murjan Mall without licenses. We contacted the municipality which chose appropriate places for the stalls. The mall owner volunteered space for the stalls inside the mall, while the Bab Rizq Jameel Program agreed to pay the rental fees which have been reduced from SR3,600 yearly to SR2,400. Women investing in the stalls will pay back the amount in installments. – Okaz/SG
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Middle East: Muslim countries want own rights commision
CAIRO (AlArabiya.net)
A bloc of Islamic states accused of undermining human rights standards set by the United Nations have taken matters into their own hands and set out to establish their own independent human rights commission Sunday.
The Organization of Islamic Conference, a 57-nation bloc of Muslim nations and the largest organization after the U.N., met yesterday at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to establish an independent OIC human rights commission.
Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu, the OIC Secretary-General, stressed in a statement Monday that "human rights and man’s dignity are an integral part of Islam and core components of Islamic culture and heritage.”
Refining Cairo hr declaration
Member states also discussed "refining" the OIC’s 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI), which gave an overview of the Islamic perspective on human rights and stated that all human rights are subject to sharia, or Islamic law.
The OIC has over the past decades sponsored the "defamation of religion" resolution at the U.N. General Assembly, the latest of which was a resolution condemning the Danish cartoons of the Prophet.
It will seek assistance from other international bodies such as the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights in setting up the new commission. İhsanoğlu said in his speech that such a commission would drive OIC member states to reform intellectually and politically.
"An OIC human rights commission would promote tolerance, and fundamental freedoms, good governance, the rule of law, accountability, openness, dialogue with other religions and civilizations, the rejection of extremism and fanaticism, and the strengthening of the sense of pride in the Islamic identity," he said.
Sharia vs. human rights
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Muslim countries including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Tunisia among many others of human rights violations against women and religious minorities despite many states being signatories to international human rights conventions.
Western human rights groups argue that some of the ways Islamic law is applied can lead to discrimination against women, religious minorities and converts to other faiths.
However, Islamic scholars and leaders have continued to refute western claims that sharia is incompatible with international norms of human rights and freedoms, arguing instead that the interpretation and application of Islamic law is what can lead to negative human rights outcomes.
Just as U.S. courts ruled that detainees in the “war on terror” could be held indefinitely without trial or permitted torture in contravention of internationa human rights norms, some sharia-based courts twist Islamic law to sanction cruel punishments.
Compatible with the west
In their defense of Islamic law experts refer to its protection of women’s property rights and the rights of the socially marginalized like orphans or the elderly. Steven A. Cook, an expert on Islamic law and the west, said that interpretations of what Islamic law means are so variable that in some western societies it can be incorporated into non-Islamic political systems easily.
Ihsanoglu in his speech also suggested the compatibility of the Islamic notion of human rights and international norms, saying that refurbishing the Cairo human rights declaration will be "in keeping with the current global human rights discourse," though he did not specify how this would be done.
Several OIC member states follow sharia law, which has been compared to the Western tradition of common law, for personal status and criminal issues. None of the 14 OIC states that are considered "electoral democracies" are Arab.
A bloc of Islamic states accused of undermining human rights standards set by the United Nations have taken matters into their own hands and set out to establish their own independent human rights commission Sunday.
The Organization of Islamic Conference, a 57-nation bloc of Muslim nations and the largest organization after the U.N., met yesterday at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to establish an independent OIC human rights commission.
Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu, the OIC Secretary-General, stressed in a statement Monday that "human rights and man’s dignity are an integral part of Islam and core components of Islamic culture and heritage.”
Refining Cairo hr declaration
Member states also discussed "refining" the OIC’s 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI), which gave an overview of the Islamic perspective on human rights and stated that all human rights are subject to sharia, or Islamic law.
The OIC has over the past decades sponsored the "defamation of religion" resolution at the U.N. General Assembly, the latest of which was a resolution condemning the Danish cartoons of the Prophet.
It will seek assistance from other international bodies such as the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights in setting up the new commission. İhsanoğlu said in his speech that such a commission would drive OIC member states to reform intellectually and politically.
"An OIC human rights commission would promote tolerance, and fundamental freedoms, good governance, the rule of law, accountability, openness, dialogue with other religions and civilizations, the rejection of extremism and fanaticism, and the strengthening of the sense of pride in the Islamic identity," he said.
Sharia vs. human rights
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Muslim countries including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Tunisia among many others of human rights violations against women and religious minorities despite many states being signatories to international human rights conventions.
Western human rights groups argue that some of the ways Islamic law is applied can lead to discrimination against women, religious minorities and converts to other faiths.
However, Islamic scholars and leaders have continued to refute western claims that sharia is incompatible with international norms of human rights and freedoms, arguing instead that the interpretation and application of Islamic law is what can lead to negative human rights outcomes.
Just as U.S. courts ruled that detainees in the “war on terror” could be held indefinitely without trial or permitted torture in contravention of internationa human rights norms, some sharia-based courts twist Islamic law to sanction cruel punishments.
Compatible with the west
In their defense of Islamic law experts refer to its protection of women’s property rights and the rights of the socially marginalized like orphans or the elderly. Steven A. Cook, an expert on Islamic law and the west, said that interpretations of what Islamic law means are so variable that in some western societies it can be incorporated into non-Islamic political systems easily.
Ihsanoglu in his speech also suggested the compatibility of the Islamic notion of human rights and international norms, saying that refurbishing the Cairo human rights declaration will be "in keeping with the current global human rights discourse," though he did not specify how this would be done.
Several OIC member states follow sharia law, which has been compared to the Western tradition of common law, for personal status and criminal issues. None of the 14 OIC states that are considered "electoral democracies" are Arab.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Business loans for women approved
Saudi Gazette
By Saud Al-Barakati
JEDDAH – Successfully trained women at the Women’s Higher Technical Institute, affiliated with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), will be able to receive a loan of up to SR200,000 each to start their own small businesses.
An agreement to that effect was signed Wednesday between the TVTC and the Credit and Savings Bank, said Niqar Abdulrahman, dean of the technical institute in Jeddah.
The agreement came after the conclusion of training sessions on small business administration, accounting, and workshops at the institute in Jeddah.
The training sessions and workshops have empowered women to go into the job market and set up businesses with the confidence and knowledge to successfully carry out feasibility studies, marketing campaigns, and customer relations, said Abdulrahman.
The TVTC strives to produce businesswomen through its Center of Women Entrepreneurs that provides targeted training programs and supports sound business proposals in order to receive financing, she said. Once the project starts, the center follows it up through its different stages until it becomes fully operational, she added.
The program is open for Saudi women between 18 and 45 with high school diplomas. The second training session will be announced soon.
There are over 40 women’s technical institutes in the Kingdom teaching students a variety of skills including make-up, fashion, electronics, arts and crafts, web design, jewelry design, and others. - Okaz/SG
By Saud Al-Barakati
JEDDAH – Successfully trained women at the Women’s Higher Technical Institute, affiliated with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), will be able to receive a loan of up to SR200,000 each to start their own small businesses.
An agreement to that effect was signed Wednesday between the TVTC and the Credit and Savings Bank, said Niqar Abdulrahman, dean of the technical institute in Jeddah.
The agreement came after the conclusion of training sessions on small business administration, accounting, and workshops at the institute in Jeddah.
The training sessions and workshops have empowered women to go into the job market and set up businesses with the confidence and knowledge to successfully carry out feasibility studies, marketing campaigns, and customer relations, said Abdulrahman.
The TVTC strives to produce businesswomen through its Center of Women Entrepreneurs that provides targeted training programs and supports sound business proposals in order to receive financing, she said. Once the project starts, the center follows it up through its different stages until it becomes fully operational, she added.
The program is open for Saudi women between 18 and 45 with high school diplomas. The second training session will be announced soon.
There are over 40 women’s technical institutes in the Kingdom teaching students a variety of skills including make-up, fashion, electronics, arts and crafts, web design, jewelry design, and others. - Okaz/SG
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Saudi Arabia: NHRS opens to Female Law Graduates
MAKKAH - The National Human Rights Society here began receiving Monday the applications of 40 female law graduates for legal researcher posts in the women's section.
NHRS is the first body in the Kingdom to recruit women in the domain of law, reported Arabic daily newspaper Al-Madina.
The newspaper previously reported that the 40 female law students feared unemployment as the rules do not allow for female sections in law firms.
The female law students are graduates from the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
NHRS is the first body in the Kingdom to recruit women in the domain of law, reported Arabic daily newspaper Al-Madina.
The newspaper previously reported that the 40 female law students feared unemployment as the rules do not allow for female sections in law firms.
The female law students are graduates from the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Saudi Arabia: King Tries to Grow Modern Ideas in Desert
Oct 26, 2007
New York Times, A1
THANASSIS CAMBANIS
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 25 - On a marshy peninsula 50 miles from this Red Sea port, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is staking $12.5 billion on a gargantuan bid to catch up with the West in science and technology.
Between an oil refinery and the sea, the monarch is building from scratch a graduate research institution that will have one of the 10 largest endowments in the world, worth more than $10 billion.
Its planners say men and women will study side by side in an enclave walled off from the rest of Saudi society, the country's notorious religious police will be barred and all religious and ethnic groups will be welcome in a push for academic freedom and international collaboration sure to test the kingdom's cultural and religious limits.
This undertaking is directly at odds with the kingdom's religious establishment, which severely limits women's rights and rejects coeducation and robust liberal inquiry as unthinkable.
For the new institution, the king has cut his own education ministry out the loop, hiring the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to build the campus, create its curriculum and attract foreigners.
Supporters of what is to be called the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or Kaust, wonder whether the king is simply building another gated island to be dominated by foreigners, like the compounds for oil industry workers that have existed here for decades, or creating an institution that will have a real impact on Saudi society and the rest of the Arab world.
"There are two Saudi Arabias," said Jamal Khashoggi, the editor of Al Watan, a newspaper. "The question is which Saudi Arabia will take over."
The king has broken taboos, declaring that the Arabs have fallen critically behind much of the modern world in intellectual achievement and that his country depends too much on oil and not enough on creating wealth through innovation.
"There is a deep knowledge gap separating the Arab and Islamic nations from the process and progress of contemporary global civilization," said Abdallah S. Jumah, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco. "We are no longer keeping pace with the advances of our era."
Traditional Saudi practice is on display at the biggest public universities, where the Islamic authorities vet the curriculum, medical researchers tread carefully around controversial subjects like evolution, and female and male students enter classrooms through separate doors and follow lectures while separated by partitions.
Old-fashioned values even seeped into the carefully staged groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for King Abdullah's new university, at which organizers distributed an issue of the magazine The Economist with a special advertisement for the university wrapped around the cover. State censors had physically torn from each copy an article about Saudi legal reform titled "Law of God Versus Law of Man," leaving a jagged edge.
Despite the obstacles, the king intends to make the university a showcase for modernization. The festive groundbreaking and accompanying symposium about the future of the modern university were devised partly as a recruiting tool for international academics.
"Getting the faculty will be the biggest challenge," said Ahmed F. Ghoniem, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is consulting for the new university. "That will make it or break it." Professor Ghoniem has advised the new university to lure international academics with laboratory facilities and grants they cannot find at home, but he also believes that established professors will be reluctant to leave their universities for a small enclave in the desert.
"You have to create an environment where you can connect to the outside world," said Professor Ghoniem, who is from Egypt. "You cannot work in isolation."
He admitted that even though he admired the idea of the new university, he would be unlikely to abandon his post at M.I.T. to move to Saudi Arabia.
Festivities at the construction site on Sunday for 1,500 dignitaries included a laser light show and a mockup of the planned campus that filled an entire room. The king laid a crystal cornerstone into a stainless steel shaft on wheels.
Cranes tore out mangroves and pounded the swampland with 20-ton blocks into a surface firm enough to build the campus on. Inside a tent, the king, his honor guard wearing flowing robes and curved daggers, and an array of Aramco officials in suits took to a shiny stage lighted with green and blue neon tubing, like an MTV awards show. Mist from dry ice shrouded the stage, music blared in surround sound, and holographic projections served as a backdrop to some of the speeches.
From a laconic monarch known for his austerity, the pomp, along with a rare speech by the king himself, was intended to send a strong signal, according to the team charged with building and staffing the new campus within two years.
The king is lavishing the institution not only with money, but also with his full political endorsement, intended to stave off internal challenges from conservatives and to win over foreign scholars who doubt that academic freedom can thrive here.
The new project is giving hope to Saudi scholars who until the king's push to reform education in the last few years have endured stagnant research budgets and continue to face extensive government red tape.
"Because Aramco is founding the university, I believe it will have freedom," said Abdulmalik A. Aljinaidi, dean of the research and consultation institute at King Abdulaziz University, Jidda's biggest, with more than 40,000 students. "For Kaust to succeed, it will have to be free of all the restrictions and bureaucracy we face as a public university."
Even in the most advanced genetics labs at King Abdulaziz, the women wear full face coverings, and female students can meet with male advisers only in carefully controlled public free zones like the library. Scientists there tread carefully when they do research in genetics, stem cells or evolution, for fear of offending Islamic social mores.
Even in Jidda, the kingdom's most liberal city, a status rooted in its history as a trading outpost, change comes slowly. This month the governor allowed families to celebrate the post-Ramadan Id al-Fitr holiday in public, effectively allowing men and women to socialize publicly on the same streets for the first time.
The religious police were accused of beating a man to death because he was suspected of selling alcohol. Conservatives have fended off efforts by women to secure the right to drive or to run for office, although women have made considerable gains in access to segregated education and workplaces.
Against this backdrop, said Mr. Khashoggi, the newspaper editor, the king has conceived of the new university as a liberalizing counterweight, whose success depends on how much it engages the rest of Saudi society. "Nobody wants to live in a ghetto, even a nice one," Mr. Khashoggi said. "As a Saudi, I say, let's open up."
Upon completion, the energy-efficient campus will house 20,000 faculty and staff members, students and their families. Social rules will be more relaxed, as they are in the compounds where foreign oil workers live; women will be allowed to drive, for example. But the kingdom?s laws will still apply: Israelis, barred by law from visiting Saudi Arabia, will not be able to collaborate with the university. And one staple of campus life worldwide will be missing: alcohol.
The university president will be a foreigner, and the faculty members and graduate students at first will be overwhelmingly foreign as well. Generous scholarships will finance the 2,000 graduate students; planners expect the Saudi share of the student body to increase over the years as scholarships aimed at promising current undergraduates help groom them for graduate studies at the new university.
The university's entire model is built around partnerships with other international universities, and faculty members are expected to have permanent bases at other research institutions abroad.
The university will also rely on a new free-market model. The faculty members will not have tenure, and almost all of them will have joint appointments. While the university will initially be awash in money, its faculty and graduate students will still have to compete with top international institutions for the limited pool of private money that underwrites most graduate research.
Suhair el-Qurashi, dean of the private all-female Dar Al Hekma College, often attacked as 'bad' and 'liberal,' said a vigorous example of free-thinking at the university would embolden the many Saudis who back the king's quest to reform long-stagnant higher education.
"The king knows he will face some backlash and bad publicity," Ms. Qurashi said. "I think the system is moving in the right direction."
New York Times, A1
THANASSIS CAMBANIS
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 25 - On a marshy peninsula 50 miles from this Red Sea port, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is staking $12.5 billion on a gargantuan bid to catch up with the West in science and technology.
Between an oil refinery and the sea, the monarch is building from scratch a graduate research institution that will have one of the 10 largest endowments in the world, worth more than $10 billion.
Its planners say men and women will study side by side in an enclave walled off from the rest of Saudi society, the country's notorious religious police will be barred and all religious and ethnic groups will be welcome in a push for academic freedom and international collaboration sure to test the kingdom's cultural and religious limits.
This undertaking is directly at odds with the kingdom's religious establishment, which severely limits women's rights and rejects coeducation and robust liberal inquiry as unthinkable.
For the new institution, the king has cut his own education ministry out the loop, hiring the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to build the campus, create its curriculum and attract foreigners.
Supporters of what is to be called the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or Kaust, wonder whether the king is simply building another gated island to be dominated by foreigners, like the compounds for oil industry workers that have existed here for decades, or creating an institution that will have a real impact on Saudi society and the rest of the Arab world.
"There are two Saudi Arabias," said Jamal Khashoggi, the editor of Al Watan, a newspaper. "The question is which Saudi Arabia will take over."
The king has broken taboos, declaring that the Arabs have fallen critically behind much of the modern world in intellectual achievement and that his country depends too much on oil and not enough on creating wealth through innovation.
"There is a deep knowledge gap separating the Arab and Islamic nations from the process and progress of contemporary global civilization," said Abdallah S. Jumah, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco. "We are no longer keeping pace with the advances of our era."
Traditional Saudi practice is on display at the biggest public universities, where the Islamic authorities vet the curriculum, medical researchers tread carefully around controversial subjects like evolution, and female and male students enter classrooms through separate doors and follow lectures while separated by partitions.
Old-fashioned values even seeped into the carefully staged groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for King Abdullah's new university, at which organizers distributed an issue of the magazine The Economist with a special advertisement for the university wrapped around the cover. State censors had physically torn from each copy an article about Saudi legal reform titled "Law of God Versus Law of Man," leaving a jagged edge.
Despite the obstacles, the king intends to make the university a showcase for modernization. The festive groundbreaking and accompanying symposium about the future of the modern university were devised partly as a recruiting tool for international academics.
"Getting the faculty will be the biggest challenge," said Ahmed F. Ghoniem, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is consulting for the new university. "That will make it or break it." Professor Ghoniem has advised the new university to lure international academics with laboratory facilities and grants they cannot find at home, but he also believes that established professors will be reluctant to leave their universities for a small enclave in the desert.
"You have to create an environment where you can connect to the outside world," said Professor Ghoniem, who is from Egypt. "You cannot work in isolation."
He admitted that even though he admired the idea of the new university, he would be unlikely to abandon his post at M.I.T. to move to Saudi Arabia.
Festivities at the construction site on Sunday for 1,500 dignitaries included a laser light show and a mockup of the planned campus that filled an entire room. The king laid a crystal cornerstone into a stainless steel shaft on wheels.
Cranes tore out mangroves and pounded the swampland with 20-ton blocks into a surface firm enough to build the campus on. Inside a tent, the king, his honor guard wearing flowing robes and curved daggers, and an array of Aramco officials in suits took to a shiny stage lighted with green and blue neon tubing, like an MTV awards show. Mist from dry ice shrouded the stage, music blared in surround sound, and holographic projections served as a backdrop to some of the speeches.
From a laconic monarch known for his austerity, the pomp, along with a rare speech by the king himself, was intended to send a strong signal, according to the team charged with building and staffing the new campus within two years.
The king is lavishing the institution not only with money, but also with his full political endorsement, intended to stave off internal challenges from conservatives and to win over foreign scholars who doubt that academic freedom can thrive here.
The new project is giving hope to Saudi scholars who until the king's push to reform education in the last few years have endured stagnant research budgets and continue to face extensive government red tape.
"Because Aramco is founding the university, I believe it will have freedom," said Abdulmalik A. Aljinaidi, dean of the research and consultation institute at King Abdulaziz University, Jidda's biggest, with more than 40,000 students. "For Kaust to succeed, it will have to be free of all the restrictions and bureaucracy we face as a public university."
Even in the most advanced genetics labs at King Abdulaziz, the women wear full face coverings, and female students can meet with male advisers only in carefully controlled public free zones like the library. Scientists there tread carefully when they do research in genetics, stem cells or evolution, for fear of offending Islamic social mores.
Even in Jidda, the kingdom's most liberal city, a status rooted in its history as a trading outpost, change comes slowly. This month the governor allowed families to celebrate the post-Ramadan Id al-Fitr holiday in public, effectively allowing men and women to socialize publicly on the same streets for the first time.
The religious police were accused of beating a man to death because he was suspected of selling alcohol. Conservatives have fended off efforts by women to secure the right to drive or to run for office, although women have made considerable gains in access to segregated education and workplaces.
Against this backdrop, said Mr. Khashoggi, the newspaper editor, the king has conceived of the new university as a liberalizing counterweight, whose success depends on how much it engages the rest of Saudi society. "Nobody wants to live in a ghetto, even a nice one," Mr. Khashoggi said. "As a Saudi, I say, let's open up."
Upon completion, the energy-efficient campus will house 20,000 faculty and staff members, students and their families. Social rules will be more relaxed, as they are in the compounds where foreign oil workers live; women will be allowed to drive, for example. But the kingdom?s laws will still apply: Israelis, barred by law from visiting Saudi Arabia, will not be able to collaborate with the university. And one staple of campus life worldwide will be missing: alcohol.
The university president will be a foreigner, and the faculty members and graduate students at first will be overwhelmingly foreign as well. Generous scholarships will finance the 2,000 graduate students; planners expect the Saudi share of the student body to increase over the years as scholarships aimed at promising current undergraduates help groom them for graduate studies at the new university.
The university's entire model is built around partnerships with other international universities, and faculty members are expected to have permanent bases at other research institutions abroad.
The university will also rely on a new free-market model. The faculty members will not have tenure, and almost all of them will have joint appointments. While the university will initially be awash in money, its faculty and graduate students will still have to compete with top international institutions for the limited pool of private money that underwrites most graduate research.
Suhair el-Qurashi, dean of the private all-female Dar Al Hekma College, often attacked as 'bad' and 'liberal,' said a vigorous example of free-thinking at the university would embolden the many Saudis who back the king's quest to reform long-stagnant higher education.
"The king knows he will face some backlash and bad publicity," Ms. Qurashi said. "I think the system is moving in the right direction."
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