By Asma Alsharif
JEDDAH (Reuters) - "Let her get fat!" is the slogan women in Saudi Arabia are using to challenge a clampdown on female-only gyms.
Unhappy at the growing number of unlicensed female gyms, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs recently closed two in the Red Sea city of Jeddah and one in the city of Dammam on the Gulf Arab coast for not having a license.
In response, newspaper columnists and bloggers are promoting the sarcastic line "let her get fat!" as a way of fighting back, though it is likely to be a losing battle.
In Saudi Arabia, where clerics have extensive influence in society, gyms are sexually segregated because of conservative tribal and religious values.
Female participation in sports has long been a controversial issue in the kingdom, with physical education banned from public girls' schools and clerics issuing religious prohibitions on female participation in sports.
While male gyms get licenses from a government sports body, female gyms have no official authority overseeing them.
"The idea of female fitness is non-existent within our government," said Fouziah Alouni, a prominent women's rights campaigner.
"Depriving women of this is yet another way of marginalizing them. Give us a justifiable reason or leave woman alone. This is unbearable."
The result has been high rates of diabetes and even bone frailty among women, which the Ministry of Health says it wants to combat.
"Football and basketball are sports that require a lot of movement and jumping," Sheikh Abdullah al-Maneea, member of the official Supreme Council of Religious Scholars, said in a religious opinion published in Okaz newspaper Thursday.
He said such excessive movement may harm girls who are still virgins, possibly causing them to lose their virginity.
"There is a school of thought that unfortunately exists and which has a distorted interpretation of Islam," said Lina Al-Maeena, who organises basketball training in Jeddah.
Women's gyms can only exist inside hospitals as "health centres" supervised by the Ministry of Health but prices are so high, at least 1,000 riyals ($266) a month, that only the affluent can afford membership.
Cheaper versions have sprung up under name "beauty salon" or "studio" but now their future is in doubt.
Madawi Al-Hassoun of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce said the chamber has been trying for three years to find a government body prepared to take on board licensing female gyms.
"Some people don't like women to go out of their homes. This is a common struggle for female businesses in Saudi," she said.
Showing posts with label gender segregation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gender segregation. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 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.
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
Kuwait: Candidates react to Salafist 'fatwa'
Kuwait Times
KUWAIT: Reacting to the fatwa issued by Islamic Salafists Movement asking voters to abstain from voting for female candidates, Dr Fatima Al-Abdaly, a first constituency candidate described it is a 'dangerous indicator.' "This is a clear violation of the Constitution and electoral law," she asserted, adding that it reflects the fact that women now stand at the Parliament's threshold. This knowledge has prompted these individuals to take steps to discourage their foray into politics." She said that other Muslim countries do view women's electoral franchise as a problem, "The statement takes us back to the era before women gained their political rights." She questioned why the fatwa was not declared during the 2006 and 2008 elections.
She said that they (Salafists) are trying to target women during the elections, since many voters had planned to vote for women. But this(edict ) may hurt women's interests since voting for them is being condemned as a sin. Third constituency candidate Ayesha Al-Rushaid said that since the Salafists movement has exposed its real nature to the Kuwaiti people, they are now playing the religious card. Islam does not forbid political participation which is evidenced by the 'Baiah' system in Islam where men and women are considered equal.
Another third constituency candidate Naeema Al-Hai said that such fatwas now aim at preventing women from reaching the Parliament and reduce their chances. This indicates how weak those political factions are at the possibility of women wining seats in the Parliament. She said that women's participation in Parliament does not mean 'general jurisdiction,' rather it is participation decision-making and there are examples of women holding leadership positions in Muslim countries. Meanwhile a official said that the government will not comment on inflammatory statements. He said that the appearance of such issues now aim at gaining certain groups' votes. Kuwait's Constitution has guaranteed equality to both man and woman.
Dr Faris Al Wuqayan, a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies criticized the Salafists Movement's statement, adding that it does not relate to the 'civil state' and democracy at all, and questioned, "Is it okay to benefit from the woman's vote as a voter without granting her our vote as a candidate"? He said such statements take us back to the Middle Ages of Europe because it is not related to the modern era at all, in fact 'the brains that came up with it need treatment.' When asked about the possibility of the so-called edict gaining support among masses, Al-Wquayan said that the voting standards are not determined by religious practices. This is because clergy men's illegal practices and participation in the country's administration, economy, financial companies' administration are well known.
This gives out the idea that ideological religious affiliations are not related to ethical practices, even it stems from a liberal or tribal person. Columnist and political analyst Sami Al-Nisf found it strange for a few to convene and call themselves a movement and then start issuing statements. He said that the Salafists movement that is represented in Kuwait, is the revival of society and that they did not hear such statements from them. Al-Nisf said that Islam is not limited to Kuwait, but it is practiced in 56 countries around the world. He added that many gave women the right to run for office and vote and women are allowed to hold the office of prime minister there.
KUWAIT: Reacting to the fatwa issued by Islamic Salafists Movement asking voters to abstain from voting for female candidates, Dr Fatima Al-Abdaly, a first constituency candidate described it is a 'dangerous indicator.' "This is a clear violation of the Constitution and electoral law," she asserted, adding that it reflects the fact that women now stand at the Parliament's threshold. This knowledge has prompted these individuals to take steps to discourage their foray into politics." She said that other Muslim countries do view women's electoral franchise as a problem, "The statement takes us back to the era before women gained their political rights." She questioned why the fatwa was not declared during the 2006 and 2008 elections.
She said that they (Salafists) are trying to target women during the elections, since many voters had planned to vote for women. But this(edict ) may hurt women's interests since voting for them is being condemned as a sin. Third constituency candidate Ayesha Al-Rushaid said that since the Salafists movement has exposed its real nature to the Kuwaiti people, they are now playing the religious card. Islam does not forbid political participation which is evidenced by the 'Baiah' system in Islam where men and women are considered equal.
Another third constituency candidate Naeema Al-Hai said that such fatwas now aim at preventing women from reaching the Parliament and reduce their chances. This indicates how weak those political factions are at the possibility of women wining seats in the Parliament. She said that women's participation in Parliament does not mean 'general jurisdiction,' rather it is participation decision-making and there are examples of women holding leadership positions in Muslim countries. Meanwhile a official said that the government will not comment on inflammatory statements. He said that the appearance of such issues now aim at gaining certain groups' votes. Kuwait's Constitution has guaranteed equality to both man and woman.
Dr Faris Al Wuqayan, a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies criticized the Salafists Movement's statement, adding that it does not relate to the 'civil state' and democracy at all, and questioned, "Is it okay to benefit from the woman's vote as a voter without granting her our vote as a candidate"? He said such statements take us back to the Middle Ages of Europe because it is not related to the modern era at all, in fact 'the brains that came up with it need treatment.' When asked about the possibility of the so-called edict gaining support among masses, Al-Wquayan said that the voting standards are not determined by religious practices. This is because clergy men's illegal practices and participation in the country's administration, economy, financial companies' administration are well known.
This gives out the idea that ideological religious affiliations are not related to ethical practices, even it stems from a liberal or tribal person. Columnist and political analyst Sami Al-Nisf found it strange for a few to convene and call themselves a movement and then start issuing statements. He said that the Salafists movement that is represented in Kuwait, is the revival of society and that they did not hear such statements from them. Al-Nisf said that Islam is not limited to Kuwait, but it is practiced in 56 countries around the world. He added that many gave women the right to run for office and vote and women are allowed to hold the office of prime minister there.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Kuwait: 136 poll headquarters okayed
Arab Times
KUWAIT CITY, April 26, (KUNA): A total of 136 election headquarters have been licensed in all the six Kuwaiti governorates, a joint committee between the Interior Ministry and Kuwaiti Municipality said on Sunday. The committee has allowed every candidate to have two election facilities; one for men and the other for women, Mohamed Al-Mosowi, secretary of the committee, told KUNA. However, all election headquarters that could cause traffic congestion or chaos and impede the movement of people for being put up at inappropriate locations have been removed, he said. The committee is still making field tours to demolish unlicensed facilities and to remove posters, placards or pictures of candidates from houses and street posts, he added.
In cooperation with other state agencies concerned, the committee has demolished a total of 30 unlicensed premises and 4,608 posters nationwide without any prior warning, Al-Mosowi said. Meanwhile, the interim government will discuss Monday the negative phenomena, which spread as the election fever heats up in Kuwait. Worried about the negative effect of sectarian disputes on national unity, reliable sources said the interim government has instructed the acting ministers to closely monitor the alleged prevalence of sectarian sentiments in the country as this might undermine national unity.
KUWAIT CITY, April 26, (KUNA): A total of 136 election headquarters have been licensed in all the six Kuwaiti governorates, a joint committee between the Interior Ministry and Kuwaiti Municipality said on Sunday. The committee has allowed every candidate to have two election facilities; one for men and the other for women, Mohamed Al-Mosowi, secretary of the committee, told KUNA. However, all election headquarters that could cause traffic congestion or chaos and impede the movement of people for being put up at inappropriate locations have been removed, he said. The committee is still making field tours to demolish unlicensed facilities and to remove posters, placards or pictures of candidates from houses and street posts, he added.
In cooperation with other state agencies concerned, the committee has demolished a total of 30 unlicensed premises and 4,608 posters nationwide without any prior warning, Al-Mosowi said. Meanwhile, the interim government will discuss Monday the negative phenomena, which spread as the election fever heats up in Kuwait. Worried about the negative effect of sectarian disputes on national unity, reliable sources said the interim government has instructed the acting ministers to closely monitor the alleged prevalence of sectarian sentiments in the country as this might undermine national unity.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Middle East: Women in the Arab World
Middle East Times
By CARL GIBEILY Published: April 10, 2009
MANAMA -- Hoda Shaarawi should best be remembered for her role in founding Egypt's Feminist Union – the first such organization in the Arab region – and for fighting to establish a minimum marriage age for women, reform family law, restrict polygamy and promote the education of girls. And yet, among all her achievements, it is telling that contemporary Arab historians inevitably focus first on one bold, symbolic act at the central train station in Cairo. In the first week of March 1923, Shaarawi deliberately did the unthinkable: she removed her veil in public.
In some respects, the Arab region is the same place for women that it was 86 years ago. In the more conservative parts of the Arab region, most particularly Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive a car, sail a boat or fly a plane. They still cannot expose hair, wrists and ankles in public, or travel without the permission of a male relative: usually a father, husband or – in some ways more constraining for its role reversal – a son.
Saudi Arabia is not alone in segregating the sexes in many public settings, ranging from schools and universities to restaurants and banks. And despite some incremental reforms in family law across the Gulf region, a woman who angers her husband is still prone to the "triple talaq," the controversial oral divorce, with little to no recourse to alimony.
The deep gender disparities of the region were raised six years ago by the United Nations in the Arab Human Development Report, which was researched and drafted by Arab intellectuals and scholars. Stating unequivocally that the Arab region as a whole failed to "treat its womenfolk as full citizens," it concluded that the oppression of women represented one of the root causes of backwardness in the Arab world and the dearth of creativity. Put another way, a community is doomed to lack the competitive edge if it routinely stifles half of its production potential.
There is still a culture of stigma attached to women who opt for certain careers. In the media, for instance, Gulf nationals account for a mere 10 percent of journalists in the comparatively liberal United Arab Emirates - and out of these, barely a sliver are women. This lacuna is particularly evident in reporting on controversial local issues, such as sexual abuse or female circumcision, which are typically assigned to well-meaning if ultimately detached expatriate journalists.
However, women are making slow – if sluggish – gains in the Middle East. The views and aspirations of Arab women are changing thanks largely to the Internet and increasing educational opportunities. Within that context, more than 55 per cent of university students in Saudi Arabia are women; and in neighboring Qatar and the UAE, women outnumber men by three to one. Equally, fertility rates have halved across the Gulf region over the past two decades as women have sought to move beyond a purely traditional role – the decrease has been most dramatic in Oman, with a drop from ten births per woman to fewer than four over that period.
Even politically, women have been able to make some small but notable gains. Last month, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia sacked the conservative head of the Commission of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice – the agency that enforces the wearing of the hijab – and appointed the first woman in his cabinet. In Kuwait, women made history in 2006 by voting and contesting in a local by-election for the first time, after the parliament granted them right to suffrage the previous year.
However, the region remains deeply patriarchal. These modest gains in the political, economic and legal rights of women have been contested at every turn, and there is a very real danger that further emancipation will be crushed under the weight of male chauvinism. These reactionary elements must not be allowed to obstruct the process of rethinking the role of Arab women, which is now in its second century. This reassessment has its roots in 1899, when the celebrated Egyptian author Qasim Amin published a seminal work that explicitly laid the blame of the region's backwardness to the oppression of women – the very same conclusion reiterated a century later in the Arab Human Development Report.
Amin went on to inspire Hoda Shaarawi, who in turn continues to provide a shining example to countless Arab feminists. Within that context, it is also important to understand that Shaarawi removed her hijab in public not as a political statement – the removal of the veil was never on the agenda of the Feminist Union. Rather, it was meant as an uplifting gesture to express the most basic cri de coeur: suppressed women the world over crave more freedom, more education and better prospects. Above all, they deserve humane treatment from the society, not just the rights
--
Carl Gibeily is a Lebanese novelist and journalist, whose novels include, "Blueprint for a Prophet," (Doubleday: UK) and "March Dust," (to be published in 2010).
By CARL GIBEILY Published: April 10, 2009
MANAMA -- Hoda Shaarawi should best be remembered for her role in founding Egypt's Feminist Union – the first such organization in the Arab region – and for fighting to establish a minimum marriage age for women, reform family law, restrict polygamy and promote the education of girls. And yet, among all her achievements, it is telling that contemporary Arab historians inevitably focus first on one bold, symbolic act at the central train station in Cairo. In the first week of March 1923, Shaarawi deliberately did the unthinkable: she removed her veil in public.
In some respects, the Arab region is the same place for women that it was 86 years ago. In the more conservative parts of the Arab region, most particularly Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive a car, sail a boat or fly a plane. They still cannot expose hair, wrists and ankles in public, or travel without the permission of a male relative: usually a father, husband or – in some ways more constraining for its role reversal – a son.
Saudi Arabia is not alone in segregating the sexes in many public settings, ranging from schools and universities to restaurants and banks. And despite some incremental reforms in family law across the Gulf region, a woman who angers her husband is still prone to the "triple talaq," the controversial oral divorce, with little to no recourse to alimony.
The deep gender disparities of the region were raised six years ago by the United Nations in the Arab Human Development Report, which was researched and drafted by Arab intellectuals and scholars. Stating unequivocally that the Arab region as a whole failed to "treat its womenfolk as full citizens," it concluded that the oppression of women represented one of the root causes of backwardness in the Arab world and the dearth of creativity. Put another way, a community is doomed to lack the competitive edge if it routinely stifles half of its production potential.
There is still a culture of stigma attached to women who opt for certain careers. In the media, for instance, Gulf nationals account for a mere 10 percent of journalists in the comparatively liberal United Arab Emirates - and out of these, barely a sliver are women. This lacuna is particularly evident in reporting on controversial local issues, such as sexual abuse or female circumcision, which are typically assigned to well-meaning if ultimately detached expatriate journalists.
However, women are making slow – if sluggish – gains in the Middle East. The views and aspirations of Arab women are changing thanks largely to the Internet and increasing educational opportunities. Within that context, more than 55 per cent of university students in Saudi Arabia are women; and in neighboring Qatar and the UAE, women outnumber men by three to one. Equally, fertility rates have halved across the Gulf region over the past two decades as women have sought to move beyond a purely traditional role – the decrease has been most dramatic in Oman, with a drop from ten births per woman to fewer than four over that period.
Even politically, women have been able to make some small but notable gains. Last month, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia sacked the conservative head of the Commission of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice – the agency that enforces the wearing of the hijab – and appointed the first woman in his cabinet. In Kuwait, women made history in 2006 by voting and contesting in a local by-election for the first time, after the parliament granted them right to suffrage the previous year.
However, the region remains deeply patriarchal. These modest gains in the political, economic and legal rights of women have been contested at every turn, and there is a very real danger that further emancipation will be crushed under the weight of male chauvinism. These reactionary elements must not be allowed to obstruct the process of rethinking the role of Arab women, which is now in its second century. This reassessment has its roots in 1899, when the celebrated Egyptian author Qasim Amin published a seminal work that explicitly laid the blame of the region's backwardness to the oppression of women – the very same conclusion reiterated a century later in the Arab Human Development Report.
Amin went on to inspire Hoda Shaarawi, who in turn continues to provide a shining example to countless Arab feminists. Within that context, it is also important to understand that Shaarawi removed her hijab in public not as a political statement – the removal of the veil was never on the agenda of the Feminist Union. Rather, it was meant as an uplifting gesture to express the most basic cri de coeur: suppressed women the world over crave more freedom, more education and better prospects. Above all, they deserve humane treatment from the society, not just the rights
--
Carl Gibeily is a Lebanese novelist and journalist, whose novels include, "Blueprint for a Prophet," (Doubleday: UK) and "March Dust," (to be published in 2010).
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Women in Saudi media under fire
By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
Published: March 30, 2009, 23:52
Riyadh: Thirty-five prominent Saudi figures including scholars, university professors, judges, imams, researchers and government officials have warned the minister of culture and information against the prominence being given to women in the media. They described the projection of women in the media as a "phenomenon exceeding proper bounds of Sharia".
In a letter addressed to Dr Abdul Aziz Khoja, a copy of which was placed on the website Nurul Islam, the hardliners underlined the need for strictly adhering into the Kingdom's media policy, which prohibits women, including singers and artists, from appearing in the media. The statement, which was also carried by Al Madinah Arabic daily, urged scholars and reformers to examine the matter and come out with their proposals.
The 35 signatories of the statement included Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al Barak, Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al Mahmoud, member of the faculty of Usooluddin at Imam Mohammad Bin Saud University of Riyadh, and Shaikh Abdullah Al Sulaiman, judicial supervisor at the Ministry of Justice. They urged the minister to establish a supervisory Sharia committee at the ministry in cooperation with the Ifta Department, in line with Article 15 of the Media Policy of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
The signatories hoped the minister would undertake media reforms after rooting out "deviation" as far as radio, television, press, literary clubs and book fairs are concerned.
The statement, which was also carried by the Saudi news website Al Masdar, heavily criticised "plans to Westernise Saudi women and deprive them of their legal rights while travelling, as well as gender-mixing, opening doors for clashes with liberal ideologies, giving prominence for staging songs and playing musical instruments by women, publishing women's pictures, allowing women singers and broadcasters to mix with men at the ministry building, allowing entry of obscene newspapers and magazines with sexy pictures of women inside the pages and folders into the Kingdom", and described that all these are "no doubt, prohibited by Sharia".
According to the hardliners, all these phenomena are contrary to the laws of the country, royal decrees and the media policy of the Kingdom.
"This also involves violation of Article 7 in Item 2 of the Basic Governing System, which says that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall be governed by the Book of God and the Tradition of the Prophet (PBUH).
The statement also drew attention to the fact these trends were also in violation of the Royal Decree No 2/4185, which prevents the staging of any dance programme involving women or appearance of female singers or news readers on television.
The decree also prevents the appearance of any types of pictures of women on newspapers or magazines for any reasons. The statement urged the minister to grant permission for a meeting with a delegation of 10 of the signatories to discuss the matter.
Published: March 30, 2009, 23:52
Riyadh: Thirty-five prominent Saudi figures including scholars, university professors, judges, imams, researchers and government officials have warned the minister of culture and information against the prominence being given to women in the media. They described the projection of women in the media as a "phenomenon exceeding proper bounds of Sharia".
In a letter addressed to Dr Abdul Aziz Khoja, a copy of which was placed on the website Nurul Islam, the hardliners underlined the need for strictly adhering into the Kingdom's media policy, which prohibits women, including singers and artists, from appearing in the media. The statement, which was also carried by Al Madinah Arabic daily, urged scholars and reformers to examine the matter and come out with their proposals.
The 35 signatories of the statement included Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al Barak, Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al Mahmoud, member of the faculty of Usooluddin at Imam Mohammad Bin Saud University of Riyadh, and Shaikh Abdullah Al Sulaiman, judicial supervisor at the Ministry of Justice. They urged the minister to establish a supervisory Sharia committee at the ministry in cooperation with the Ifta Department, in line with Article 15 of the Media Policy of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
The signatories hoped the minister would undertake media reforms after rooting out "deviation" as far as radio, television, press, literary clubs and book fairs are concerned.
The statement, which was also carried by the Saudi news website Al Masdar, heavily criticised "plans to Westernise Saudi women and deprive them of their legal rights while travelling, as well as gender-mixing, opening doors for clashes with liberal ideologies, giving prominence for staging songs and playing musical instruments by women, publishing women's pictures, allowing women singers and broadcasters to mix with men at the ministry building, allowing entry of obscene newspapers and magazines with sexy pictures of women inside the pages and folders into the Kingdom", and described that all these are "no doubt, prohibited by Sharia".
According to the hardliners, all these phenomena are contrary to the laws of the country, royal decrees and the media policy of the Kingdom.
"This also involves violation of Article 7 in Item 2 of the Basic Governing System, which says that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall be governed by the Book of God and the Tradition of the Prophet (PBUH).
The statement also drew attention to the fact these trends were also in violation of the Royal Decree No 2/4185, which prevents the staging of any dance programme involving women or appearance of female singers or news readers on television.
The decree also prevents the appearance of any types of pictures of women on newspapers or magazines for any reasons. The statement urged the minister to grant permission for a meeting with a delegation of 10 of the signatories to discuss the matter.
Saudi Arabia: Serial actors, actress detained by religious police in Riyadh
By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
Published: March 31, 2009, 18:29
Riyadh: In an early hour swoop on a famous hotel in Riyadh City, members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (religious police) have taken into custody a number of artists and other members of the production unit of a television serial.
Those incustody included three actors and one actress who were then handed over to the local police. Later, they were released on bail.
Acting on a tip-off, a religious police squad raided the location of the serial on the lobby of the hotel in the eastern part of the city on Monday early morning.
The artists were engaged in shooting an episode of the serial "Ayyamu Al Surab" (Days of Surab), produced by Al Sadaf Company.
According to Al Watan Arabic daily, those who have been taken into custody included the noted Omani actor Ebrahim Al Zidjali, artists Ali Saad and Fawaz Al Jaser and the actress Sahar.
Religious policemen took them to the Commission’s nearby Omar bin Al Khattab branch office and then handed them over to the police.
According to sources at the production unit of the serial, religious policemen have taken the team members into custody accusing gender-mixing of male and female artists at the hotel lobby.
They said that the actress Sahar was detained for some time at the reform centre of the Commission where she underwent guidance classes by a group of women officials about dangers of mixing with men at public places.
Immediately after the incident, the remaining members of the production team vacated the hotel premises.
Later, sources at Al Manar police station confirmed the report and said that the detained artists were released on bail. When contacted by reporters, the religious police sources refused to comment on the incident.
Reaction
Reacting to the incident, which made almost all the members of the production team dumbfounded, the Omani actor Ebrahim Al Zidjali wondered whether film shooting is a taboo in the Kingdom even though the official television channels air several serials, whose shooting take place at public places with the permission of the civilian and security authorities.
He also drew attention to the recently concluded Janadriya festival where King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz honoured a number of Saudi artists.
Published: March 31, 2009, 18:29
Riyadh: In an early hour swoop on a famous hotel in Riyadh City, members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (religious police) have taken into custody a number of artists and other members of the production unit of a television serial.
Those incustody included three actors and one actress who were then handed over to the local police. Later, they were released on bail.
Acting on a tip-off, a religious police squad raided the location of the serial on the lobby of the hotel in the eastern part of the city on Monday early morning.
The artists were engaged in shooting an episode of the serial "Ayyamu Al Surab" (Days of Surab), produced by Al Sadaf Company.
According to Al Watan Arabic daily, those who have been taken into custody included the noted Omani actor Ebrahim Al Zidjali, artists Ali Saad and Fawaz Al Jaser and the actress Sahar.
Religious policemen took them to the Commission’s nearby Omar bin Al Khattab branch office and then handed them over to the police.
According to sources at the production unit of the serial, religious policemen have taken the team members into custody accusing gender-mixing of male and female artists at the hotel lobby.
They said that the actress Sahar was detained for some time at the reform centre of the Commission where she underwent guidance classes by a group of women officials about dangers of mixing with men at public places.
Immediately after the incident, the remaining members of the production team vacated the hotel premises.
Later, sources at Al Manar police station confirmed the report and said that the detained artists were released on bail. When contacted by reporters, the religious police sources refused to comment on the incident.
Reaction
Reacting to the incident, which made almost all the members of the production team dumbfounded, the Omani actor Ebrahim Al Zidjali wondered whether film shooting is a taboo in the Kingdom even though the official television channels air several serials, whose shooting take place at public places with the permission of the civilian and security authorities.
He also drew attention to the recently concluded Janadriya festival where King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz honoured a number of Saudi artists.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Saudi Arabia: Khulwa sentence against elderly widow causes uproar
Badea Abu Al-Naja | Arab News
JEDDAH: The sentencing of a 75-year-old Arab widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison for mingling with two young men, who were reportedly bringing her bread, has sparked fresh criticism of the Kingdom’s judiciary and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Khamisa Sawadi, a Syrian who was married to a Saudi, was convicted and sentenced last week for meeting men who were not her immediate relatives. The two men, including one who was Sawadi’s late husband’s nephew, were also found guilty and sentenced to prison and lashes.
The woman’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, said he plans to appeal the verdict, which also demands Sawadi be deported after serving her prison term. He said his client has not served her sentence yet.
Arab News tried to contact police and the commission officials in Hail, but both refused to give further details about the case.
Fariyal King, a legal specialist, said Hail police had a responsibility to explain the case as they detained the two men on the request of officials from the commission. “The Interior Ministry has appointed spokesmen to clarify matters to the media. The Hail police spokesman’s refusal to give a statement shows that there is some sort of obscurity,” she said.
The elderly woman met the men last June after she asked one of them to bring her five loaves of bread, Al-Watan reported. The men — identified by Al-Watan as the nephew, Fahd Al-Anzi, and his friend and business partner, Hadiyan bin Zein — went to Sawadi’s home in the town of Al-Shamli. As they came out after delivering the bread, the two men were arrested by commission officials, Al-Watan said on Monday.
The court said it based its March 3 ruling on information from citizens and the testimony of Al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption.
Sawadi had told the court that she considered Al-Anzi as her son, because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she had no evidence. In Islamic tradition, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation.
Sawadi commonly asked her neighbors for help after her husband died, said Saudi journalist Bandar Al-Ammar, who reported the story for Al-Watan.
Suleiman Al-Radhiman, director of the Hail office of the commission, told Al-Watan that his officials detained the woman after receiving a written message that two men had entered her house. “When our patrol team arrived at the site, they found two men coming from the woman’s house. We detained the two and handed them over to police for investigation,” he said.
He pointed out that police had arrested the woman on two previous occasions and a judge in Al-Shamli had convicted her. “The woman asked me to bring bread for her. At that time, I contacted my friend Hadyan who was incidentally passing and he helped me buy bread, as I did not have a car.
“After I gave her the bread two commission officials came. They first said they belonged to a charity and wanted to know the living condition of the woman. While we were going out they caught us and handed over to the police,” said Al-Anzi.
Bin Zein said the commission officials arrested them about 200 meters from the woman’s house. “There were six commission members who all had their faces covered,” he said.
Commenting on the case, lawyer Ibrahim Zamzami said if it was proved that the old woman is Al-Anzi’s foster mother through breast-feeding, then the charge of khulwa (illegal seclusion) would be nullified. But if his relation to her is only as his uncle’s wife then the charge would stand as she is eligible to marry him.
Zamzami, however, warned that the matter of illegal seclusion with an unrelated woman was difficult to prove. “This depends on the circumstances, the time spent together and the way they looked when they come out. The shorter the time spent together, the more likelihood of illegal seclusion,” he said.
The lawyer said a 75-year-old woman is usually not considered seductive yet she is a woman and unrelated men should not remain alone with her. He said court rulings in such cases are based on Shariah, which did not differentiate between old and young. “Old age is not a sufficient ground for acquittal,” he said.
Mohammed Nahar, another lawyer, said the two men were arrested on suspicion of committing a sin. “But in law an accused will be innocent as long as the charge is not proved,” he said.
JEDDAH: The sentencing of a 75-year-old Arab widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison for mingling with two young men, who were reportedly bringing her bread, has sparked fresh criticism of the Kingdom’s judiciary and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Khamisa Sawadi, a Syrian who was married to a Saudi, was convicted and sentenced last week for meeting men who were not her immediate relatives. The two men, including one who was Sawadi’s late husband’s nephew, were also found guilty and sentenced to prison and lashes.
The woman’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, said he plans to appeal the verdict, which also demands Sawadi be deported after serving her prison term. He said his client has not served her sentence yet.
Arab News tried to contact police and the commission officials in Hail, but both refused to give further details about the case.
Fariyal King, a legal specialist, said Hail police had a responsibility to explain the case as they detained the two men on the request of officials from the commission. “The Interior Ministry has appointed spokesmen to clarify matters to the media. The Hail police spokesman’s refusal to give a statement shows that there is some sort of obscurity,” she said.
The elderly woman met the men last June after she asked one of them to bring her five loaves of bread, Al-Watan reported. The men — identified by Al-Watan as the nephew, Fahd Al-Anzi, and his friend and business partner, Hadiyan bin Zein — went to Sawadi’s home in the town of Al-Shamli. As they came out after delivering the bread, the two men were arrested by commission officials, Al-Watan said on Monday.
The court said it based its March 3 ruling on information from citizens and the testimony of Al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption.
Sawadi had told the court that she considered Al-Anzi as her son, because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she had no evidence. In Islamic tradition, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation.
Sawadi commonly asked her neighbors for help after her husband died, said Saudi journalist Bandar Al-Ammar, who reported the story for Al-Watan.
Suleiman Al-Radhiman, director of the Hail office of the commission, told Al-Watan that his officials detained the woman after receiving a written message that two men had entered her house. “When our patrol team arrived at the site, they found two men coming from the woman’s house. We detained the two and handed them over to police for investigation,” he said.
He pointed out that police had arrested the woman on two previous occasions and a judge in Al-Shamli had convicted her. “The woman asked me to bring bread for her. At that time, I contacted my friend Hadyan who was incidentally passing and he helped me buy bread, as I did not have a car.
“After I gave her the bread two commission officials came. They first said they belonged to a charity and wanted to know the living condition of the woman. While we were going out they caught us and handed over to the police,” said Al-Anzi.
Bin Zein said the commission officials arrested them about 200 meters from the woman’s house. “There were six commission members who all had their faces covered,” he said.
Commenting on the case, lawyer Ibrahim Zamzami said if it was proved that the old woman is Al-Anzi’s foster mother through breast-feeding, then the charge of khulwa (illegal seclusion) would be nullified. But if his relation to her is only as his uncle’s wife then the charge would stand as she is eligible to marry him.
Zamzami, however, warned that the matter of illegal seclusion with an unrelated woman was difficult to prove. “This depends on the circumstances, the time spent together and the way they looked when they come out. The shorter the time spent together, the more likelihood of illegal seclusion,” he said.
The lawyer said a 75-year-old woman is usually not considered seductive yet she is a woman and unrelated men should not remain alone with her. He said court rulings in such cases are based on Shariah, which did not differentiate between old and young. “Old age is not a sufficient ground for acquittal,” he said.
Mohammed Nahar, another lawyer, said the two men were arrested on suspicion of committing a sin. “But in law an accused will be innocent as long as the charge is not proved,” he said.
Saudi Arabia: Frustrating experience
Walaa Hawari & Shiekha Al-Dosary | Arab News
RIYADH: Charms, tokens, enigmatic drawings and other items seized by the vice cops were displayed prominently in one of the largest booths at this year’s Riyadh International Book Fair. Instead of books, a television displayed how the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice reverses magical spells.
“What was in the commission’s booth showed clearly what they thought of the book fair and what they think of books,” one Saudi writer and intellectual told Arab News yesterday.
The book fair, which ends on Friday, has been marked with controversy once again — with liberal and literary minded people complaining of harassment by the commission. For their part, religious authorities have complained, not just about the mingling of men and women at the fair or how women are dressed, but also about how they claim their voices are being quelled by the visitors. Like last year, it was also often difficult to differentiate between official members of the commission and men who simply dress like them.
At one event featuring Saudi writer Abdu Khal, a man dressed in conservative Saudi attire (but with no identifying badge or other indication of legitimate authority) demanded that he be given the microphone.
“After 10 minutes of argument, we gave him the microphone whereupon he started an angry speech in which he accused the fair’s organizing committee of not giving equal opportunity to all,” said Abdu Khal.
An event dedicated to the literary work of Sudan’s Tayeb Salih descended into a debate over morals, interactions between men and women, and the relationship between Islam and literature in general.
The man asked Khal — a vocal critic of the commission — why prominent Saudi poets and literary people attacked conservative society by doing un-Islamic things: “Why can’t they be Muslim and literary at same time?” he asked the audience.
Many of those attending the event who had come to discuss literature and poetry confirmed the incident. Many expressed disapproval and narrated unpleasant incidents that took place at the fair.
“What happened will destroy the image of tolerance we have tried to maintain,” said Saudi writer and journalist Ruqaiyah Yaqub. “The fair respects all viewpoints and Islamic schools. However, some extremists took advantage of that and they took revenge as well.”
Yaqub, who wears a full veil, said that conservatives at the fair (it was impossible to tell if they were actual commission members or just conservatives) attacked her verbally for her tight-fitting abaya, demanding that she “thickly cover everything and wear decent clothes,” she added.
“It’s so ridiculous,” she scoffed. “I’m covering everything with my plain black Abaya and — I don’t know what they consider ‘decent’ — but I believe their main issue is the presence of women at the fair.”
Najet Mield, a representative of a French publishing house, said she was verbally harassed, too, for speaking to men who came to her booth to discuss the books her company sells.
“They questioned my respect for my religion by doing so, which is something they should be punished for doing,” she said angrily. “Women have sold products to men and vice versa since the time of the Prophet (pbuh). If these people knew history, they would know that.”
Mield said she’s a Dai’aa in France, which means she works to spread Islam. “I came a long the way to show my work and I came with an invitation from the Ministry (of Culture and Information),” she said.
After complaining to ministry officials at the fair, the government assigned Mield a minder by the name of Hassan Al-Ansary to accompany her to avoid future harassment.
In one of the more highly publicized incidents at the fair, Saudi writer Halemah Mozaffar was verbally accosted by men who identified themselves as commission members and accused her of immorality for not having her face covered and for signing books given to her by men — she had signed the books as the men had asked her to do so out of admiration for her work.
Halemah published the first academic book about Saudi theater this year. As the tradition of signing a book by the author was not unknown at previous book fairs in Riyadh, she arrived as arranged by the organizing committee. When she was preparing for her signing session, commission members and others were advising her to cover her face “even though it’s an issue where Islamic scholars have difference of opinion.”
“Still,” she added, “I thanked them for the advice and went on about my business, setting up the place where I would sign books.”
When men and women started to approach the stand, Halemah was stunned by the commission members sending away men and forming a human wall to prevent her from signing books for men or even talking to them.
“It was my surprise to find them waiting for me with a pre-intention to stop me from signing my book and even from talking to the crowd, among whom were my fellow writers and theater-specialist colleagues,” she said.
Even the women who wished to have a signed book, according to Halemah, were frightened away by the scene, as there were two commission members, five security guards and six soldiers present.
“The scene was humiliating, especially when some male writers who came to buy the book tried to get my signature on their copies, and were rudely pushed away.”
Halemah then signed the books she already had and tried to give them to some of her colleagues, but the commission members stood between them and ordered her to pass the book to the security guard, who would pass it on.
“His behavior with me was even more rude when I asked: ‘Isn’t the guard a man? Why is it acceptable for me to hand the book to a guard but not to the man who bought the book?’”
The worst happened, according to Halemah, when another prominent writer ‘thanked her after she signed his copy. “The commission member took him aside, scolding him for thanking me considering it an offense to address a woman even with a simple phrase such as ‘thank you,’” she added.
The two hours of continuous annoyance did not go unnoticed by the Ministry of Information and Culture, explained Halemah, “as they compensated me with another signing day according to my schedule,” a day that went smoothly regardless of the presence of commission members who demanded that men and women stand in separate lines. The commission members, she said, “were hovering around me, just waiting for me to commit what they considered a sin.”
Arab News tried to obtain comments from the commission members; they said they would not speak to women who didn’t wear full-face veils.
RIYADH: Charms, tokens, enigmatic drawings and other items seized by the vice cops were displayed prominently in one of the largest booths at this year’s Riyadh International Book Fair. Instead of books, a television displayed how the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice reverses magical spells.
“What was in the commission’s booth showed clearly what they thought of the book fair and what they think of books,” one Saudi writer and intellectual told Arab News yesterday.
The book fair, which ends on Friday, has been marked with controversy once again — with liberal and literary minded people complaining of harassment by the commission. For their part, religious authorities have complained, not just about the mingling of men and women at the fair or how women are dressed, but also about how they claim their voices are being quelled by the visitors. Like last year, it was also often difficult to differentiate between official members of the commission and men who simply dress like them.
At one event featuring Saudi writer Abdu Khal, a man dressed in conservative Saudi attire (but with no identifying badge or other indication of legitimate authority) demanded that he be given the microphone.
“After 10 minutes of argument, we gave him the microphone whereupon he started an angry speech in which he accused the fair’s organizing committee of not giving equal opportunity to all,” said Abdu Khal.
An event dedicated to the literary work of Sudan’s Tayeb Salih descended into a debate over morals, interactions between men and women, and the relationship between Islam and literature in general.
The man asked Khal — a vocal critic of the commission — why prominent Saudi poets and literary people attacked conservative society by doing un-Islamic things: “Why can’t they be Muslim and literary at same time?” he asked the audience.
Many of those attending the event who had come to discuss literature and poetry confirmed the incident. Many expressed disapproval and narrated unpleasant incidents that took place at the fair.
“What happened will destroy the image of tolerance we have tried to maintain,” said Saudi writer and journalist Ruqaiyah Yaqub. “The fair respects all viewpoints and Islamic schools. However, some extremists took advantage of that and they took revenge as well.”
Yaqub, who wears a full veil, said that conservatives at the fair (it was impossible to tell if they were actual commission members or just conservatives) attacked her verbally for her tight-fitting abaya, demanding that she “thickly cover everything and wear decent clothes,” she added.
“It’s so ridiculous,” she scoffed. “I’m covering everything with my plain black Abaya and — I don’t know what they consider ‘decent’ — but I believe their main issue is the presence of women at the fair.”
Najet Mield, a representative of a French publishing house, said she was verbally harassed, too, for speaking to men who came to her booth to discuss the books her company sells.
“They questioned my respect for my religion by doing so, which is something they should be punished for doing,” she said angrily. “Women have sold products to men and vice versa since the time of the Prophet (pbuh). If these people knew history, they would know that.”
Mield said she’s a Dai’aa in France, which means she works to spread Islam. “I came a long the way to show my work and I came with an invitation from the Ministry (of Culture and Information),” she said.
After complaining to ministry officials at the fair, the government assigned Mield a minder by the name of Hassan Al-Ansary to accompany her to avoid future harassment.
In one of the more highly publicized incidents at the fair, Saudi writer Halemah Mozaffar was verbally accosted by men who identified themselves as commission members and accused her of immorality for not having her face covered and for signing books given to her by men — she had signed the books as the men had asked her to do so out of admiration for her work.
Halemah published the first academic book about Saudi theater this year. As the tradition of signing a book by the author was not unknown at previous book fairs in Riyadh, she arrived as arranged by the organizing committee. When she was preparing for her signing session, commission members and others were advising her to cover her face “even though it’s an issue where Islamic scholars have difference of opinion.”
“Still,” she added, “I thanked them for the advice and went on about my business, setting up the place where I would sign books.”
When men and women started to approach the stand, Halemah was stunned by the commission members sending away men and forming a human wall to prevent her from signing books for men or even talking to them.
“It was my surprise to find them waiting for me with a pre-intention to stop me from signing my book and even from talking to the crowd, among whom were my fellow writers and theater-specialist colleagues,” she said.
Even the women who wished to have a signed book, according to Halemah, were frightened away by the scene, as there were two commission members, five security guards and six soldiers present.
“The scene was humiliating, especially when some male writers who came to buy the book tried to get my signature on their copies, and were rudely pushed away.”
Halemah then signed the books she already had and tried to give them to some of her colleagues, but the commission members stood between them and ordered her to pass the book to the security guard, who would pass it on.
“His behavior with me was even more rude when I asked: ‘Isn’t the guard a man? Why is it acceptable for me to hand the book to a guard but not to the man who bought the book?’”
The worst happened, according to Halemah, when another prominent writer ‘thanked her after she signed his copy. “The commission member took him aside, scolding him for thanking me considering it an offense to address a woman even with a simple phrase such as ‘thank you,’” she added.
The two hours of continuous annoyance did not go unnoticed by the Ministry of Information and Culture, explained Halemah, “as they compensated me with another signing day according to my schedule,” a day that went smoothly regardless of the presence of commission members who demanded that men and women stand in separate lines. The commission members, she said, “were hovering around me, just waiting for me to commit what they considered a sin.”
Arab News tried to obtain comments from the commission members; they said they would not speak to women who didn’t wear full-face veils.
Kuwait: Dream for an equal role for women in society
By Sarah Alzouman, Staff writer Kuwait Times
KUWAIT: In honor of International Women's Day, Sout Al-Kuwait hosted a round table discussion about the role of women in Kuwaiti society which was attended by activists representing women in art, society, politics, sports and journalism.
Although the speakers and subject matter varied, the main message was that the dream for an equal role for women in society to benefit the entire nation required the cooperation of the entire nation to become a reality. "Women are assets to their nation socially, politically and in any field they participate in," stated Nabila Al-Anjeri, a former parliamentary candidate. Al-Anjeri said that this reality had unfortunately become lost among false claims that women's participation in politics contradicted moral or cultural values.
Dr Aseel Alawadhi, a professor at Kuwait University and former parliamentary candidate, added that a patriarchal society that excludes women from a number of spheres, including the political, is a major stumbling block on women's road to equality. "Women must have a role in politics simply by virtue of being citizens of Kuwait. Unfortunately, a male dominated culture leads to a crisis of confidence about the ability of women to participate in the political process, not only in the minds of men, but in the minds of women as well.
Alawadhi remained optimistic, however, that Kuwaiti women are more than capable of achieving their political goals. "Women's experience in politics is a very recent one, and I consider it extremely successful so far," she said. Alawadhi pointed to the results of the last elections, in which a number of female candidates, Alwadhi among them, put up very competitive numbers as evidence of the great advancements women had made in a short period of political participation.
The segregation of men and women in educational institutions was another issue criticized by both speakers and attendees. Suhaila Al-Najdi, an art professor at Kuwait University, was surprised that an exhibit of student art was subject to segregation, asking why a work of art created by a male student should not be exhibited by a female. The kind of attitude that would lead to such segregations damages the academic environment and ultimately the society as well, Al-Najdi declared.
Iman Al-Kout, Tae Kwon Do champion and instructor, said the path for Kuwaiti women athletes was an arduous one because they are disadvantaged in comparison to their international colleagues. Al-Kout said that women athletes who perform on the international level are supported by societies who respect and encourage sports excellence, something sorely lacking in Kuwait.
After the discussion, Alwadhi and Al-Anjeri spoke in more detail about their involvement in past elections and the challenges that are magnified in the case of women candidates, most notably securing funding for their campaigns and the very nature of campaigning in Kuwait. The social nature of campaigning was established in an exclusively male political environment with 25 constituencies. Now that there are five constituencies, the sheer size and number of voters makes the old model impracticable, especially for professional women who run for office, Al-Anjeri explained.
Despite these difficulties, Alawadhi said she was against changing the number of constituencies from five to ten and against the establishment of a quota system for women in parliament. The establishment of five constituencies is a parliamentary right, Alawadhi stated, passed under tremendous support of Kuwaiti citizens and she was against any unconstitutional change in the law.
Alawadhi also opposed the idea of a quota for women in Parliament, insisting that even if it is a long process, women would gain invaluable experience in the political process. "We cannot just change the Constitution and force the situation when we still have not seen the full results of women's political participation. Women should be given the chance to gain experience and establish themselves as politicians so that when women reach Parliament, they have proven their capabilities and earned people's trust and confidence.
KUWAIT: In honor of International Women's Day, Sout Al-Kuwait hosted a round table discussion about the role of women in Kuwaiti society which was attended by activists representing women in art, society, politics, sports and journalism.
Although the speakers and subject matter varied, the main message was that the dream for an equal role for women in society to benefit the entire nation required the cooperation of the entire nation to become a reality. "Women are assets to their nation socially, politically and in any field they participate in," stated Nabila Al-Anjeri, a former parliamentary candidate. Al-Anjeri said that this reality had unfortunately become lost among false claims that women's participation in politics contradicted moral or cultural values.
Dr Aseel Alawadhi, a professor at Kuwait University and former parliamentary candidate, added that a patriarchal society that excludes women from a number of spheres, including the political, is a major stumbling block on women's road to equality. "Women must have a role in politics simply by virtue of being citizens of Kuwait. Unfortunately, a male dominated culture leads to a crisis of confidence about the ability of women to participate in the political process, not only in the minds of men, but in the minds of women as well.
Alawadhi remained optimistic, however, that Kuwaiti women are more than capable of achieving their political goals. "Women's experience in politics is a very recent one, and I consider it extremely successful so far," she said. Alawadhi pointed to the results of the last elections, in which a number of female candidates, Alwadhi among them, put up very competitive numbers as evidence of the great advancements women had made in a short period of political participation.
The segregation of men and women in educational institutions was another issue criticized by both speakers and attendees. Suhaila Al-Najdi, an art professor at Kuwait University, was surprised that an exhibit of student art was subject to segregation, asking why a work of art created by a male student should not be exhibited by a female. The kind of attitude that would lead to such segregations damages the academic environment and ultimately the society as well, Al-Najdi declared.
Iman Al-Kout, Tae Kwon Do champion and instructor, said the path for Kuwaiti women athletes was an arduous one because they are disadvantaged in comparison to their international colleagues. Al-Kout said that women athletes who perform on the international level are supported by societies who respect and encourage sports excellence, something sorely lacking in Kuwait.
After the discussion, Alwadhi and Al-Anjeri spoke in more detail about their involvement in past elections and the challenges that are magnified in the case of women candidates, most notably securing funding for their campaigns and the very nature of campaigning in Kuwait. The social nature of campaigning was established in an exclusively male political environment with 25 constituencies. Now that there are five constituencies, the sheer size and number of voters makes the old model impracticable, especially for professional women who run for office, Al-Anjeri explained.
Despite these difficulties, Alawadhi said she was against changing the number of constituencies from five to ten and against the establishment of a quota system for women in parliament. The establishment of five constituencies is a parliamentary right, Alawadhi stated, passed under tremendous support of Kuwaiti citizens and she was against any unconstitutional change in the law.
Alawadhi also opposed the idea of a quota for women in Parliament, insisting that even if it is a long process, women would gain invaluable experience in the political process. "We cannot just change the Constitution and force the situation when we still have not seen the full results of women's political participation. Women should be given the chance to gain experience and establish themselves as politicians so that when women reach Parliament, they have proven their capabilities and earned people's trust and confidence.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Religious police deny ban on lingerie saleswomen
The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police has denied banning women from working in lingerie shops, as complaints from female customers about male-only sales staff rise, newspapers said on Tuesday.
Sheikh Ibrahim al-Gaith of the powerful Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stressed that he does not oppose women sales personnel in lingerie stores per se.
But he said shops with female clerks had to be in malls restricted to women only, so the saleswomen did not come into contact with men.
"We don't reject the work of the women in lingerie stores if they are not next to men's stores," Gaith said, adding that this was government policy.
Saudi women have long complained that they feel uncomfortable having to buy lingerie from men and would prefer female sales assistants.
But the kingdom's ultra-conservative religious leaders have opposed allowing saleswomen in shops where men are allowed on the grounds that it would violate restrictions on contacts between opposite sexes not from the same family.
Those rules do not extend to salesmen and women customers, however.
In 2005 the labour ministry, in a bid to establish more job opportunities for Saudi women, urged lingerie shops to employ female staff. Minister Ghazi al-Gosaibi said this would serve to limit contact between men and women.
But clerics who can effectively set policy separately from the government have resisted the move, and Gosaibi's effort has had little effect.
In October Reem As'ad, who teaches economics at a Jeddah college, called for a boycott of lingerie stores that do not replace salesmen with saleswomen.
"We urge every man and woman to help our privacy from being violated by men from whom we are obliged to buy our intimate clothing," she told Arab News.
"Women walk around covered from head to toe, and yet they have to discuss the size and material of their undergarments with strange men. Isn't this odd?"
Agence France-Presse
Sheikh Ibrahim al-Gaith of the powerful Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stressed that he does not oppose women sales personnel in lingerie stores per se.
But he said shops with female clerks had to be in malls restricted to women only, so the saleswomen did not come into contact with men.
"We don't reject the work of the women in lingerie stores if they are not next to men's stores," Gaith said, adding that this was government policy.
Saudi women have long complained that they feel uncomfortable having to buy lingerie from men and would prefer female sales assistants.
But the kingdom's ultra-conservative religious leaders have opposed allowing saleswomen in shops where men are allowed on the grounds that it would violate restrictions on contacts between opposite sexes not from the same family.
Those rules do not extend to salesmen and women customers, however.
In 2005 the labour ministry, in a bid to establish more job opportunities for Saudi women, urged lingerie shops to employ female staff. Minister Ghazi al-Gosaibi said this would serve to limit contact between men and women.
But clerics who can effectively set policy separately from the government have resisted the move, and Gosaibi's effort has had little effect.
In October Reem As'ad, who teaches economics at a Jeddah college, called for a boycott of lingerie stores that do not replace salesmen with saleswomen.
"We urge every man and woman to help our privacy from being violated by men from whom we are obliged to buy our intimate clothing," she told Arab News.
"Women walk around covered from head to toe, and yet they have to discuss the size and material of their undergarments with strange men. Isn't this odd?"
Agence France-Presse
Friday, November 21, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Women’s sections open in factories
DAMMAM – The Ministry of Labor has permitted 40 factories and companies in the Eastern Province to open women’s sections in which Saudi women can be employed. The companies include meat factories, marine companies and general contracting firms.
Muhammad Al-Hamdan, Director of the Labor Office in the province, said the companies had appointed more than 1,500 Saudi women with salaries of up to SR3,000 and contracts meeting Saudi labor system regulations.
Al-Hamdan said the office had appealed to all companies in need of labor to open women’s sections and that they had shown a positive response. – Okaz/SG
Muhammad Al-Hamdan, Director of the Labor Office in the province, said the companies had appointed more than 1,500 Saudi women with salaries of up to SR3,000 and contracts meeting Saudi labor system regulations.
Al-Hamdan said the office had appealed to all companies in need of labor to open women’s sections and that they had shown a positive response. – Okaz/SG
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Middle East: ‘Sisters’ Colleges See a Bounty in the Middle East
Women’s colleges are a dwindling breed in the United States.
So this spring the admissions deans of the five leading women’s colleges — Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley and Smith — went recruiting to a place where single-sex education is more than a niche product: the Middle East.
For three weeks they visited schools in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, describing what a liberal-arts women’s college can offer academically ambitious students. (They skipped Saudi Arabia, where, their trip coordinator warned, they might need a male escort.)
Everywhere, they talked about how women benefited from having their own colleges where women make up a large part of the faculty and students are encouraged to excel in male-dominated fields like science and math. And they flaunted their accomplished alumnae, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Emily Dickinson, Diane Sawyer, Katharine Hepburn and Madeleine K. Albright.
“We still prepare a disproportionate number of women scientists,” Jenny Rickard, dean of admissions at Bryn Mawr, said in describing the presentations. “We’re really about the empowerment of women and enabling women to get a top-notch education.”
Like universities nationwide, the five women’s colleges are expanding their overseas recruiting, and although reaching out to the Middle East seems logical to them, in some ways it is an odd fit.
While single-sex schools in the Middle East are protected environments, reflecting women’s traditional roles in Muslim society, the American colleges, for all their white-glove history and academic prominence, are liberal strongholds where students fiercely debate political action, gender identity and issues like “heteronormativity,” the marginalizing of standards that are other than heterosexual. Middle Eastern students who already attend these colleges tell of a transition that can be jarring.
Pasangi Perera Weerasingag, who attended a coeducational British-model high school in Dubai, said that when she arrived at Mount Holyoke last year, she was shocked by the presence of so many lesbians among the students. But she adjusted, she says, and now loves the environment, with the widespread willingness to discuss race and class (“so refreshing”) and her classmates’ engagement in politics.
On their trip to the Middle East, the American deans visited American international schools, British-model schools, Indian-model schools, coeducational schools filled with children of expatriates and schools of local girls who do not much mix with men. Reactions varied, according to e-mail messages from counselors and students at the schools, but over all the region seemed fertile ground for recruiting. For some families, the colleges represented a compromise between the familiarity of home and an all-out plunge into American ways.
“You could almost see light bulbs going off in student’s minds, as if, ‘Why didn’t I think of them a while ago?’ " said Jennifer Melton, a counselor at the American School in Dubai.
“You could also see parents exhale with less anxiety around the process,” Ms. Melton said, “and the fact that there really are institutions that are a good fit for their daughters.”
In the 1960s, there were some 300 women’s colleges in the United States; now there are fewer than 60. But Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley and Smith — known as the Sisters, those of the storied Seven Sisters left after Radcliffe merged with Harvard and Vassar began admitting men — are thriving, attracting record numbers of high-achieving applicants, who are drawn by their history of academic prominence.
Still, most American high school girls never consider applying to a women’s college. And because the Sisters do not get as many applicants as comparable coeducational colleges, they are not as selective as other top institutions. So an influx of applications from the Middle East would be especially welcome.
But the admissions deans say their foray to the Middle East was not an effort to find young Muslim women who could be comfortable only in a world of women. “People keep waiting for us to say we went because we were expecting it to be so conservative that it would be a great fit,” said Jennifer Desjarlais, Wellesley’s dean of admission. “That wasn’t why we went. That never occurred to us.”
The idea, she said, grew out of an international conference, where counselors from the Middle East said they wished more American liberal arts colleges would visit their schools.
Ms. Weerasingag, who is Sri Lankan but grew up in Dubai, said that when she told friends she was going to Mount Holyoke, “they all said, ‘Why, why would you go to a women’s college?’ and immediately began to make jokes about homosexuality.”
She said the number of lesbian students on campus “was the only part that came as a culture shock to me.”
“It was very open — there were open displays of affection,” she added. “At the beginning, there were times when I’d have to close my eyes and say, ‘O.K., I’m at Mount Holyoke, and it’s different.’ But that lasted only a week or so, and now I have so many friends who are openly gay, and it makes no difference.”
Ms. Weerasingag, 20, finds other aspects of Mount Holyoke life invigorating. “We didn’t have a political atmosphere in Dubai,” she said. “At Mount Holyoke, during the primaries I couldn’t even sleep, because everyone around me was so involved.”
At the recruiting presentations, some students saw the women’s colleges as their best route to the United States. “My options of traveling to the United States are limited by my conservative upbringing,” said Ascia al-Faraj, a student at the American International School in Kuwait. “But the chances of attending one of the Sisters schools is more likely.” She plans to apply to several of the Sisters.
Mark Ray, a counselor at the school, said he believed that in general, “parents would be much more likely to send their daughters to one of these schools rather than to a coed university.”
But in many Middle Eastern families, it remains unthinkable to send an 18-year-old daughter to America alone. So there were questions about transfer admissions from young women who planned to start college close to home, said Diane Anci, dean of admission at Mount Holyoke.
“We also, on some occasions, got questions about living off campus, and the neighborhood around the college,” she said, “which meant, ‘Could my mother or auntie come and live in an off-campus house with me?’ ”
Even before the trip, the Sisters had been told that single-sex residences might be an important draw for Middle Eastern students, Ms. Anci said.
Students were more interested, though, in hearing about the freedom they would have at the women’s colleges, Mr. Ray said.
“The greatest concern expressed by the ladies, which was quickly dispelled, was their idea they would be in a lockdown environment,” he said.
The deans made clear that was not the case. “None of us is a nunnery, so much of our presentation is to reassure young women that there are opportunities to interact with young men,” said Audrey Smith, dean of enrollment at Smith College.
Indeed, at each of the presentations, the Sisters stressed the frequent contact with men at nearby colleges, the possibility of cross-registering for classes and the coeducational clubs.
Kristen Duff, an Australian student at the American School in Dubai, said that she planned to apply to Barnard but that many of her Arab and part-Arab friends had not been won over.
“They have conservative parents,” she said, “and I think that in their independence in college they really want to attend coed schools in a foreign country. Going to a girls’ school would seem like a step backwards.”
Over all, the deans said, selling single-sex education was less difficult than selling the liberal arts in a region where professional education is more the norm.
“The question we got most often was, ‘What would I do afterwards?’ ” said Ms. Rickard, of Bryn Mawr. “I talked about how liberal arts prepared you for the jobs that haven’t been invented yet. The example I’d give is my own career. I was a liberal arts student when there were no computers, and then I found myself at a software company.”
Several high school counselors said their students had been impressed with the lively confidence of the deans, viewing them as role models. Ms Anci, of Mount Holyoke, recalls a like moment.
“After one long presentation in Dubai, where the audience was rapt,” she said, “one of the girls came up afterward, very bright-eyed, and said: ‘I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know I want to do great things. And I know if I come to one of your schools, I will do great things.’ ”
By TAMAR LEWIN, New York Times
So this spring the admissions deans of the five leading women’s colleges — Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley and Smith — went recruiting to a place where single-sex education is more than a niche product: the Middle East.
For three weeks they visited schools in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, describing what a liberal-arts women’s college can offer academically ambitious students. (They skipped Saudi Arabia, where, their trip coordinator warned, they might need a male escort.)
Everywhere, they talked about how women benefited from having their own colleges where women make up a large part of the faculty and students are encouraged to excel in male-dominated fields like science and math. And they flaunted their accomplished alumnae, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Emily Dickinson, Diane Sawyer, Katharine Hepburn and Madeleine K. Albright.
“We still prepare a disproportionate number of women scientists,” Jenny Rickard, dean of admissions at Bryn Mawr, said in describing the presentations. “We’re really about the empowerment of women and enabling women to get a top-notch education.”
Like universities nationwide, the five women’s colleges are expanding their overseas recruiting, and although reaching out to the Middle East seems logical to them, in some ways it is an odd fit.
While single-sex schools in the Middle East are protected environments, reflecting women’s traditional roles in Muslim society, the American colleges, for all their white-glove history and academic prominence, are liberal strongholds where students fiercely debate political action, gender identity and issues like “heteronormativity,” the marginalizing of standards that are other than heterosexual. Middle Eastern students who already attend these colleges tell of a transition that can be jarring.
Pasangi Perera Weerasingag, who attended a coeducational British-model high school in Dubai, said that when she arrived at Mount Holyoke last year, she was shocked by the presence of so many lesbians among the students. But she adjusted, she says, and now loves the environment, with the widespread willingness to discuss race and class (“so refreshing”) and her classmates’ engagement in politics.
On their trip to the Middle East, the American deans visited American international schools, British-model schools, Indian-model schools, coeducational schools filled with children of expatriates and schools of local girls who do not much mix with men. Reactions varied, according to e-mail messages from counselors and students at the schools, but over all the region seemed fertile ground for recruiting. For some families, the colleges represented a compromise between the familiarity of home and an all-out plunge into American ways.
“You could almost see light bulbs going off in student’s minds, as if, ‘Why didn’t I think of them a while ago?’ " said Jennifer Melton, a counselor at the American School in Dubai.
“You could also see parents exhale with less anxiety around the process,” Ms. Melton said, “and the fact that there really are institutions that are a good fit for their daughters.”
In the 1960s, there were some 300 women’s colleges in the United States; now there are fewer than 60. But Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley and Smith — known as the Sisters, those of the storied Seven Sisters left after Radcliffe merged with Harvard and Vassar began admitting men — are thriving, attracting record numbers of high-achieving applicants, who are drawn by their history of academic prominence.
Still, most American high school girls never consider applying to a women’s college. And because the Sisters do not get as many applicants as comparable coeducational colleges, they are not as selective as other top institutions. So an influx of applications from the Middle East would be especially welcome.
But the admissions deans say their foray to the Middle East was not an effort to find young Muslim women who could be comfortable only in a world of women. “People keep waiting for us to say we went because we were expecting it to be so conservative that it would be a great fit,” said Jennifer Desjarlais, Wellesley’s dean of admission. “That wasn’t why we went. That never occurred to us.”
The idea, she said, grew out of an international conference, where counselors from the Middle East said they wished more American liberal arts colleges would visit their schools.
Ms. Weerasingag, who is Sri Lankan but grew up in Dubai, said that when she told friends she was going to Mount Holyoke, “they all said, ‘Why, why would you go to a women’s college?’ and immediately began to make jokes about homosexuality.”
She said the number of lesbian students on campus “was the only part that came as a culture shock to me.”
“It was very open — there were open displays of affection,” she added. “At the beginning, there were times when I’d have to close my eyes and say, ‘O.K., I’m at Mount Holyoke, and it’s different.’ But that lasted only a week or so, and now I have so many friends who are openly gay, and it makes no difference.”
Ms. Weerasingag, 20, finds other aspects of Mount Holyoke life invigorating. “We didn’t have a political atmosphere in Dubai,” she said. “At Mount Holyoke, during the primaries I couldn’t even sleep, because everyone around me was so involved.”
At the recruiting presentations, some students saw the women’s colleges as their best route to the United States. “My options of traveling to the United States are limited by my conservative upbringing,” said Ascia al-Faraj, a student at the American International School in Kuwait. “But the chances of attending one of the Sisters schools is more likely.” She plans to apply to several of the Sisters.
Mark Ray, a counselor at the school, said he believed that in general, “parents would be much more likely to send their daughters to one of these schools rather than to a coed university.”
But in many Middle Eastern families, it remains unthinkable to send an 18-year-old daughter to America alone. So there were questions about transfer admissions from young women who planned to start college close to home, said Diane Anci, dean of admission at Mount Holyoke.
“We also, on some occasions, got questions about living off campus, and the neighborhood around the college,” she said, “which meant, ‘Could my mother or auntie come and live in an off-campus house with me?’ ”
Even before the trip, the Sisters had been told that single-sex residences might be an important draw for Middle Eastern students, Ms. Anci said.
Students were more interested, though, in hearing about the freedom they would have at the women’s colleges, Mr. Ray said.
“The greatest concern expressed by the ladies, which was quickly dispelled, was their idea they would be in a lockdown environment,” he said.
The deans made clear that was not the case. “None of us is a nunnery, so much of our presentation is to reassure young women that there are opportunities to interact with young men,” said Audrey Smith, dean of enrollment at Smith College.
Indeed, at each of the presentations, the Sisters stressed the frequent contact with men at nearby colleges, the possibility of cross-registering for classes and the coeducational clubs.
Kristen Duff, an Australian student at the American School in Dubai, said that she planned to apply to Barnard but that many of her Arab and part-Arab friends had not been won over.
“They have conservative parents,” she said, “and I think that in their independence in college they really want to attend coed schools in a foreign country. Going to a girls’ school would seem like a step backwards.”
Over all, the deans said, selling single-sex education was less difficult than selling the liberal arts in a region where professional education is more the norm.
“The question we got most often was, ‘What would I do afterwards?’ ” said Ms. Rickard, of Bryn Mawr. “I talked about how liberal arts prepared you for the jobs that haven’t been invented yet. The example I’d give is my own career. I was a liberal arts student when there were no computers, and then I found myself at a software company.”
Several high school counselors said their students had been impressed with the lively confidence of the deans, viewing them as role models. Ms Anci, of Mount Holyoke, recalls a like moment.
“After one long presentation in Dubai, where the audience was rapt,” she said, “one of the girls came up afterward, very bright-eyed, and said: ‘I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know I want to do great things. And I know if I come to one of your schools, I will do great things.’ ”
By TAMAR LEWIN, New York Times
Friday, May 30, 2008
Kuwait: MP to grill over TV show
A Kuwaiti Islamist lawmaker yesterday urged authorities to ban a team from Lebanese reality TV show "Star Academy" from recruiting young Kuwaitis, saying the program destroys morals.
"The recruitment of youth for a program that destroys morals and fights our (Islamic) values is no less bad and dangerous than recruiting them for terrorism or for peddling drugs," MP Waleed Al-Tabtabae said in a statement.
Tabtabae pointed out that a team from the TV show staff had arrived in Kuwait and set a center at the Holiday Inn Hotel to interview young men and women from Kuwait to select new participants for the coming cycle of the talent probing program.
Tabtabae, who adheres to the rigorous Salafi current of Islam, said Star Academy "imports Western values that are rejected by our society, and is based on mixing members of the two sexes to teach them Western habits and practices that they want to spread among our youth."
He warned Information Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah that he would hold him politically accountable if he does not stop the team from operating in Kuwait.
The mere admittance of this team in Kuwait means breaking an earlier promise given by the government not to allow them in, as a bid to preserve the Kuwaiti society principles, values and traditions," stressed Al-Tabtabae urging the information minister to stop the team and hold whoever licensed them to practice socially and traditional rejected activities in Kuwait.
Further, Tabtabae added that it was not acceptable that the Ministry of Information denies licensing the program's activities in Kuwait as well as denies any knowledge of it. "The ministry licensed the program producers; the LBC Satellite TV channel to establish tier office in Kuwait and it can cancel that license as a penalty for practicing public media activities without prior permission from the ministry," he said.
The Arab version of Star Academy is produced in Lebanon. Male and female contestants live in a boarding-school called The Academy, which is managed by a director, and are coached in various artistic disciplines and filmed day and night. Once a week, they participate in the equivalent of a prime time show, singing a song they prepared during the week before, as well as recapping their trials and tribulations from the past week.
Based on verdicts from judges and viewer voting, the weakest contestant is dropped while the eventual winner is awarded a record deal and usually some money. A number of Kuwaitis have taken part in the program since its inception about four years ago. It caused an uproar in Kuwait in 2004 when young stars of the program staged a concert in the conservative Gulf state.
Kuwait remains a religiously conservative country, where alcohol and discotheques are banned. Radical Islamists and tribal conservatives made strong gains in May 17 general elections.
-- Kuwait Times
"The recruitment of youth for a program that destroys morals and fights our (Islamic) values is no less bad and dangerous than recruiting them for terrorism or for peddling drugs," MP Waleed Al-Tabtabae said in a statement.
Tabtabae pointed out that a team from the TV show staff had arrived in Kuwait and set a center at the Holiday Inn Hotel to interview young men and women from Kuwait to select new participants for the coming cycle of the talent probing program.
Tabtabae, who adheres to the rigorous Salafi current of Islam, said Star Academy "imports Western values that are rejected by our society, and is based on mixing members of the two sexes to teach them Western habits and practices that they want to spread among our youth."
He warned Information Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah that he would hold him politically accountable if he does not stop the team from operating in Kuwait.
The mere admittance of this team in Kuwait means breaking an earlier promise given by the government not to allow them in, as a bid to preserve the Kuwaiti society principles, values and traditions," stressed Al-Tabtabae urging the information minister to stop the team and hold whoever licensed them to practice socially and traditional rejected activities in Kuwait.
Further, Tabtabae added that it was not acceptable that the Ministry of Information denies licensing the program's activities in Kuwait as well as denies any knowledge of it. "The ministry licensed the program producers; the LBC Satellite TV channel to establish tier office in Kuwait and it can cancel that license as a penalty for practicing public media activities without prior permission from the ministry," he said.
The Arab version of Star Academy is produced in Lebanon. Male and female contestants live in a boarding-school called The Academy, which is managed by a director, and are coached in various artistic disciplines and filmed day and night. Once a week, they participate in the equivalent of a prime time show, singing a song they prepared during the week before, as well as recapping their trials and tribulations from the past week.
Based on verdicts from judges and viewer voting, the weakest contestant is dropped while the eventual winner is awarded a record deal and usually some money. A number of Kuwaitis have taken part in the program since its inception about four years ago. It caused an uproar in Kuwait in 2004 when young stars of the program staged a concert in the conservative Gulf state.
Kuwait remains a religiously conservative country, where alcohol and discotheques are banned. Radical Islamists and tribal conservatives made strong gains in May 17 general elections.
-- Kuwait Times
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Egypt: Women's mosque row erupts
Cairo: Theologians and secularists in Egypt are up in arms over a request from women to have their own mosques.
The clergy was quick to dismiss the demand as a fad but secularists warned against turning down the proposal, saying it would strengthen the hand of religious leaders in matters of the state.
An official at the Egyptian Ministry of Waqf (Religious Endowments) said women's groups have sought a licence for female-only mosques. "We are studying the legality from the Islamic perspective," said Abdul Gafar Helal, a member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. But theologians are firm in their opposition. "There is no evidence in Islamic history that shows mosques were designated for women," said Mustafa Al Shaka, a member of the Islamic Research Centre, an arm of Al Azhar.'
"It is part of this rash clamour for absolute equality between men and women. It is a misleading call, which causes confusion and discord in the nation," he told Gulf News.Suad Saleh, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Al Azhar University, did not share Al Shaka's views.
"There is nothing in Islam that prohibits women's only mosques," Suad told Gulf News. "Nor are there restrictions on women to lead female worshippers in prayers and address them."
A famed TV preacher, she sees no harm in allowing women to have their own mosques. "There is no clear text banning this in the Quran or the Sunna," argued Suad.
Secularists in the predominantly Muslim country are appalled at the stance of theologians."This shows that Egypt is rushing headlong into becoming a religious state where clergymen will have the final say in all affairs," Abbas Khater, a writer, told Gulf News. "After the tremendous gains made by Egyptian women, the society is moving towards reviving segregation between the two sexes."
By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent for Gulf News
The clergy was quick to dismiss the demand as a fad but secularists warned against turning down the proposal, saying it would strengthen the hand of religious leaders in matters of the state.
An official at the Egyptian Ministry of Waqf (Religious Endowments) said women's groups have sought a licence for female-only mosques. "We are studying the legality from the Islamic perspective," said Abdul Gafar Helal, a member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. But theologians are firm in their opposition. "There is no evidence in Islamic history that shows mosques were designated for women," said Mustafa Al Shaka, a member of the Islamic Research Centre, an arm of Al Azhar.'
"It is part of this rash clamour for absolute equality between men and women. It is a misleading call, which causes confusion and discord in the nation," he told Gulf News.Suad Saleh, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Al Azhar University, did not share Al Shaka's views.
"There is nothing in Islam that prohibits women's only mosques," Suad told Gulf News. "Nor are there restrictions on women to lead female worshippers in prayers and address them."
A famed TV preacher, she sees no harm in allowing women to have their own mosques. "There is no clear text banning this in the Quran or the Sunna," argued Suad.
Secularists in the predominantly Muslim country are appalled at the stance of theologians."This shows that Egypt is rushing headlong into becoming a religious state where clergymen will have the final say in all affairs," Abbas Khater, a writer, told Gulf News. "After the tremendous gains made by Egyptian women, the society is moving towards reviving segregation between the two sexes."
By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent for Gulf News
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Saudi Arabia: First women-only hotel: Is it progress?
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - In Saudi Arabia's newest hotel, flickering candles in every corner enhance the serenity. And as you walk down royal-red halls, you'll notice something else: not a man in sight.
"It's women-owned, women-managed, and women-run – from our IT engineer to our electrical engineer," boasts Lorraine Coutinho, executive director of the Luthan Hotel & Spa.
To some, Saudi Arabia's first women-only hotel is a sign of progress, a place where women can conduct business without interference in a male-dominated society.
Until January, women could not check into any hotel alone unless accompanied by a male family member or they had written permission from a male "guardian." Now, the only requirement is that the hotel register the names of female guests with the police.
But others say the new hotel simply reinforces gender segregation in a nation that still doesn't let women drive.
"It's not good because maybe some people will try to make other hotels to keep ladies separate from the men," says Hasna al-Qunayeer, a professor of Arabic linguistics at King Saud University. "Always they will keep men and women separate."
Her daughter agrees.
"It's taking a step backwards," says Aseel al Bakr. "These religious clerics are trying to say that men and women [being] together could lead to adultery. And it's not true."
Located on the outskirts of the capital, the upscale 25-room hotel caters to travelers who prefer an all-female environment and want to relax in its extravagantly luxurious spa.
"We're targeting the Saudi businesswoman," says Ms. Coutinho at the Luthan, an Arabic word meaning "sanctuary" or "refuge." "The idea is to offer women in Saudi leisure facilities whilst they're business travelers."
"I enjoyed it ... I like the idea of only-for-ladies ... because I feel so free," says Fadwa al-Homoud, a physician from the eastern town of Khobar who recently stayed at the Luthan. "I can use the services ... In a regular hotel, I can't use the spa."
Riyadh, Ms. Homoud adds, "is a very conservative city ... it's a very difficult city for a woman to be alone. I prefer to stay in a place like this."
Homoud recalls how a couple of years ago she flew to Jeddah for a meeting and forgot the permission letter signed by her father. It was late at night, but the hotel refused her a room. "I said it's better to give me a room than let me stay out on the street. I'm a doctor!" Homoud says.
She had to call a male friend, who took out a room for her in the name of his business.
And last year, while staying at Al-Faisaliah Hotel, one of Riyadh's plushest, Homoud says she was constantly annoyed by hotel staff who kept asking her why she was going upstairs. "I said, 'Don't ask a stupid question! I'm a resident of the hotel!' "
Several hotel officials said that they have seen a definite increase in unaccompanied women guests since then. Danny Naludasan, guest relations manager at Riyadh's Intercontinental Hotel, said, "From what we have observed there is a significant increase" in female guests traveling alone.
And at the Rosewood Corniche in Jeddah, "We definitely are receiving more calls and have more ladies checking in," says Shamel Droubi, director of sales and marketing. "It's notable, we can feel it."
The Rosewood Corniche made news last fall when it unveiled a "dedicated Ladies' Floor," where service is provided by an all-female staff and amenities are geared to women. Mr. Droubi says that "ladies like" the seven-room floor but he hastened to explain that "it's not about isolating males from females. It's about giving to ladies their own privacy while traveling.... It's about giving an added value."
But while women can now stay in regular hotels, the gyms and swimming pools still are just for men, or available to women only during inconvenient hours. Few have spa facilities.
That's where the Luthan beats the competition. The hotel, which opened in mid-March, is far more sumptuous than a no-frills, low-budget YWCA women's hotel. Room rates range from $93 for a studio to $260. Spa treatments, which include both beauty and healthcare, are extra – and exotic. They include collagen facials, aqua healing, Reiki, Tibetan bowls therapy, sea clay, seaweed and sea algae body wraps, and Balinese massage.
There's also a swimming pool and fitness classes in aerobics, yoga, Pilates, tae bo, and spinning.
During a recent visit, the hotel was operating at only 30 percent occupancy. But Ms. Coutinho says she expected that to rise to around 60 percent during the upcoming wedding season when brides reserve rooms for themselves and their female attendants to prepare for the big day.
Indeed, Coutinho says, the hotel grew out of a bridal banquet facility previously launched by the hotel developer, Luthan Trading Company, whose 20-member, all-female board is chaired by Princess Madawi Bint Mohammad bin Abdullah.
The few men employed by the hotel are not in direct contact with guests. Apart from heavy-lifting maintenance staff, they include a male finance controller and security guards outside.
Coutinho, who is from Goa, sees the hotel as part of global trend.
"The need for privacy within public spaces for women worldwide is increasing and we're just filling a demand that already exists," she says, noting that there are women-only hotels "all over the world, from Berlin to the US," a "pink beach" in Italy, a "ladies' special" train in India, and female-only compartments on Brazilian trains.
"Regardless of where we are in this world," she adds, "I think women are finding the need to have spaces that are dedicated to themselves."
By Caryle Murphy Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
"It's women-owned, women-managed, and women-run – from our IT engineer to our electrical engineer," boasts Lorraine Coutinho, executive director of the Luthan Hotel & Spa.
To some, Saudi Arabia's first women-only hotel is a sign of progress, a place where women can conduct business without interference in a male-dominated society.
Until January, women could not check into any hotel alone unless accompanied by a male family member or they had written permission from a male "guardian." Now, the only requirement is that the hotel register the names of female guests with the police.
But others say the new hotel simply reinforces gender segregation in a nation that still doesn't let women drive.
"It's not good because maybe some people will try to make other hotels to keep ladies separate from the men," says Hasna al-Qunayeer, a professor of Arabic linguistics at King Saud University. "Always they will keep men and women separate."
Her daughter agrees.
"It's taking a step backwards," says Aseel al Bakr. "These religious clerics are trying to say that men and women [being] together could lead to adultery. And it's not true."
Located on the outskirts of the capital, the upscale 25-room hotel caters to travelers who prefer an all-female environment and want to relax in its extravagantly luxurious spa.
"We're targeting the Saudi businesswoman," says Ms. Coutinho at the Luthan, an Arabic word meaning "sanctuary" or "refuge." "The idea is to offer women in Saudi leisure facilities whilst they're business travelers."
"I enjoyed it ... I like the idea of only-for-ladies ... because I feel so free," says Fadwa al-Homoud, a physician from the eastern town of Khobar who recently stayed at the Luthan. "I can use the services ... In a regular hotel, I can't use the spa."
Riyadh, Ms. Homoud adds, "is a very conservative city ... it's a very difficult city for a woman to be alone. I prefer to stay in a place like this."
Homoud recalls how a couple of years ago she flew to Jeddah for a meeting and forgot the permission letter signed by her father. It was late at night, but the hotel refused her a room. "I said it's better to give me a room than let me stay out on the street. I'm a doctor!" Homoud says.
She had to call a male friend, who took out a room for her in the name of his business.
And last year, while staying at Al-Faisaliah Hotel, one of Riyadh's plushest, Homoud says she was constantly annoyed by hotel staff who kept asking her why she was going upstairs. "I said, 'Don't ask a stupid question! I'm a resident of the hotel!' "
Several hotel officials said that they have seen a definite increase in unaccompanied women guests since then. Danny Naludasan, guest relations manager at Riyadh's Intercontinental Hotel, said, "From what we have observed there is a significant increase" in female guests traveling alone.
And at the Rosewood Corniche in Jeddah, "We definitely are receiving more calls and have more ladies checking in," says Shamel Droubi, director of sales and marketing. "It's notable, we can feel it."
The Rosewood Corniche made news last fall when it unveiled a "dedicated Ladies' Floor," where service is provided by an all-female staff and amenities are geared to women. Mr. Droubi says that "ladies like" the seven-room floor but he hastened to explain that "it's not about isolating males from females. It's about giving to ladies their own privacy while traveling.... It's about giving an added value."
But while women can now stay in regular hotels, the gyms and swimming pools still are just for men, or available to women only during inconvenient hours. Few have spa facilities.
That's where the Luthan beats the competition. The hotel, which opened in mid-March, is far more sumptuous than a no-frills, low-budget YWCA women's hotel. Room rates range from $93 for a studio to $260. Spa treatments, which include both beauty and healthcare, are extra – and exotic. They include collagen facials, aqua healing, Reiki, Tibetan bowls therapy, sea clay, seaweed and sea algae body wraps, and Balinese massage.
There's also a swimming pool and fitness classes in aerobics, yoga, Pilates, tae bo, and spinning.
During a recent visit, the hotel was operating at only 30 percent occupancy. But Ms. Coutinho says she expected that to rise to around 60 percent during the upcoming wedding season when brides reserve rooms for themselves and their female attendants to prepare for the big day.
Indeed, Coutinho says, the hotel grew out of a bridal banquet facility previously launched by the hotel developer, Luthan Trading Company, whose 20-member, all-female board is chaired by Princess Madawi Bint Mohammad bin Abdullah.
The few men employed by the hotel are not in direct contact with guests. Apart from heavy-lifting maintenance staff, they include a male finance controller and security guards outside.
Coutinho, who is from Goa, sees the hotel as part of global trend.
"The need for privacy within public spaces for women worldwide is increasing and we're just filling a demand that already exists," she says, noting that there are women-only hotels "all over the world, from Berlin to the US," a "pink beach" in Italy, a "ladies' special" train in India, and female-only compartments on Brazilian trains.
"Regardless of where we are in this world," she adds, "I think women are finding the need to have spaces that are dedicated to themselves."
By Caryle Murphy Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Saudi Arabia: Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide
RIYADH — The dance party in Atheer Jassem al-Othman’s living room was in full swing. The guests — about two dozen girls in their late teens — had arrived, and Ms. Othman and her mother were passing around cups of sweet tea and dishes of dates.
About half the girls were swaying and gyrating, without the slightest self-consciousness, among overstuffed sofas, heavy draperies, tables larded with figurines and ornately-covered tissue boxes. Their head-to-toe abayas, balled up and tossed onto chairs, looked like black cloth puddles.
Suddenly, the music stopped, and an 18-year-old named Alia tottered forward.
“Girls? I have something to tell you,” Alia faltered, appearing to sway slightly on her high heels.
She paused anxiously, and the next words came out in a rush. “I’ve gotten engaged!” There was a chorus of shrieks at the surprise announcement and Alia burst into tears, as did several of the other girls.
Ms. Othman’s mother smiled knowingly and left the room, leaving the girls to their moment of emotion. The group has been friends since they were of middle-school age, and Alia would be the first of them to marry.
A cellphone picture of Alia’s fiancé — a 25-year-old military man named Badr — was passed around, and the girls began pestering Alia for the details of her showfa. A showfa — literally, a “viewing” — usually occurs on the day that a Saudi girl is engaged.
A girl’s suitor, when he comes to ask her father for her hand in marriage, has the right to see her dressed without her abaya.
In some families, he may have a supervised conversation with her. Ideally, many Saudis say, her showfa will be the only time in a girl’s life that she is seen this way by a man outside her family.
The separation between the sexes in Saudi Arabia is so extreme that it is difficult to overstate.
Saudi women may not drive, and they must wear black abayas and head coverings in public at all times. They are spirited around the city in cars with tinted windows, attend girls-only schools and university departments, and eat in special “family” sections of cafes and restaurants, which are carefully partitioned from the sections used by single male diners.
Special women-only gyms, women-only boutiques and travel agencies, even a women-only shopping mall, have been established in Riyadh in recent years to serve women who did not previously have access to such places unless they were chaperoned by a male relative.
Playful as they are, girls like Ms. Othman and her friends are well aware of the limits that their conservative society places on their behavior. And, for the most part, they say that they do not seriously question those limits.
Most of the girls say their faith, in the strict interpretation of Islam espoused by the Wahhabi religious establishment here, runs very deep. They argue a bit among themselves about the details — whether it is acceptable to have men on your Facebook friend list, or whether a male first cousin should ever be able to see you without your face covered — and they peppered this reporter with questions about what the young Saudi men she had met were thinking about and talking about.
But they seem to regard the idea of having a conversation with a man before their showfas and subsequent engagements with very real horror. When they do talk about girls who chat with men online or who somehow find their own fiancés, these stories have something of the quality of urban legends about them: fuzzy in their particulars, told about friends of friends, or “someone in my sister’s class.”
Well-brought-up unmarried young women here are so isolated from boys and men that when they talk about them, it sometimes sounds as if they are discussing a different species.
Questions for the Fiancé
Later that evening, over fava bean stew, salad, and meat-filled pastries, Alia revealed that she was to be allowed to speak to her fiancé on the phone. Their first phone conversation was scheduled for the following day, she said, and she was so worried about what to say to Badr that she was compiling a list of questions.
“Ask him whether he likes his work,” one of her friends suggested. “Men are supposed to love talking about their work.”
“Ask him what kind of cellphone he has, and what kind of car,” suggested another. “That way you’ll be able to find out how he spends his money, whether he’s free with it or whether he’s stingy.”
Alia nodded earnestly, dark ringlets bouncing, and took notes. She had been so racked with nerves during her showfa that she had almost dropped the tray of juice her father had asked her to bring in to her fiancé, and she could hardly remember a thing he had said. She was to learn a bit more about him during this next conversation.
According to about 30 Saudi girls and women between ages 15 and 25, all interviewed during December, January and February, it is becoming more and more socially acceptable for young engaged women to speak to their fiancés on the phone, though more conservative families still forbid all contact between engaged couples.
It is considered embarrassing to admit to much strong feeling for a fiancé before the wedding and, before their engagements, any kind of contact with a man is out of the question. Even so, young women here sometimes resort to clandestine activities to chat with or to meet men, or simply to catch a rare glimpse into the men’s world.
Though it is as near to hand as the offices they pass each morning on the way to college, or the majlis, a traditional home reception room, where their fathers and brothers entertain friends, the men’s world is so remote from them that some Saudi girls resort to disguise in order to venture into it.
At Prince Sultan University, where Atheer Jassem al-Othman, 18, is a first-year law student, a pair of second-year students recently spent a mid-morning break between classes showing off photographs of themselves dressed as boys.
In the pictures, the girls wore thobes, the ankle-length white garments traditionally worn by Saudi men, and had covered their hair with the male headdresses called shmaghs. One of the girls had used an eyeliner pencil to give herself a grayish, stubble-like mist along her jaw line.
Displayed on the screens of the two girls’ cellphones, the photographs evoked little exclamations of congratulation as they were passed around.
“A lot of girls do it,” said an 18-year-old named Sara al-Tukhaifi who explained that a girl and her friends might cross-dress, sneaking thobes out of a brother’s closet, then challenge each other to enter the Saudi male sphere in various ways, by walking nonchalantly up to the men-only counter in a McDonalds, say, or even by driving.
“It’s just a game,” Ms. Tukhaifi said, although detention by the religious police is always a possibility. “I haven’t done it myself, but those two are really good at it. They went into a store and pretended to be looking at another girl — they even got her to turn her face away.”
Grinning, Ms. Tukhaifi mimicked the gesture, pressing her face into the corner of her hijab with exaggerated pretend modesty while her classmate Shaden giggled. Saudi newspapers often lament the rise of rebellious behavior among young Saudis. There are reports of a recent spate of ugly confrontations between youths and the religious police, and of a supposed increase in same-sex love affairs among young people frustrated at the strict division between the genders.
And certainly, practices like “numbering” — where a group of young men in a car chase another car they believe to contain young women, and try to give the women their phone number via Bluetooth, or by holding a written number up to the window — have become a very visible part of Saudi urban life.
Flirting by Phone
A woman can’t switch her phone’s Bluetooth feature on in a public place without receiving a barrage of the love poems and photos of flowers and small children which many Saudi men keep stored on their phones for purposes of flirtation. And last year, Al Arabiya television reported that some young Saudis have started buying special “electronic belts,” which use Bluetooth technology to discreetly beam the wearer’s cellphone number and e-mail address at passing members of the opposite sex.
Ms. Tukhaifi and Shaden know of girls in their college who have passionate friendships, possibly even love affairs, with other girls but they say that this, like the cross-dressing, is just a “game” born of frustration, something that will inevitably end when the girls in question become engaged. And they and their friends say that they find the experience of being chased by boys in cars to be frightening, and insist that they do not know any girl who has actually spoken to a boy who contacted her via Bluetooth.
“If your family found out you were talking to a man online, that’s not quite as bad as talking to him on the phone,” Ms. Tukhaifi explained. “With the phone, everyone can agree that is forbidden, because Islam forbids a stranger to hear your voice. Online he only sees your writing, so that’s slightly more open to interpretation.
“One test is that if you’re ashamed to tell your family something, then you know for sure it’s wrong,” Ms. Tukhaifi continued. “For a while I had Facebook friends who were boys — I didn’t e-mail with them or anything, but they asked me to 'friend' them and so I did. But then I thought about my family and I took them off the list.”
Ms. Tukhaifi and Shaden both spoke admiringly of the religious police, whom they see as the guardians of perfectly normal Saudi social values, and Shaden boasted lightly about an older brother who has become multazim, very strict in his faith, and who has been seeing to it that all her family members become more punctilious in their religious observance. “Praise be to God, he became multazim when he was in ninth grade,” Shaden recalled, fondly. “I remember how he started to grow his beard — it was so wispy when it started — and to wear a shorter thobe.”
Saudi men often grow their beards long and wear their thobes cut above the ankles as signals of their religious devotion.
“I always go to him when I have problems,” said Shaden who, like many of the young Saudi women interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition that her last name be omitted. “And he’s not too strict — he still listens to music sometimes. I asked him once, ‘You do everything right and yet you’re listening to music?’ He said, ‘I know music is haram, and inshallah, with time I will be able to stop listening to music too.’ ” Haram means forbidden, and inshallah means “God willing.”
She added, “I told him, ‘I want a husband like you.’ ”
Separated From Cousins
Shaden lives in a large walled compound in a prosperous Riyadh suburb; her father’s brothers live with their families in separate houses within the compound, and the families share a common garden and pool. Shaden and several of her male cousins grew up playing together constantly, tearing around the pool together during the summer, and enjoying shared vacations.
Now that, at 17, she is considered an adult Saudi woman and must confine herself to the female sphere, she sometimes misses their company.
“Until I was in 9th or 10th grade, we used to put a carpet on the lawn and we would take hot milk and sit there with my boy cousins,” Shaden recalled, at home one February evening, in front of the television. She was serving a few female guests a party dip of her own invention, a concoction of yogurt, mayonnaise and thyme.
“But my mom and their mom got uncomfortable with it, and so we stopped,” she said. “Now we sometimes talk on MSN, or on the phone, but they shouldn’t ever see my face.”
“My sister and I sometimes ask my mom, ‘Why didn’t you breast-feed our boy cousins, too?’ ” Shaden continued.
She was referring to a practice called milk kinship that predates Islam and is still common in the Persian Gulf countries. A woman does not have to veil herself in front of a man she nursed as an infant, and neither do her biological children. The woman’s biological children and the children she has nursed are considered “milk siblings” and are prohibited from marrying.
“If my mom had breast-fed my cousins, we could sit with them, and it would all be much easier,” Shaden said. She turned back to the stack of DVDs she had been rifling through, and held up a copy of Pride and Prejudice, the version with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, a film she says she has seen dozens of times.
“It’s a bit like our society, I think,” Shaden said of late Georgian England. “It’s dignified, and a bit strict. Doesn’t it remind you a little bit of Saudi Arabia? It’s my favorite DVD.”
Shaden sighed, deeply. “When Darcy comes to Elizabeth and says ‘I love you’ — that’s exactly the kind of love I want.”
New York Times, By KATHERINE ZOEPF
About half the girls were swaying and gyrating, without the slightest self-consciousness, among overstuffed sofas, heavy draperies, tables larded with figurines and ornately-covered tissue boxes. Their head-to-toe abayas, balled up and tossed onto chairs, looked like black cloth puddles.
Suddenly, the music stopped, and an 18-year-old named Alia tottered forward.
“Girls? I have something to tell you,” Alia faltered, appearing to sway slightly on her high heels.
She paused anxiously, and the next words came out in a rush. “I’ve gotten engaged!” There was a chorus of shrieks at the surprise announcement and Alia burst into tears, as did several of the other girls.
Ms. Othman’s mother smiled knowingly and left the room, leaving the girls to their moment of emotion. The group has been friends since they were of middle-school age, and Alia would be the first of them to marry.
A cellphone picture of Alia’s fiancé — a 25-year-old military man named Badr — was passed around, and the girls began pestering Alia for the details of her showfa. A showfa — literally, a “viewing” — usually occurs on the day that a Saudi girl is engaged.
A girl’s suitor, when he comes to ask her father for her hand in marriage, has the right to see her dressed without her abaya.
In some families, he may have a supervised conversation with her. Ideally, many Saudis say, her showfa will be the only time in a girl’s life that she is seen this way by a man outside her family.
The separation between the sexes in Saudi Arabia is so extreme that it is difficult to overstate.
Saudi women may not drive, and they must wear black abayas and head coverings in public at all times. They are spirited around the city in cars with tinted windows, attend girls-only schools and university departments, and eat in special “family” sections of cafes and restaurants, which are carefully partitioned from the sections used by single male diners.
Special women-only gyms, women-only boutiques and travel agencies, even a women-only shopping mall, have been established in Riyadh in recent years to serve women who did not previously have access to such places unless they were chaperoned by a male relative.
Playful as they are, girls like Ms. Othman and her friends are well aware of the limits that their conservative society places on their behavior. And, for the most part, they say that they do not seriously question those limits.
Most of the girls say their faith, in the strict interpretation of Islam espoused by the Wahhabi religious establishment here, runs very deep. They argue a bit among themselves about the details — whether it is acceptable to have men on your Facebook friend list, or whether a male first cousin should ever be able to see you without your face covered — and they peppered this reporter with questions about what the young Saudi men she had met were thinking about and talking about.
But they seem to regard the idea of having a conversation with a man before their showfas and subsequent engagements with very real horror. When they do talk about girls who chat with men online or who somehow find their own fiancés, these stories have something of the quality of urban legends about them: fuzzy in their particulars, told about friends of friends, or “someone in my sister’s class.”
Well-brought-up unmarried young women here are so isolated from boys and men that when they talk about them, it sometimes sounds as if they are discussing a different species.
Questions for the Fiancé
Later that evening, over fava bean stew, salad, and meat-filled pastries, Alia revealed that she was to be allowed to speak to her fiancé on the phone. Their first phone conversation was scheduled for the following day, she said, and she was so worried about what to say to Badr that she was compiling a list of questions.
“Ask him whether he likes his work,” one of her friends suggested. “Men are supposed to love talking about their work.”
“Ask him what kind of cellphone he has, and what kind of car,” suggested another. “That way you’ll be able to find out how he spends his money, whether he’s free with it or whether he’s stingy.”
Alia nodded earnestly, dark ringlets bouncing, and took notes. She had been so racked with nerves during her showfa that she had almost dropped the tray of juice her father had asked her to bring in to her fiancé, and she could hardly remember a thing he had said. She was to learn a bit more about him during this next conversation.
According to about 30 Saudi girls and women between ages 15 and 25, all interviewed during December, January and February, it is becoming more and more socially acceptable for young engaged women to speak to their fiancés on the phone, though more conservative families still forbid all contact between engaged couples.
It is considered embarrassing to admit to much strong feeling for a fiancé before the wedding and, before their engagements, any kind of contact with a man is out of the question. Even so, young women here sometimes resort to clandestine activities to chat with or to meet men, or simply to catch a rare glimpse into the men’s world.
Though it is as near to hand as the offices they pass each morning on the way to college, or the majlis, a traditional home reception room, where their fathers and brothers entertain friends, the men’s world is so remote from them that some Saudi girls resort to disguise in order to venture into it.
At Prince Sultan University, where Atheer Jassem al-Othman, 18, is a first-year law student, a pair of second-year students recently spent a mid-morning break between classes showing off photographs of themselves dressed as boys.
In the pictures, the girls wore thobes, the ankle-length white garments traditionally worn by Saudi men, and had covered their hair with the male headdresses called shmaghs. One of the girls had used an eyeliner pencil to give herself a grayish, stubble-like mist along her jaw line.
Displayed on the screens of the two girls’ cellphones, the photographs evoked little exclamations of congratulation as they were passed around.
“A lot of girls do it,” said an 18-year-old named Sara al-Tukhaifi who explained that a girl and her friends might cross-dress, sneaking thobes out of a brother’s closet, then challenge each other to enter the Saudi male sphere in various ways, by walking nonchalantly up to the men-only counter in a McDonalds, say, or even by driving.
“It’s just a game,” Ms. Tukhaifi said, although detention by the religious police is always a possibility. “I haven’t done it myself, but those two are really good at it. They went into a store and pretended to be looking at another girl — they even got her to turn her face away.”
Grinning, Ms. Tukhaifi mimicked the gesture, pressing her face into the corner of her hijab with exaggerated pretend modesty while her classmate Shaden giggled. Saudi newspapers often lament the rise of rebellious behavior among young Saudis. There are reports of a recent spate of ugly confrontations between youths and the religious police, and of a supposed increase in same-sex love affairs among young people frustrated at the strict division between the genders.
And certainly, practices like “numbering” — where a group of young men in a car chase another car they believe to contain young women, and try to give the women their phone number via Bluetooth, or by holding a written number up to the window — have become a very visible part of Saudi urban life.
Flirting by Phone
A woman can’t switch her phone’s Bluetooth feature on in a public place without receiving a barrage of the love poems and photos of flowers and small children which many Saudi men keep stored on their phones for purposes of flirtation. And last year, Al Arabiya television reported that some young Saudis have started buying special “electronic belts,” which use Bluetooth technology to discreetly beam the wearer’s cellphone number and e-mail address at passing members of the opposite sex.
Ms. Tukhaifi and Shaden know of girls in their college who have passionate friendships, possibly even love affairs, with other girls but they say that this, like the cross-dressing, is just a “game” born of frustration, something that will inevitably end when the girls in question become engaged. And they and their friends say that they find the experience of being chased by boys in cars to be frightening, and insist that they do not know any girl who has actually spoken to a boy who contacted her via Bluetooth.
“If your family found out you were talking to a man online, that’s not quite as bad as talking to him on the phone,” Ms. Tukhaifi explained. “With the phone, everyone can agree that is forbidden, because Islam forbids a stranger to hear your voice. Online he only sees your writing, so that’s slightly more open to interpretation.
“One test is that if you’re ashamed to tell your family something, then you know for sure it’s wrong,” Ms. Tukhaifi continued. “For a while I had Facebook friends who were boys — I didn’t e-mail with them or anything, but they asked me to 'friend' them and so I did. But then I thought about my family and I took them off the list.”
Ms. Tukhaifi and Shaden both spoke admiringly of the religious police, whom they see as the guardians of perfectly normal Saudi social values, and Shaden boasted lightly about an older brother who has become multazim, very strict in his faith, and who has been seeing to it that all her family members become more punctilious in their religious observance. “Praise be to God, he became multazim when he was in ninth grade,” Shaden recalled, fondly. “I remember how he started to grow his beard — it was so wispy when it started — and to wear a shorter thobe.”
Saudi men often grow their beards long and wear their thobes cut above the ankles as signals of their religious devotion.
“I always go to him when I have problems,” said Shaden who, like many of the young Saudi women interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition that her last name be omitted. “And he’s not too strict — he still listens to music sometimes. I asked him once, ‘You do everything right and yet you’re listening to music?’ He said, ‘I know music is haram, and inshallah, with time I will be able to stop listening to music too.’ ” Haram means forbidden, and inshallah means “God willing.”
She added, “I told him, ‘I want a husband like you.’ ”
Separated From Cousins
Shaden lives in a large walled compound in a prosperous Riyadh suburb; her father’s brothers live with their families in separate houses within the compound, and the families share a common garden and pool. Shaden and several of her male cousins grew up playing together constantly, tearing around the pool together during the summer, and enjoying shared vacations.
Now that, at 17, she is considered an adult Saudi woman and must confine herself to the female sphere, she sometimes misses their company.
“Until I was in 9th or 10th grade, we used to put a carpet on the lawn and we would take hot milk and sit there with my boy cousins,” Shaden recalled, at home one February evening, in front of the television. She was serving a few female guests a party dip of her own invention, a concoction of yogurt, mayonnaise and thyme.
“But my mom and their mom got uncomfortable with it, and so we stopped,” she said. “Now we sometimes talk on MSN, or on the phone, but they shouldn’t ever see my face.”
“My sister and I sometimes ask my mom, ‘Why didn’t you breast-feed our boy cousins, too?’ ” Shaden continued.
She was referring to a practice called milk kinship that predates Islam and is still common in the Persian Gulf countries. A woman does not have to veil herself in front of a man she nursed as an infant, and neither do her biological children. The woman’s biological children and the children she has nursed are considered “milk siblings” and are prohibited from marrying.
“If my mom had breast-fed my cousins, we could sit with them, and it would all be much easier,” Shaden said. She turned back to the stack of DVDs she had been rifling through, and held up a copy of Pride and Prejudice, the version with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, a film she says she has seen dozens of times.
“It’s a bit like our society, I think,” Shaden said of late Georgian England. “It’s dignified, and a bit strict. Doesn’t it remind you a little bit of Saudi Arabia? It’s my favorite DVD.”
Shaden sighed, deeply. “When Darcy comes to Elizabeth and says ‘I love you’ — that’s exactly the kind of love I want.”
New York Times, By KATHERINE ZOEPF
Friday, May 9, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Acquiring Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia: Between Gradualism and Haste
Riyadh -- During the relatively historic National Experts Meeting on Domestic Violence held at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh, a glass shield was installed to separate the male and female sides of the audience.
The meeting was historic because it was the first of its type to openly address domestic violence, including sexual violence against women, and because the program to eliminate domestic violence was established by royal decree. Were it not for political will, such a program would have never seen the light, and neither males nor females would have met under the same roof with nothing separating between them but a low wall of glass, an accomplishment by all means in the long and difficult path to openness and breaking the walls of gender segregation!
Desegregation in hospitals between male and female doctors is permissible, as female autopsy teachers and students from the opposite sex revealed. But those female doctors and professors participating in such a progressive convention have almost rejoiced at the glass shield, as they compare it to the separate closed rooms where members of the two sexes could only convene through low-quality video screens during regular seminars.
Ultimately, the status of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains different in contrast to the status of women in the rest of the world, including Arab women in several Arab countries. However, the developments in the Kingdom are stimulating evident curiosity among Western media, which constantly perceives the Saudi woman's path as a barometer indicating whether change will be short-lived or will be institutionalized, as women and human rights organizations wish.
Coincidentally and in parallel with the two-day meeting on domestic violence, the "Scientific Seminar on the History of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz" convened at the Intercontinental Hotel along with an exhibition on the late King organized by Al-Faisal family and descendants of both sexes. The memorial photograph included only sons and grandsons though the seminar and the documents clearly indicated that King Faisal and Queen Effat have raised in tandem the banner of educating girls and establishing the model school for mixed education.
Today, Princess Loulwa bint Faisal chairs the Dar al-Hanan School and the Effat College board of trustees. She co-chairs with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, the World Economic Forum's C-100. The chairpersonship was assigned to Princess Loulwa who was nominated by her brother Prince Turki al-Faisal, in a move approved by King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz and perceived as a symbolic precedent with significant implications.
Princess Effat's upraising in Ataturk's Turkey where she was born before returning to the Kingdom at the age of 16 (she is of Saudi origin from Al-Thunayyan family) may have had an impact on King Faisal's perceptions of the education of girls and desegregation in secondary schools even though Islamic education enjoyed a much higher position among the King's priorities. The relationship between the two was based on respect and openness and was translated into the desire to entrench these two values in society.
Several factors obstructed this desire. These factors were the subject of debate, as the participants in the meeting discussed the background, causes, and elements behind the declining respect for women's fundamental rights and the hindered openness to religious regulations and legislations that offer women basic protection against the violations of men who have used religious traditions to achieve selfish goals.
A part of the women who belong to the openness-to-education generation under King Faisal and who later became degree-holding professionals is angry. These women are angry at the "step-by-step" gradual approach to acquiring self-evident rights of women. They are also angry at the "delight" of their comrades with the separating glass shield. Another part insists that the Saudi environment can only tolerate a gradual approach to attaining women's rights patiently and diligently, away from the media, and yes…celebrating the glass shield because, as one participant put it, "at least we now breathe the same air."
One of the women upset with the slow gradual approach says, "So many decisions and initiatives have been made, only to die in the crib because of the absence of administrative institutions. Institutionalism does not exist. Everyone behaves according to his cultural, tribal or regional nature and background." She adds that what practically happens is "one step forward and ten backward." Hence, "gradual change is not successful; we need a set of laws and a system to protect us."
According to this opinion, "no progress in science, education and health can be achieved without desegregation. Isolation is tantamount to backwardness and will persist even if the segregating wall is made of glass." This view admits that "something new is happening and there is change, namely the state's policy to improve the status of women." Those who embrace this view, however, speak of the control exercised by the clergy over the decisions issued or to be issued by the state. They refer in particular to the tradition of guardianship.
Dr. Asia Al-Ruwaf, who has been standing next to men inside the surgery room for 27 years and established a ward for pediatric surgery, blames the religious tide which started in 1979 with the Khomeini revolution in Iran and left direct marks on the progress of women everywhere. She says, "The problem lies in customs not in religion or law." She points out to "the divide in the religious voice between the hardliners and the moderates who are closer to the reformist movement." She sums up the situation as follows: "The politicians side with women, the clergy are divided, and the public still side with the hard-line religious current."
According to news from Riyadh reported in Al-Hayat this week, dwellers of Saudi mosques will notice new expressions such as "human rights" uttered by preachers during Friday prayers, "as the Ministry of Islamic Affairs vowed to mobilize its imams and preachers to spread awareness about human rights as part of a new partnership with the official rights entity." The task will cover this time the rights of children, girls, wives and servants.
According to the international definition of human rights, the concept of guardianship, like gender segregation, opposes the fundamental human rights. The Saudi woman is subjected to these practices because traditions - not religion or laws - require that she demand permission from her father, brother, husband, or son, even when she is in need of urgent healthcare, not just in matters of travel, education, work, and marriage. In confronting domestic violence, a woman has to practically seek her husband's permission to file a complaint against him.
None of this is the result of enacted laws but rather, the result of the lack of legislation that bars these violations and practices. This is exactly what the Saudi woman is gradually breaking down to eliminate the discrimination against her and to develop herself into a member of society that deserves respect and protective laws prohibiting such humiliating practices. Hence, women themselves are not divided over the need for change.
Yet, they disagree over the pace of change. In the eyes of some women, the participation of businesswomen in the official delegation that accompanies King Abdullah on official visits represents an unprecedented move that highlights the significant official support for women and proves King Abdullah's determination to support women in the path of change.
The advocates of gradual change believe that hasty change could be counterproductive, whereas gradual change offers more guarantees for women's rights. They speak of the importance of raising awareness among men and women alike. They say that there is no need to clash with the opposition, since the path is paved for change. As such, there is no need to rush things and end with a confrontation.
One woman underlines the importance of focusing on women's needs to have these needs met calmly and given the necessary care instead of being turned into a matter of rhetoric. The Breast Cancer Association, for example, established by Dr. Suad bin Amer and now headed by Princess Haifa al-Faisal, is a leading association in the region specialized in raising awareness, assisting female patients and setting up testing centers for women.
Led by its Secretary General Princess Moudi bint Khalid bin Abdul Aziz, Al-Nahda Association currently deals with girl unemployment and women empowerment as a means to help women retrieve the economic value they once enjoyed before the oil boom.
In turn, the executive officer of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP), Dr. Maha bint Abdullah al-Munif, concluded the National Experts Meeting on Domestic Violence by reading 22 recommendations reached by the male and female participants, including judges, police officers, lawyers, and psychiatrists. The first recommendation was the recognition of domestic violence cases in the Kingdom in such a magnitude that draws concern and demands immediate intervention to confront and prevent such practices.
Recognizing and speaking openly about these phenomena is in itself a matter of change. However, the recommendations demand actions and not mere recognition and admission. Efforts must be exerted to incriminate all kinds of domestic violence harmful to the victim or her family, and to impose reinforcing and deterring penalties against the perpetrator.
There is talk about compulsory reporting of assaults, protection to informants, and punishment of perpetrators. There is talk about the need to set up administrations that prevent and counter domestic violence, administrations that would promote cooperation within all concerned ministries and official institutions thanks to efficient mechanisms. Next year's plan of action will also focus on training and rehabilitating professionals engaged in domestic violence cases and on obliging workers in security entities to receive complaints. There are also recommendations to publish a Sharia'a-compliant log of personal status in the Kingdom to limit domestic violence. The recommendations also demand the activation of family courts to rule on cases of domestic violence.
This is not the first time that the issue of violence against women, children and the elderly is discussed in the Arab region. However, this is the first time that men and women speak out in Saudi Arabia about these matters. Princess Adila, King Abdullah's daughter who sponsors the program says, "We are benefiting from the Arab and western experiences because they have achieved far more progress than us." She specifically refers to Jordan, Yemen and Tunisia, where Arab expertise are of help. She adds that several steps are being taken in different areas, from public affairs to economics, to test the Saudi woman's qualification and responsibility as a new partner in national development. Half the population, about 49%, is female. Half the population, she adds, is under 15 years of age, and society cannot move forward by relying on one half.
Be it slow or fast, this process is part of the change underway in the Kingdom. Women are now part of change as a result of a serious political decision, a fact that must be acknowledged and encouraged. Incorporating the talk about human rights into religious preaching is commendable.
However, the slow pace remains an enemy threatening the path of change, as it leaves it vulnerable to the forces that resisted and continues to resist this kind of change.
The best deterrent that offers protection for gradual change lies in the quick enactment of laws. It is also the best deterrent against those who mistakenly think that traditions offer them permanent immunity and impunity. Let the removal of the glass shield be gradual one step at a time, but let it be accompanied by a quicker enactment of laws and lying of institutional foundations.
Raghida Dergham, Al-Hayat
The meeting was historic because it was the first of its type to openly address domestic violence, including sexual violence against women, and because the program to eliminate domestic violence was established by royal decree. Were it not for political will, such a program would have never seen the light, and neither males nor females would have met under the same roof with nothing separating between them but a low wall of glass, an accomplishment by all means in the long and difficult path to openness and breaking the walls of gender segregation!
Desegregation in hospitals between male and female doctors is permissible, as female autopsy teachers and students from the opposite sex revealed. But those female doctors and professors participating in such a progressive convention have almost rejoiced at the glass shield, as they compare it to the separate closed rooms where members of the two sexes could only convene through low-quality video screens during regular seminars.
Ultimately, the status of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains different in contrast to the status of women in the rest of the world, including Arab women in several Arab countries. However, the developments in the Kingdom are stimulating evident curiosity among Western media, which constantly perceives the Saudi woman's path as a barometer indicating whether change will be short-lived or will be institutionalized, as women and human rights organizations wish.
Coincidentally and in parallel with the two-day meeting on domestic violence, the "Scientific Seminar on the History of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz" convened at the Intercontinental Hotel along with an exhibition on the late King organized by Al-Faisal family and descendants of both sexes. The memorial photograph included only sons and grandsons though the seminar and the documents clearly indicated that King Faisal and Queen Effat have raised in tandem the banner of educating girls and establishing the model school for mixed education.
Today, Princess Loulwa bint Faisal chairs the Dar al-Hanan School and the Effat College board of trustees. She co-chairs with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, the World Economic Forum's C-100. The chairpersonship was assigned to Princess Loulwa who was nominated by her brother Prince Turki al-Faisal, in a move approved by King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz and perceived as a symbolic precedent with significant implications.
Princess Effat's upraising in Ataturk's Turkey where she was born before returning to the Kingdom at the age of 16 (she is of Saudi origin from Al-Thunayyan family) may have had an impact on King Faisal's perceptions of the education of girls and desegregation in secondary schools even though Islamic education enjoyed a much higher position among the King's priorities. The relationship between the two was based on respect and openness and was translated into the desire to entrench these two values in society.
Several factors obstructed this desire. These factors were the subject of debate, as the participants in the meeting discussed the background, causes, and elements behind the declining respect for women's fundamental rights and the hindered openness to religious regulations and legislations that offer women basic protection against the violations of men who have used religious traditions to achieve selfish goals.
A part of the women who belong to the openness-to-education generation under King Faisal and who later became degree-holding professionals is angry. These women are angry at the "step-by-step" gradual approach to acquiring self-evident rights of women. They are also angry at the "delight" of their comrades with the separating glass shield. Another part insists that the Saudi environment can only tolerate a gradual approach to attaining women's rights patiently and diligently, away from the media, and yes…celebrating the glass shield because, as one participant put it, "at least we now breathe the same air."
One of the women upset with the slow gradual approach says, "So many decisions and initiatives have been made, only to die in the crib because of the absence of administrative institutions. Institutionalism does not exist. Everyone behaves according to his cultural, tribal or regional nature and background." She adds that what practically happens is "one step forward and ten backward." Hence, "gradual change is not successful; we need a set of laws and a system to protect us."
According to this opinion, "no progress in science, education and health can be achieved without desegregation. Isolation is tantamount to backwardness and will persist even if the segregating wall is made of glass." This view admits that "something new is happening and there is change, namely the state's policy to improve the status of women." Those who embrace this view, however, speak of the control exercised by the clergy over the decisions issued or to be issued by the state. They refer in particular to the tradition of guardianship.
Dr. Asia Al-Ruwaf, who has been standing next to men inside the surgery room for 27 years and established a ward for pediatric surgery, blames the religious tide which started in 1979 with the Khomeini revolution in Iran and left direct marks on the progress of women everywhere. She says, "The problem lies in customs not in religion or law." She points out to "the divide in the religious voice between the hardliners and the moderates who are closer to the reformist movement." She sums up the situation as follows: "The politicians side with women, the clergy are divided, and the public still side with the hard-line religious current."
According to news from Riyadh reported in Al-Hayat this week, dwellers of Saudi mosques will notice new expressions such as "human rights" uttered by preachers during Friday prayers, "as the Ministry of Islamic Affairs vowed to mobilize its imams and preachers to spread awareness about human rights as part of a new partnership with the official rights entity." The task will cover this time the rights of children, girls, wives and servants.
According to the international definition of human rights, the concept of guardianship, like gender segregation, opposes the fundamental human rights. The Saudi woman is subjected to these practices because traditions - not religion or laws - require that she demand permission from her father, brother, husband, or son, even when she is in need of urgent healthcare, not just in matters of travel, education, work, and marriage. In confronting domestic violence, a woman has to practically seek her husband's permission to file a complaint against him.
None of this is the result of enacted laws but rather, the result of the lack of legislation that bars these violations and practices. This is exactly what the Saudi woman is gradually breaking down to eliminate the discrimination against her and to develop herself into a member of society that deserves respect and protective laws prohibiting such humiliating practices. Hence, women themselves are not divided over the need for change.
Yet, they disagree over the pace of change. In the eyes of some women, the participation of businesswomen in the official delegation that accompanies King Abdullah on official visits represents an unprecedented move that highlights the significant official support for women and proves King Abdullah's determination to support women in the path of change.
The advocates of gradual change believe that hasty change could be counterproductive, whereas gradual change offers more guarantees for women's rights. They speak of the importance of raising awareness among men and women alike. They say that there is no need to clash with the opposition, since the path is paved for change. As such, there is no need to rush things and end with a confrontation.
One woman underlines the importance of focusing on women's needs to have these needs met calmly and given the necessary care instead of being turned into a matter of rhetoric. The Breast Cancer Association, for example, established by Dr. Suad bin Amer and now headed by Princess Haifa al-Faisal, is a leading association in the region specialized in raising awareness, assisting female patients and setting up testing centers for women.
Led by its Secretary General Princess Moudi bint Khalid bin Abdul Aziz, Al-Nahda Association currently deals with girl unemployment and women empowerment as a means to help women retrieve the economic value they once enjoyed before the oil boom.
In turn, the executive officer of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP), Dr. Maha bint Abdullah al-Munif, concluded the National Experts Meeting on Domestic Violence by reading 22 recommendations reached by the male and female participants, including judges, police officers, lawyers, and psychiatrists. The first recommendation was the recognition of domestic violence cases in the Kingdom in such a magnitude that draws concern and demands immediate intervention to confront and prevent such practices.
Recognizing and speaking openly about these phenomena is in itself a matter of change. However, the recommendations demand actions and not mere recognition and admission. Efforts must be exerted to incriminate all kinds of domestic violence harmful to the victim or her family, and to impose reinforcing and deterring penalties against the perpetrator.
There is talk about compulsory reporting of assaults, protection to informants, and punishment of perpetrators. There is talk about the need to set up administrations that prevent and counter domestic violence, administrations that would promote cooperation within all concerned ministries and official institutions thanks to efficient mechanisms. Next year's plan of action will also focus on training and rehabilitating professionals engaged in domestic violence cases and on obliging workers in security entities to receive complaints. There are also recommendations to publish a Sharia'a-compliant log of personal status in the Kingdom to limit domestic violence. The recommendations also demand the activation of family courts to rule on cases of domestic violence.
This is not the first time that the issue of violence against women, children and the elderly is discussed in the Arab region. However, this is the first time that men and women speak out in Saudi Arabia about these matters. Princess Adila, King Abdullah's daughter who sponsors the program says, "We are benefiting from the Arab and western experiences because they have achieved far more progress than us." She specifically refers to Jordan, Yemen and Tunisia, where Arab expertise are of help. She adds that several steps are being taken in different areas, from public affairs to economics, to test the Saudi woman's qualification and responsibility as a new partner in national development. Half the population, about 49%, is female. Half the population, she adds, is under 15 years of age, and society cannot move forward by relying on one half.
Be it slow or fast, this process is part of the change underway in the Kingdom. Women are now part of change as a result of a serious political decision, a fact that must be acknowledged and encouraged. Incorporating the talk about human rights into religious preaching is commendable.
However, the slow pace remains an enemy threatening the path of change, as it leaves it vulnerable to the forces that resisted and continues to resist this kind of change.
The best deterrent that offers protection for gradual change lies in the quick enactment of laws. It is also the best deterrent against those who mistakenly think that traditions offer them permanent immunity and impunity. Let the removal of the glass shield be gradual one step at a time, but let it be accompanied by a quicker enactment of laws and lying of institutional foundations.
Raghida Dergham, Al-Hayat
Monday, May 5, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Economic fears move Saudi women into jobs
RIYADH - Economic necessity is forcing hardline clerics and conservative society in Saudi Arabia to accept the idea of women in the workplace, a government official said in an interview this weekend.
Faisal bin Muammar, head of a body promoting 'national dialogue', said high unemployment among Saudis and the reliance upon 7 million foreign workers was forcing the hand of opponents to women working in the desert country of 24 million people.
The debate -- as demonstrated at a major forum last month of clerics, ministers and businesswomen -- has now moved to whether women can work in the same office space as men, or if firms must provide segregated areas to allow women to work.
'Most agreed to open a wide arena for women to get jobs, since girls now graduate more than boys from universities. We cannot go on having 7 million foreigners and our graduate women in their houses,' bin Muammar told Reuters.
'But how to establish it (is the issue), whether it is in separate or mixed places ... We need to make rules for it, which clerics, families and social leaders need.'
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative countries in the world, where social values and a powerful clerical establishment impose male guardians on women, segregate them from unrelated men in public areas and ban them from driving.
Liberal reformers in government, such as Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi, have sounded alarm bells about living with unemployment, which is officially estimated at 12 percent but is much higher for women, while millions of foreign workers could one day demand national rights.
Social resistance
Segregation is costing the country money. Thousands of expatriates are employed as drivers for women because of the ban on driving cars.
Women at the national dialogue meeting last month -- speaking from a separate room so they could be heard but not seen -- said firms would have to provide extras such as special transport for them to get to work, given social rules.
One cleric, Justice Ministry adviser Abdel-Mohsen al-Obaikan, provoked controversy when al-Hayat newspaper quoted him saying there was no sharia ban on women 'mixing' with men.
He then issued a denial, signalling how sensitive the topic remains in a country that has long been a close U.S. ally and the world's top exporter of oil.
King Abdullah's policy of promoting moderation in Saudi Arabia's version of Sunni Islam has helped mend ties with Washington, damaged after it emerged that 15 Saudis were among the 19 men who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001.
The King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue was set up by King Abdullah in 2003 when he was crown prince.
'There is a big programme to moderate the country ... It is not because we want to gain other's satisfaction,' bin Muammar said. 'Saudi Arabia is unique in that since unification most development and changes have been initiated by government and society is sometimes resisting changes.'
Saudi Arabia has no political parties or elected parliament. Governance is the prerogative of the Al Saud family and their rule is legitimised by the clerics who administer sharia law.
-- Reuters
Faisal bin Muammar, head of a body promoting 'national dialogue', said high unemployment among Saudis and the reliance upon 7 million foreign workers was forcing the hand of opponents to women working in the desert country of 24 million people.
The debate -- as demonstrated at a major forum last month of clerics, ministers and businesswomen -- has now moved to whether women can work in the same office space as men, or if firms must provide segregated areas to allow women to work.
'Most agreed to open a wide arena for women to get jobs, since girls now graduate more than boys from universities. We cannot go on having 7 million foreigners and our graduate women in their houses,' bin Muammar told Reuters.
'But how to establish it (is the issue), whether it is in separate or mixed places ... We need to make rules for it, which clerics, families and social leaders need.'
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative countries in the world, where social values and a powerful clerical establishment impose male guardians on women, segregate them from unrelated men in public areas and ban them from driving.
Liberal reformers in government, such as Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi, have sounded alarm bells about living with unemployment, which is officially estimated at 12 percent but is much higher for women, while millions of foreign workers could one day demand national rights.
Social resistance
Segregation is costing the country money. Thousands of expatriates are employed as drivers for women because of the ban on driving cars.
Women at the national dialogue meeting last month -- speaking from a separate room so they could be heard but not seen -- said firms would have to provide extras such as special transport for them to get to work, given social rules.
One cleric, Justice Ministry adviser Abdel-Mohsen al-Obaikan, provoked controversy when al-Hayat newspaper quoted him saying there was no sharia ban on women 'mixing' with men.
He then issued a denial, signalling how sensitive the topic remains in a country that has long been a close U.S. ally and the world's top exporter of oil.
King Abdullah's policy of promoting moderation in Saudi Arabia's version of Sunni Islam has helped mend ties with Washington, damaged after it emerged that 15 Saudis were among the 19 men who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001.
The King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue was set up by King Abdullah in 2003 when he was crown prince.
'There is a big programme to moderate the country ... It is not because we want to gain other's satisfaction,' bin Muammar said. 'Saudi Arabia is unique in that since unification most development and changes have been initiated by government and society is sometimes resisting changes.'
Saudi Arabia has no political parties or elected parliament. Governance is the prerogative of the Al Saud family and their rule is legitimised by the clerics who administer sharia law.
-- Reuters
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