The judicial system has often been criticized at home and abroad for its failure to administer justice, largely due to inadequate legal procedures, red tape and rigid interpretation of Shariah law by some of the appointed judges.
Many legal experts have pointed out that the problem with the current system is both qualitative and quantitative. Courts are overburdened, and there is an acute shortage of judges; therefore, courts may take years to rule on simple cases of divorce or family disputes. Furthermore, bureaucracy and red tape create further delays.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced a major project to reform the judicial system, and SR7 billion has been allocated to upgrade courts and to train judges in an attempt to reform the entire judiciary. Planned changes include establishing special criminal courts and family courts along with courts for issues related to traffic, the economy, business and sports.
The Ministry of Justice has defined the new jobs that will be available with the start of the specialized courts this year. The ministry will also provide legal training to guarantee more qualified judges and lawyers.
However, Muslim scholars believe that more drastic measures need to be taken to achieve successful reforms.
“To reform the judiciary, we need to reform the Shariah colleges first and upgrade the level of these institutions,” said Dr. Tarek Al-Suwaidan, a prominent Muslim scholar. “There should be a more advanced curriculum, and the teaching standards should be enhanced.”
The reason behind the poor quality of education in these very important institutions is the poor academic standard of their students. The students who enroll in these colleges are the ones who graduate from school with poor or average grades; therefore, they are not usually the brightest. Furthermore, their studies are mostly confined to subjects related to Islamic jurisprudence.
Al-Suwaidan urged the creation of well-rounded Muslim scholars and judges familiar with international law and educated on aspects of modern-day needs and concerns. Students who join Shariah colleges should have a bachelor’s degree in business, law or other specialized fields to make them more knowledgeable and guarantee a higher standard of qualification. Shariah law graduates should be well-versed in current commercial laws and be familiar with cyberspace crime, copyright violations or labor issues.
The inadequacy of current judges and their narrow breadth of knowledge have created many grievances and denied both nationals and expatriates their right to fair trials and legal representation in the Kingdom.
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke more than 1,400 years ago, he tailored his words to the people of that time and addressed the issues of those days in terms understandable to much simpler people in much simpler times. In a world made smaller by transportation and telecommunications networks and a world of great cities and global commerce, it is incumbent upon the keepers of Shariah law to ensure the relevance of its interpretation in the daily lives of the millions of adherents to Islam today.
For judges to ignore such advancements either through ignorance or tunnel vision is to jeopardize the relevance of Shariah law in a modern world — an attitude that draws the derision of the world when a young rape victim, already sentenced to prison and corporal punishment, has her sentence increased because she spoke to a newspaper. What message is sent to the people of this Kingdom and the world, for that matter, when a gang of rapists gets sentences of a few years because of “mitigating” circumstances?
The Qatif rape case received public and international condemnation, and there was strong public pressure demanding her acquittal. However, the Saudi judiciary refused to alter its sentence until Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah finally intervened to save the poor victim from the brutal sentence.
What do we tell our own people or the world, for that matter, about how we value the rights of women when her brothers can order her divorce because they don’t approve of the husband their late father chose? The brothers’ contention was that she had shamed her tribe, but we as a people should be ashamed of a legal system where such a case could be initiated, where a family could be broken up and a mother and her children could be forced to live in a shelter. We should support our leaders in their efforts to reform such a system.
How can we take pride in a system that denies a mother’s petitions to gain custody of a child from her abusive husband that becomes moot after the man beats his child to death?
The National Society for Human Rights recently published a report that strongly criticized the judicial system for failing to serve justice. The report outlined many human rights violations, among them rampant discrimination against women, essentially sanctioning domestic violence, awful conditions in Saudi prisons, and the maltreatment of non-Saudis in the Kingdom. The report also railed against the actions of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in its dealings with law-abiding citizens.
“We need to establish civic courts administered by judges who have graduated from law colleges with degrees obtained from abroad,” said Kamel Ahmad Al-Shamsi, a Saudi legal expert. “We need to use the expertise of other, more advanced Arab countries in civic law and sign contracts with cadres who can serve as consultants and judges.”
It is unfortunate that these views are not shared by many of the Saudi judges who insist that students should learn through apprenticeships and with scholars who can trace their learning to Islam’s roots — not from qualified law professors. This is the reason behind the lack of a globally accepted qualification of a Shariah scholar and the absence of globally accepted standards for Shariah rules. Shariah rules continue to be subject to different interpretations from different Muslim scholars who are reluctant to codify Shariah laws, and there is a lack of consensus on many issues that are of major concern to Muslims today.
Some Shariah experts say it may take more than a decade to train more scholars, and even the optimistic ones do not expect a new generation of qualified scholars for at least five years. However, Muslim scholars cannot afford to lag behind and miss the global opportunities for progress and development, they must contribute toward the advancement of their societies. Any misstep could lead our people back to an impoverished past instead of a prosperous future.
The rest of the world will not stop and give us a decade to figure it out. Our indecision and acquiescence on such matters just improve the chances for other nations to better the lives of their people at our expense.
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, one of the most respected Shariah scholars, recently told reporters that it is essential to train more scholars for Islamic bank supervision to keep up with the global demand. He said: “There are roughly 50 to 60 scholars in the world qualified to advise banks on Islamic law, and as many as ten times more are required to serve in the Middle East alone.” The London-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants said: “The rapid growth of Islamic banking had fueled a need for Muslim financial experts. However, scholars must be experts in Islamic law and Islamic banking and, at the same time, have a thorough knowledge of conventional laws and banking systems, which requires a high standard of English.”
Reforming the legal system and training more judges will not be easy; however, it should continue to be a government priority. It is essential for our scholars to be globally connected with the needs and concerns of the international Muslim community. The codification of the Shariah law is, therefore, necessary. Moreover, it is essential not only to outline the rights and duties of citizens and expatriates alike but also to define the responsibilities and limits of all religious officials.
No one should be above the law — not judges, not members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, not the wealthy, not religious scholars. Our country will prosper only when our citizens and our guest workers are guaranteed the protection of the law. Future generations will be able to contribute and compete with the rest of the world only if they are assured the implementation of justice for all — and all can only mean everybody.
— Samar Fatany is a Saudi radio journalist. She can be reached at samarfatany@hotmail.com.
Arab News
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Decision allowing women to stay alone in hotels draws mixed reaction
Riyadh: The recent decision by Saudi authorities to allow women to stay alone in hotels is facing strong opposition from conservatives. On the other hand, many, particularly businesswomen and human rights activist, are welcoming the decision.
The decision allows women in the kingdom to stay in a hotel or a furnished apartment without a male guardian. Earlier Saudi women were not allowed to stay in hotels unless they have a male relative or guardian with them. “Earlier, Saudi women faced numerous difficulties when circumstances force them to stay in a hotel alone,” said Abeer, an employee in a health institution.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry sent a circular to hotels asking them to accept women even if they are alone provided all the information is immediately sent to the nearest police station.
By Mariam Al Hakeem
The decision allows women in the kingdom to stay in a hotel or a furnished apartment without a male guardian. Earlier Saudi women were not allowed to stay in hotels unless they have a male relative or guardian with them. “Earlier, Saudi women faced numerous difficulties when circumstances force them to stay in a hotel alone,” said Abeer, an employee in a health institution.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry sent a circular to hotels asking them to accept women even if they are alone provided all the information is immediately sent to the nearest police station.
By Mariam Al Hakeem
Saudi Arabia: Women See a Brighter Road on Rights
By Faiza Saleh Ambah
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, January 31, 2008; Page A15
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 30 -- Buoyed by recent advances in women's rights, advocates for the right of women to drive in Saudi Arabia -- the only country in the world that prohibits female drivers -- say they believe the ban will be lifted this year.
The women's group has collected more than 3,000 signatures in the past five months and hopes that King Abdullah will issue a royal decree giving women the right to drive.
Since taking the throne in 2005, Abdullah has championed women's right to work and often takes official trips overseas with delegations of female journalists and academics. The king has said that he does not oppose allowing women to drive but that society needs to accept the idea first.
"I think the authorities want people to get used to the idea and will lift the ban before the end of the year," said Wajeha al-Huwaider, 45, an educational analyst and co-founder of the group.
The group, which sent the king petitions in September and December asking him to lift the ban, is working on a third. "Every time we gather 1,000 signatures, we will send them," Huwaider said.
She and co-founder Fouzia al-Ayouni said they were encouraged by the recent easing of certain strictures on women and statements from senior officials saying the driving ban is more social than religious or political.
In November, the foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, told Britain's Channel 4 news that there was no Saudi law prohibiting women from driving.
"Myself, I think they should drive," he said, but added: "For us, it is not a political issue, it is a social issue. We believe that this is something for the families to decide, for the people to decide, and not to be forced by the government, either to drive or not to drive."
Saudi Arabia follows a strict form of Islamic law that does not allow women self-guardianship, mandating a male guardian for women of all ages. A woman cannot travel, appear in court, marry or work without permission from a male guardian, sometimes her own son.
Until recently, women were also barred from checking into hotels and renting apartments unless they were with a male guardian. But a royal decree announced this month now allows women to stay in hotels and furnished apartments unaccompanied.
The newspaper Al-Watan reported last week that a circular has been issued to hotels asking them to accept women who show identification. The hotel is then required to register the women's details with the police.
But in this deeply religious and patriarchal society, many believe that allowing women the right to drive could lead to Western-style openness and an erosion of traditional values.
Many women complain that driving is a necessity and argue that not everyone can afford to hire foreign drivers, whose salaries range from $300 to $600 a month, plus room and board. Live-in chauffeurs, often from the Philippines or the Indian subcontinent, are considered unlikely to develop relationships with the women.
Several times a week, Haifa Osra, 31, one of the first members of the group, walks 10 minutes from her apartment to an Internet cafe to sort through the details of the women who have signed the latest petition.
This week, she approached four women at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and asked them to add their names.
Haifa Khashoggi, 48, a homemaker, agreed that women should be allowed to drive, "but with conditions."
The other women concurred, saying that initially only women older than a certain age should drive, and not at all hours.
"It's safer and more Islamic for me to drive myself than to sit with an unrelated male driver," said Nadia Nusair, 45, a consultant on educational and family issues.
"It will be chaos at first," said Ibtisam al-Sharif, 47. "But pretty soon, driving will be accepted and everyone will find it normal."
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, January 31, 2008; Page A15
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 30 -- Buoyed by recent advances in women's rights, advocates for the right of women to drive in Saudi Arabia -- the only country in the world that prohibits female drivers -- say they believe the ban will be lifted this year.
The women's group has collected more than 3,000 signatures in the past five months and hopes that King Abdullah will issue a royal decree giving women the right to drive.
Since taking the throne in 2005, Abdullah has championed women's right to work and often takes official trips overseas with delegations of female journalists and academics. The king has said that he does not oppose allowing women to drive but that society needs to accept the idea first.
"I think the authorities want people to get used to the idea and will lift the ban before the end of the year," said Wajeha al-Huwaider, 45, an educational analyst and co-founder of the group.
The group, which sent the king petitions in September and December asking him to lift the ban, is working on a third. "Every time we gather 1,000 signatures, we will send them," Huwaider said.
She and co-founder Fouzia al-Ayouni said they were encouraged by the recent easing of certain strictures on women and statements from senior officials saying the driving ban is more social than religious or political.
In November, the foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, told Britain's Channel 4 news that there was no Saudi law prohibiting women from driving.
"Myself, I think they should drive," he said, but added: "For us, it is not a political issue, it is a social issue. We believe that this is something for the families to decide, for the people to decide, and not to be forced by the government, either to drive or not to drive."
Saudi Arabia follows a strict form of Islamic law that does not allow women self-guardianship, mandating a male guardian for women of all ages. A woman cannot travel, appear in court, marry or work without permission from a male guardian, sometimes her own son.
Until recently, women were also barred from checking into hotels and renting apartments unless they were with a male guardian. But a royal decree announced this month now allows women to stay in hotels and furnished apartments unaccompanied.
The newspaper Al-Watan reported last week that a circular has been issued to hotels asking them to accept women who show identification. The hotel is then required to register the women's details with the police.
But in this deeply religious and patriarchal society, many believe that allowing women the right to drive could lead to Western-style openness and an erosion of traditional values.
Many women complain that driving is a necessity and argue that not everyone can afford to hire foreign drivers, whose salaries range from $300 to $600 a month, plus room and board. Live-in chauffeurs, often from the Philippines or the Indian subcontinent, are considered unlikely to develop relationships with the women.
Several times a week, Haifa Osra, 31, one of the first members of the group, walks 10 minutes from her apartment to an Internet cafe to sort through the details of the women who have signed the latest petition.
This week, she approached four women at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and asked them to add their names.
Haifa Khashoggi, 48, a homemaker, agreed that women should be allowed to drive, "but with conditions."
The other women concurred, saying that initially only women older than a certain age should drive, and not at all hours.
"It's safer and more Islamic for me to drive myself than to sit with an unrelated male driver," said Nadia Nusair, 45, a consultant on educational and family issues.
"It will be chaos at first," said Ibtisam al-Sharif, 47. "But pretty soon, driving will be accepted and everyone will find it normal."
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Gaza: UN Envoy says Women in Gaza feel coerced into covering their heads
By Barak Ravid
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief says women in the Gaza Strip have recently felt coerced into covering their heads, while Christians there have faced rising intolerance. The UN envoy, Asma Jahangir, visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority last week and published a report on her eight-day trip.
"Women seem to be in a particularly vulnerable situation and bear the brunt of religious zeal. I was informed about cases of honor killings carried out with impunity in the name of religion," she added. Jahangir met with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Minister of Religious Affairs Yitzhak Cohen, as well as many others involved in religious affairs. The UN representative expressed surprise to Amar that women were not allowed to serve as religious court judges.
Amar answered that the study of religious law is a burden that women are exempt from, but this did not satisfy Jahangir, who said human rights were advancing and religions were remaining behind. She also criticized the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel.
"There are concerns that the state gives preferential treatment to the Orthodox Jewish majority in Israel to the detriment not only of other religious or belief communities but also of other strands of Judaism," she said. "For example, conversion to Judaism within Israel is only recognised if performed by the Orthodox Rabbinate."
Jahangir added: "I find it difficult to understand that under domestic law persons can be deemed to be 'unmarriageable'," referring to the 200,000 Israeli citizens and residents who have problems marrying since they have no official religion.
She and Minister Cohen disagreed on the matter. She said that "freedom of religion or belief also includes the right not to believe."
Foreign Ministry officials who accompanied Jahangir were surprised when she said Israeli roadblocks not only impede Christians and Muslims from accessing their holy places. They also prevent Jewish Israelis from praying at their holy places such as the Temple Mount.
She faintly praised Israel, saying: "During my talks with members of religious minorities in Israel, my interlocutors have by and large acknowledged that there is no religious persecution by the State. Within the Israeli democracy, I would like to emphasize the important role that the Supreme Court has played in the past and can play for safeguarding freedom of religion or belief."
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief says women in the Gaza Strip have recently felt coerced into covering their heads, while Christians there have faced rising intolerance. The UN envoy, Asma Jahangir, visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority last week and published a report on her eight-day trip.
"Women seem to be in a particularly vulnerable situation and bear the brunt of religious zeal. I was informed about cases of honor killings carried out with impunity in the name of religion," she added. Jahangir met with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Minister of Religious Affairs Yitzhak Cohen, as well as many others involved in religious affairs. The UN representative expressed surprise to Amar that women were not allowed to serve as religious court judges.
Amar answered that the study of religious law is a burden that women are exempt from, but this did not satisfy Jahangir, who said human rights were advancing and religions were remaining behind. She also criticized the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel.
"There are concerns that the state gives preferential treatment to the Orthodox Jewish majority in Israel to the detriment not only of other religious or belief communities but also of other strands of Judaism," she said. "For example, conversion to Judaism within Israel is only recognised if performed by the Orthodox Rabbinate."
Jahangir added: "I find it difficult to understand that under domestic law persons can be deemed to be 'unmarriageable'," referring to the 200,000 Israeli citizens and residents who have problems marrying since they have no official religion.
She and Minister Cohen disagreed on the matter. She said that "freedom of religion or belief also includes the right not to believe."
Foreign Ministry officials who accompanied Jahangir were surprised when she said Israeli roadblocks not only impede Christians and Muslims from accessing their holy places. They also prevent Jewish Israelis from praying at their holy places such as the Temple Mount.
She faintly praised Israel, saying: "During my talks with members of religious minorities in Israel, my interlocutors have by and large acknowledged that there is no religious persecution by the State. Within the Israeli democracy, I would like to emphasize the important role that the Supreme Court has played in the past and can play for safeguarding freedom of religion or belief."
Saudi Arabia: NHRS opens to Female Law Graduates
MAKKAH - The National Human Rights Society here began receiving Monday the applications of 40 female law graduates for legal researcher posts in the women's section.
NHRS is the first body in the Kingdom to recruit women in the domain of law, reported Arabic daily newspaper Al-Madina.
The newspaper previously reported that the 40 female law students feared unemployment as the rules do not allow for female sections in law firms.
The female law students are graduates from the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
NHRS is the first body in the Kingdom to recruit women in the domain of law, reported Arabic daily newspaper Al-Madina.
The newspaper previously reported that the 40 female law students feared unemployment as the rules do not allow for female sections in law firms.
The female law students are graduates from the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Egypt: Government releases Al Jazeera producer
Howayda Taha, a documentary producer for Al Jazeera, has been released after being held for 15 hours by Egyptian police.Taha was arrested on Monday for allegedly filming without a proper licence, her lawyer and police said.
She is already appealing an earlier jail sentence after reporting on alleged torture in police stations.
Taha was working on a film about farm labourers in a low-income neighbourhood in Cairo when police detained her early on Monday and questioned her late into the evening.
Ahmed Helmi, her lawyer, said on Tuesday she had all the necessary papers issued to her from the Egyptian press centre.
Police confiscated her tapes and sent them to be inspected by the department of artistic inspection, Helmi said. It was not clear if any charges would be raised."She is under a constant police watch, they want to ban her from working in Egypt," he said.
Police said four other people were arrested with her, including three crew members and an Egyptian human-rights activist.
Taha was sentenced in absentia in May to six months in jail and fined $5,600 for working on a documentary highlighting torture in police stations.
She has appealed against the sentence. The appeals court is due to deliver its ruling on February 11.
- Al Jazeera News Service
She is already appealing an earlier jail sentence after reporting on alleged torture in police stations.
Taha was working on a film about farm labourers in a low-income neighbourhood in Cairo when police detained her early on Monday and questioned her late into the evening.
Ahmed Helmi, her lawyer, said on Tuesday she had all the necessary papers issued to her from the Egyptian press centre.
Police confiscated her tapes and sent them to be inspected by the department of artistic inspection, Helmi said. It was not clear if any charges would be raised."She is under a constant police watch, they want to ban her from working in Egypt," he said.
Police said four other people were arrested with her, including three crew members and an Egyptian human-rights activist.
Taha was sentenced in absentia in May to six months in jail and fined $5,600 for working on a documentary highlighting torture in police stations.
She has appealed against the sentence. The appeals court is due to deliver its ruling on February 11.
- Al Jazeera News Service
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Women’s rights body in pipeline
Women’s rights activists in the Kingdom are eagerly anticipating the establishment of Ansar Al-Marah — the first civil society dedicated to supporting women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.
Suliman Al-Salman, founder of Ansar Al-Marah, told Arab News that the society aims to create institutional and individual change that would improve the lives of women in the Kingdom. "After two years of negotiations with the Ministry of Social Affairs, a request to establish Ansar Al-Marah has been initially approved," said Al-Salman, adding that the Shoura Council’s recent approval of the establishment of a National Authority for Civil Society Organizations would speed up the process of obtaining a license for the society to operate.
Ansar Al-Marah comprises 21 men and women from both the Shiite and Sunni communities. Members include researchers, academics, educators and activists. The body aims to increase awareness of women’s right by facilitating ongoing debates on fundamental and provocative women issues; and help women improve their social, educational and cultural levels by conducting studies and research.
Al-Salman said that the society would act as an intermediate body between women and officials. He also denied that there has been a historical bias against women in Saudi Arabia. "Looking back to the 60s and 70s women were moving toward the right direction; they started to take higher educations and play a part in the social development," he said.
Speaking about the current situation of women, Al-Salman said, "The majority of women today are under the dominance of men. They can’t be active members of society because of restrictions over their ability to leave home and arrange transport, and their being unable to get the simplest things unless they go through men."
Al-Salman said that the current women’s assemblies in the Kingdom tend to function under the framework of humanitarian relief. "Women’s issues are complicated. This requires the establishment of several independent societies to serve women," said Al-Salman, who is from Al-Qassim.
The idea for Ansar Al-Marah came up after Al-Salman failed to be elected in the municipal election of 2005. As part of his election manifesto, Al-Salman advocated to support women’s rights. "I decided to continue defending women’s right through other approaches especially after having a full support from activists," he said.
Regarding the criticism of some people who may feel that the society aims to Westernize Saudi Arabia, Al-Salman said, "Helping women to get their rights, which are ignored or suppressed by law or customs doesn’t conflict with Islam, which does not prevent women from utilizing their own money, driving or choosing their own husbands."
He added, "Both activists and religious people are fighting extremism and are willing to exert efforts for the best of our country."
Arab News
Suliman Al-Salman, founder of Ansar Al-Marah, told Arab News that the society aims to create institutional and individual change that would improve the lives of women in the Kingdom. "After two years of negotiations with the Ministry of Social Affairs, a request to establish Ansar Al-Marah has been initially approved," said Al-Salman, adding that the Shoura Council’s recent approval of the establishment of a National Authority for Civil Society Organizations would speed up the process of obtaining a license for the society to operate.
Ansar Al-Marah comprises 21 men and women from both the Shiite and Sunni communities. Members include researchers, academics, educators and activists. The body aims to increase awareness of women’s right by facilitating ongoing debates on fundamental and provocative women issues; and help women improve their social, educational and cultural levels by conducting studies and research.
Al-Salman said that the society would act as an intermediate body between women and officials. He also denied that there has been a historical bias against women in Saudi Arabia. "Looking back to the 60s and 70s women were moving toward the right direction; they started to take higher educations and play a part in the social development," he said.
Speaking about the current situation of women, Al-Salman said, "The majority of women today are under the dominance of men. They can’t be active members of society because of restrictions over their ability to leave home and arrange transport, and their being unable to get the simplest things unless they go through men."
Al-Salman said that the current women’s assemblies in the Kingdom tend to function under the framework of humanitarian relief. "Women’s issues are complicated. This requires the establishment of several independent societies to serve women," said Al-Salman, who is from Al-Qassim.
The idea for Ansar Al-Marah came up after Al-Salman failed to be elected in the municipal election of 2005. As part of his election manifesto, Al-Salman advocated to support women’s rights. "I decided to continue defending women’s right through other approaches especially after having a full support from activists," he said.
Regarding the criticism of some people who may feel that the society aims to Westernize Saudi Arabia, Al-Salman said, "Helping women to get their rights, which are ignored or suppressed by law or customs doesn’t conflict with Islam, which does not prevent women from utilizing their own money, driving or choosing their own husbands."
He added, "Both activists and religious people are fighting extremism and are willing to exert efforts for the best of our country."
Arab News
Saudi Arabia: Female Journalists Seek Fair Treatment
RIYADH - While Saudi female journalists are fighting for other people's rights through their writings, their own rights have been violated for years.
However, Princess Hussa, daughter of Riyadh Emir Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has requested female journalists to submit any complaint they might have regarding their work conditions to her. "I will forward your complaints directly to Prince Salman," promised Princess Hussa during a press conference held Saturday announcing three awards by the Prince Ahmed Bin Salman Institute for Applied Media, for Saudi female journalists.
The awards will be for the best female journalist, the best female writer, a woman pioneer in the print media.
Journalists attending the press conference were delighted that they would be finally be recognized and their work appreciated.
"I think this is a very good step forward in encouraging women in the media," said Fatima Ba Ismaeel, a journalist for Arabic daily Al-Eqtisadiah.
"Especially in a society that looks down on women pursuing such jobs," said Asma Al-Mohammed, managing editor of the Saudi news page at Arabia.net.
Applicants for the awards must be Saudi national writing for a local publication, for at least 2 years and be between 22 -28 years of age.
However, Princess Hussa said that these conditions are still in the primary stage and can be altered.
The journalists appreciated the support of Princess Hussa and Prince Salman and said they would take up the offer and send their requests and complaints directly to Princess Hussa.
Low salaries, lack of transportation, health insurance, benefits and training are the biggest violations against female journalist and media professionals in the Kingdom, the Saudi female journalists complained.
While a female journalist earns around SR3000-5000 a month, their male counterparts earn double if not more.
"I am always surprised at how low the salaries of journalists are," said Al-Mohammed. "Turki Al-Sedeari, editor-in-chief of Al-Riyadh Arabic daily had said that a newspaper in the Kingdom has to make SR30 million a year to become successful," Al-Mohammed noted.
"Most newspapers make double and even triple this amount per year, but they still pay their reporters and especially their part-timers and freelancers crumbs!"
The majority of print and audio media in the Kingdom relie heavily on freelancers and part-timers, making it very difficult for female journalists to gain a full-time job that includes allowances, health insurance and social security.
Fatima Al-Anizi from Radio Riyadh complained about working for 17 years as a freelancer without being hired full-time, supporting her family on a minimal salary.
Along with the low amount, she didn't receive her salary on time - and once her salary was delayed for four months, she said.
"There is a hunger among Saudi female journalists to work and there is a hunger for news on Saudi women, so we find ourselves running from one event to another," said Al-Mohammed. "Sometimes we freelancers cover 2-3 events a day and still we are paid chicken feed."
Lack of protection was another problem that journalists as a whole face in the Kingdom, complained Aisha Al-Feefee from Okaz Arabic newspaper. "The Saudi Association for Media and Communication was established four years ago but it has yet to provide any service to us media professionals."
"There is basically nowhere to go if you have a complaint against a news organization," said Feefee. With many of the leading editors in SAMC, journalists do not feel safe to complain to SAMC about their plight, worried that they might have to face the consequences when they get back to the office.
Last year, Anizi along with Wafa Baker Younis, a presenter on Saudi TV Channel 1 had spoken about their plight at the Second Forum of Saudi Women in Media and were fired from their jobs for complaining publicly.
Only after the intervention of Prince Salman did the two journalists regain their positions.
"Prince Salman was very upset over the repercussions against the two journalists for complaining at a forum that was established to address such issues," said Princess Hussa.
The majority of Saudi female journalists work as freelancers without any health benefits, but even those with full-time positions don't mean that they get treated on par with their male colleagues when it comes to health insurance.
One female journalist was informed by her organization that their health coverage doesn't cover her delivery while it covers a "male employee's delivery."
"I asked them how can male employees ever give birth? They told me they don't but their wives do and their wives are covered," said the journalist who wished to withhold her name.
"I asked why the wife of an employee had better rights and coverage than I did - and I was their employee."
In addition to low wages, lack of benefits and protection, lack of training is another complaint "Female journalists get into journalism without any training and there's very limited on-the-job training, said Ba Ismaeel.
In her 12 years as a journalist for prominent Saudi newspapers, the only training Ba Ismaeel received was what she paid for herself.
Lack of transportation or the very low transportation allowance given to female journalists was also a problem.
"Since we can't drive, our news organizations should provide transport - with drivers to take us to and back from field work, or provide us with an allowance that covers our transportation cost," said Ba Ismaeel.
Transportation allowances is mostly around SR300 which is very low compared to the SR1,200-1,500 some female journalists pay for a private driver, a company driver or a taxi to take her to conferences and interviews for a month.
- Saudi Gazette
However, Princess Hussa, daughter of Riyadh Emir Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has requested female journalists to submit any complaint they might have regarding their work conditions to her. "I will forward your complaints directly to Prince Salman," promised Princess Hussa during a press conference held Saturday announcing three awards by the Prince Ahmed Bin Salman Institute for Applied Media, for Saudi female journalists.
The awards will be for the best female journalist, the best female writer, a woman pioneer in the print media.
Journalists attending the press conference were delighted that they would be finally be recognized and their work appreciated.
"I think this is a very good step forward in encouraging women in the media," said Fatima Ba Ismaeel, a journalist for Arabic daily Al-Eqtisadiah.
"Especially in a society that looks down on women pursuing such jobs," said Asma Al-Mohammed, managing editor of the Saudi news page at Arabia.net.
Applicants for the awards must be Saudi national writing for a local publication, for at least 2 years and be between 22 -28 years of age.
However, Princess Hussa said that these conditions are still in the primary stage and can be altered.
The journalists appreciated the support of Princess Hussa and Prince Salman and said they would take up the offer and send their requests and complaints directly to Princess Hussa.
Low salaries, lack of transportation, health insurance, benefits and training are the biggest violations against female journalist and media professionals in the Kingdom, the Saudi female journalists complained.
While a female journalist earns around SR3000-5000 a month, their male counterparts earn double if not more.
"I am always surprised at how low the salaries of journalists are," said Al-Mohammed. "Turki Al-Sedeari, editor-in-chief of Al-Riyadh Arabic daily had said that a newspaper in the Kingdom has to make SR30 million a year to become successful," Al-Mohammed noted.
"Most newspapers make double and even triple this amount per year, but they still pay their reporters and especially their part-timers and freelancers crumbs!"
The majority of print and audio media in the Kingdom relie heavily on freelancers and part-timers, making it very difficult for female journalists to gain a full-time job that includes allowances, health insurance and social security.
Fatima Al-Anizi from Radio Riyadh complained about working for 17 years as a freelancer without being hired full-time, supporting her family on a minimal salary.
Along with the low amount, she didn't receive her salary on time - and once her salary was delayed for four months, she said.
"There is a hunger among Saudi female journalists to work and there is a hunger for news on Saudi women, so we find ourselves running from one event to another," said Al-Mohammed. "Sometimes we freelancers cover 2-3 events a day and still we are paid chicken feed."
Lack of protection was another problem that journalists as a whole face in the Kingdom, complained Aisha Al-Feefee from Okaz Arabic newspaper. "The Saudi Association for Media and Communication was established four years ago but it has yet to provide any service to us media professionals."
"There is basically nowhere to go if you have a complaint against a news organization," said Feefee. With many of the leading editors in SAMC, journalists do not feel safe to complain to SAMC about their plight, worried that they might have to face the consequences when they get back to the office.
Last year, Anizi along with Wafa Baker Younis, a presenter on Saudi TV Channel 1 had spoken about their plight at the Second Forum of Saudi Women in Media and were fired from their jobs for complaining publicly.
Only after the intervention of Prince Salman did the two journalists regain their positions.
"Prince Salman was very upset over the repercussions against the two journalists for complaining at a forum that was established to address such issues," said Princess Hussa.
The majority of Saudi female journalists work as freelancers without any health benefits, but even those with full-time positions don't mean that they get treated on par with their male colleagues when it comes to health insurance.
One female journalist was informed by her organization that their health coverage doesn't cover her delivery while it covers a "male employee's delivery."
"I asked them how can male employees ever give birth? They told me they don't but their wives do and their wives are covered," said the journalist who wished to withhold her name.
"I asked why the wife of an employee had better rights and coverage than I did - and I was their employee."
In addition to low wages, lack of benefits and protection, lack of training is another complaint "Female journalists get into journalism without any training and there's very limited on-the-job training, said Ba Ismaeel.
In her 12 years as a journalist for prominent Saudi newspapers, the only training Ba Ismaeel received was what she paid for herself.
Lack of transportation or the very low transportation allowance given to female journalists was also a problem.
"Since we can't drive, our news organizations should provide transport - with drivers to take us to and back from field work, or provide us with an allowance that covers our transportation cost," said Ba Ismaeel.
Transportation allowances is mostly around SR300 which is very low compared to the SR1,200-1,500 some female journalists pay for a private driver, a company driver or a taxi to take her to conferences and interviews for a month.
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi Arabia: UN women's rights expert to visit Saudi Arabia
GENEVA (AFP) — The United Nations independent expert on women's rights said Monday she will visit Saudi Arabia after the kingdom came under fierce scrutiny from a UN committee over its gender equality record.
Yakin Erturk, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, will visit Saudi Arabia from February 4 to February 13 at the government's invitation, her office said in a statement.
Erturk, a sociology professor at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, will meet government authorities, UN officials and individual victims of violence against women during her visit.
She will report her findings to the UN Human Rights Council.
Saudia Arabia is governed by Wahabism, a strict interpretation of Islam that -- in the name of Sharia law -- imposes complete separation of the sexes. As such, it is illegal for a woman to be in the company of a man who is not in her immediate family.
Earlier this month, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women quizzed Saudi officials on numerous aspects of women's life in the kingdom, including the fact that men have the right to twice the inheritance women are allowed, and that women are obliged to have a "tutor" accompany them for many daily tasks.
"Without the presence of this tutor (guardian), a woman cannot study, access health services, marry, travel abroad, have a business or even access an ambulance in an emergency," one of the experts on the committee said.
The Saudi delegation highlighted in a report they submitted to the committee that "Saudi society is still largely a tribal society and changes in mentality allowing new ideas to be accepted take time".
In its report, Riyadh also wrote that "Islam, as a realistic religion, admits that total equality between man and woman is contrary to reality, as various scientific studies on their psychological differences have shown".
The committee overseas the application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, a UN treaty regarded as a global bill of rights for women.
Yakin Erturk, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, will visit Saudi Arabia from February 4 to February 13 at the government's invitation, her office said in a statement.
Erturk, a sociology professor at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, will meet government authorities, UN officials and individual victims of violence against women during her visit.
She will report her findings to the UN Human Rights Council.
Saudia Arabia is governed by Wahabism, a strict interpretation of Islam that -- in the name of Sharia law -- imposes complete separation of the sexes. As such, it is illegal for a woman to be in the company of a man who is not in her immediate family.
Earlier this month, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women quizzed Saudi officials on numerous aspects of women's life in the kingdom, including the fact that men have the right to twice the inheritance women are allowed, and that women are obliged to have a "tutor" accompany them for many daily tasks.
"Without the presence of this tutor (guardian), a woman cannot study, access health services, marry, travel abroad, have a business or even access an ambulance in an emergency," one of the experts on the committee said.
The Saudi delegation highlighted in a report they submitted to the committee that "Saudi society is still largely a tribal society and changes in mentality allowing new ideas to be accepted take time".
In its report, Riyadh also wrote that "Islam, as a realistic religion, admits that total equality between man and woman is contrary to reality, as various scientific studies on their psychological differences have shown".
The committee overseas the application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, a UN treaty regarded as a global bill of rights for women.
Saudi Arabia: Steps Toward Women's Rights?
By Stephen McInerney,
Director of Advocacy, Project on Middle East Democracy
The royal family in Saudi Arabia has long been decried as one of the world's most repressive regimes. In Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, released earlier this month, the House of Saud maintained its ranking as one of the seventeen most repressive governments in the world. Perhaps most infamous is the particular lack of rights for the half of the Saudi citizens who are female. When King Abdullah ascended to the throne following the death of his half-brother King Fahd in 2005, many had high hopes that his rule would bring reform and greater freedom to Saudi Arabia, and to women in particular. But the reforms of the first couple of years of King Abdullah's rule were markedly underwhelming, and the area of women's rights was essentially ignored.
However, the past two weeks has quietly seen a flurry of small steps toward greater rights for women in the kingdom. Last Monday, January 21, it was reported that the Saudi government had ruled to permit women to stay in hotels without the presence of a male guardian, effective immediately. On the same day, government officials also confirmed that a decision had been reached to remove the ban on women drivers, with a decree to that effect to be issued before the end of 2008. Lifting the ban on driving would be a move of great symbolic value, as Saudi Arabia is the only country to prohibit women behind the steering wheel, and this fact is the most often cited example to demonstrate the oppression of Saudi women. Also, on Tuesday, January 29, it was revealed that the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has approved the establishment of the first women's rights organization in the kingdom, to be known as Ansar al-Mar'ah (patrons/supporters of women).
In addition, last Friday, the first-ever women's soccer game was played in a large stadium in Dammam between teams of two Saudi universities, with the stands full of female fans and the score reported in local newspapers. Within a few days, it was announced that the Saudi government will establish women's sport clubs in the country. This is a far cry from the recent past of soccer in Saudi Arabia - just last year a professional men's game was interrupted by the official on the field so that security personnel could remove the one female in attendance - a 12-year-old girl enjoying the game with her family.
Although there have been some reports of complaints by local residents and the governor of the Eastern province over last week's game, it seems that opposition has been milder than in the past, perhaps encouraging the government to move forward with women's sport clubs.
Why Now?
This string of announcements does follow a period of intensified scrutiny and key interactions with the West, as well as some increasingly bold internal demands for reform. In December, the sentencing of a 19-year old rape victim to 200 lashes and six months in prison for being alone in a car with a man who was not her relative sparked international outrage. Following widespread condemnation, including the introduction of three bills in the U.S. Congress demanding that all charges against the victim be dropped, King Abdullah announced his decision to pardon the girl.
In UN meetings that followed in Geneva in January, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women challenged the Saudi delegation on numerous aspects of gender inequality in the kingdom. In response to concerns raised in these meetings, the UN has
now announced that the UN special rapporteur on violence against women will visit Saudi Arabia from February 4 to 13 and give a series of reports on the findings of her visit to the UN Human Rights Council.
January also saw President Bush pay a visit to the kingdom during his eight-day visit to the Middle East. On January 14, as Bush arrived in Riyadh, the State Department officially notified Congress of a controversial agreement to sell 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) advanced missile systems to Saudi Arabia. The sale had been delayed in the fall by strong opposition within Congress, which considerably raised the profile of numerous concerns with regard to the Saudi regime including its fostering of extremism, its destabilizing ties to insurgent groups in Iraq, and the repression of its own people.
Conclusions
In short, the Saudi regime deserves credit for these apparent openings in terms of women's rights. Given the timing, the moves appear to be at least partly the result of constructive pressure from the international community including the United States. Needless to say, the Saudi regime still has a very long path to tread in terms of women's rights and equality, but hopefully these measures signal the beginning of a long period of steady progress, rather than merely an isolated burst of activity. The recent moves can also be taken as encouraging evidence that international diplomatic pressure can yield results.
But it is critical that such pressure on the Saudi regime not abate once the long-awaited arms deal is finalized in February and a few positive steps have been taken. It is also essential that recently announced measures such as the lifting of the driving ban be carried out as planned - authoritarian Arab regimes have become increasingly adept at timing announcements of reform to relieve international pressure, then failing to carry out the steps as promised once the outside attention has diminished. If those conditions are met, and the recent moves turn out to be merely the beginning of women's rights reform in Saudi Arabia, then the steps taken in January 2008 will have been very important indeed.
Director of Advocacy, Project on Middle East Democracy
The royal family in Saudi Arabia has long been decried as one of the world's most repressive regimes. In Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, released earlier this month, the House of Saud maintained its ranking as one of the seventeen most repressive governments in the world. Perhaps most infamous is the particular lack of rights for the half of the Saudi citizens who are female. When King Abdullah ascended to the throne following the death of his half-brother King Fahd in 2005, many had high hopes that his rule would bring reform and greater freedom to Saudi Arabia, and to women in particular. But the reforms of the first couple of years of King Abdullah's rule were markedly underwhelming, and the area of women's rights was essentially ignored.
However, the past two weeks has quietly seen a flurry of small steps toward greater rights for women in the kingdom. Last Monday, January 21, it was reported that the Saudi government had ruled to permit women to stay in hotels without the presence of a male guardian, effective immediately. On the same day, government officials also confirmed that a decision had been reached to remove the ban on women drivers, with a decree to that effect to be issued before the end of 2008. Lifting the ban on driving would be a move of great symbolic value, as Saudi Arabia is the only country to prohibit women behind the steering wheel, and this fact is the most often cited example to demonstrate the oppression of Saudi women. Also, on Tuesday, January 29, it was revealed that the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has approved the establishment of the first women's rights organization in the kingdom, to be known as Ansar al-Mar'ah (patrons/supporters of women).
In addition, last Friday, the first-ever women's soccer game was played in a large stadium in Dammam between teams of two Saudi universities, with the stands full of female fans and the score reported in local newspapers. Within a few days, it was announced that the Saudi government will establish women's sport clubs in the country. This is a far cry from the recent past of soccer in Saudi Arabia - just last year a professional men's game was interrupted by the official on the field so that security personnel could remove the one female in attendance - a 12-year-old girl enjoying the game with her family.
Although there have been some reports of complaints by local residents and the governor of the Eastern province over last week's game, it seems that opposition has been milder than in the past, perhaps encouraging the government to move forward with women's sport clubs.
Why Now?
This string of announcements does follow a period of intensified scrutiny and key interactions with the West, as well as some increasingly bold internal demands for reform. In December, the sentencing of a 19-year old rape victim to 200 lashes and six months in prison for being alone in a car with a man who was not her relative sparked international outrage. Following widespread condemnation, including the introduction of three bills in the U.S. Congress demanding that all charges against the victim be dropped, King Abdullah announced his decision to pardon the girl.
In UN meetings that followed in Geneva in January, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women challenged the Saudi delegation on numerous aspects of gender inequality in the kingdom. In response to concerns raised in these meetings, the UN has
now announced that the UN special rapporteur on violence against women will visit Saudi Arabia from February 4 to 13 and give a series of reports on the findings of her visit to the UN Human Rights Council.
January also saw President Bush pay a visit to the kingdom during his eight-day visit to the Middle East. On January 14, as Bush arrived in Riyadh, the State Department officially notified Congress of a controversial agreement to sell 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) advanced missile systems to Saudi Arabia. The sale had been delayed in the fall by strong opposition within Congress, which considerably raised the profile of numerous concerns with regard to the Saudi regime including its fostering of extremism, its destabilizing ties to insurgent groups in Iraq, and the repression of its own people.
Conclusions
In short, the Saudi regime deserves credit for these apparent openings in terms of women's rights. Given the timing, the moves appear to be at least partly the result of constructive pressure from the international community including the United States. Needless to say, the Saudi regime still has a very long path to tread in terms of women's rights and equality, but hopefully these measures signal the beginning of a long period of steady progress, rather than merely an isolated burst of activity. The recent moves can also be taken as encouraging evidence that international diplomatic pressure can yield results.
But it is critical that such pressure on the Saudi regime not abate once the long-awaited arms deal is finalized in February and a few positive steps have been taken. It is also essential that recently announced measures such as the lifting of the driving ban be carried out as planned - authoritarian Arab regimes have become increasingly adept at timing announcements of reform to relieve international pressure, then failing to carry out the steps as promised once the outside attention has diminished. If those conditions are met, and the recent moves turn out to be merely the beginning of women's rights reform in Saudi Arabia, then the steps taken in January 2008 will have been very important indeed.
Saudi Arabia: US University Explores Possible Links
JEDDAH — A high-level team from the University of Colorado is in the Kingdom to explore the possibilities of collaborating, and developing joint programs, with Saudi universities. Invited by Zuhair Hamed Fayez, an alumni of the university and president of Zuhair Fayez Partnership, the Jeddah-based architectural and IT consultants, the team is led by Dr. M. Roy Wilson, chancellor of the university’s campus in Denver.
Topping the list of potential tie-ups is a plan for an architecture program leading to a bachelor’s degree in the subject at Dar Al-Hekma College for Girls (DAHC) in Jeddah. Fayez is currently chairman of the trustees of the college.
The Colorado team includes the dean of the university’s college of architecture and planning, Dr. Mark Gelernter, as well as two other members of the college. A memorandum of understanding between Colorado University and DAHC on helping establish an architecture department as well as cooperation on the existing interior design degree through a possible exchange of students may be signed soon.
At Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz University, the Colorado team discussed the possibility of collaborating with the existing faculty of environmental design. The faculty’s original curriculum was based on one developed by Harvard University.
In Riyadh, the team will visit King Saud University before flying on to the Eastern Province to investigate possibilities there.
One area in which Dr. Wilson is particularly interested in establishing collaboration is medicine. Colorado University at Denver is currently building a multibillion-dollar dedicated medical campus on a former military base in nearby Aurora. When finished, it will be one of the largest and most prestigious education, patient care and research centers in the US.
- Michel Cousins, Arab News
Topping the list of potential tie-ups is a plan for an architecture program leading to a bachelor’s degree in the subject at Dar Al-Hekma College for Girls (DAHC) in Jeddah. Fayez is currently chairman of the trustees of the college.
The Colorado team includes the dean of the university’s college of architecture and planning, Dr. Mark Gelernter, as well as two other members of the college. A memorandum of understanding between Colorado University and DAHC on helping establish an architecture department as well as cooperation on the existing interior design degree through a possible exchange of students may be signed soon.
At Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz University, the Colorado team discussed the possibility of collaborating with the existing faculty of environmental design. The faculty’s original curriculum was based on one developed by Harvard University.
In Riyadh, the team will visit King Saud University before flying on to the Eastern Province to investigate possibilities there.
One area in which Dr. Wilson is particularly interested in establishing collaboration is medicine. Colorado University at Denver is currently building a multibillion-dollar dedicated medical campus on a former military base in nearby Aurora. When finished, it will be one of the largest and most prestigious education, patient care and research centers in the US.
- Michel Cousins, Arab News
Saudi Arabia: U.N. Rights Expert Will Examine Violence Against Women
GENEVA — A U.N. rights expert will travel to Saudi Arabia next month to gather information about violence against women in the country, officials said Monday.
Yakin Erturk, the U.N. special investigator for violence against women, will visit the kingdom from Feb. 4-13 and meet with government and civil society representatives in Riyadh, Jeddah and Damam, according to a statement by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Last month, Saudi's King Abdullah pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to lashes and jail time for being in a car with a man who was not her relative. The case sparked international criticism over the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia, where strict interpretation of Islamic law gives men and women different rights with respect to education, marriage and participation in public life.
Earlier this month, Saudi officials told the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that the kingdom would likely lift the ban on women driving in the near future and was taking measures to address the issue of domestic violence.
A report last year by New York-based Human Rights Watch found many female foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are physically abused by their employers.
Yakin Erturk, the U.N. special investigator for violence against women, will visit the kingdom from Feb. 4-13 and meet with government and civil society representatives in Riyadh, Jeddah and Damam, according to a statement by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Last month, Saudi's King Abdullah pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to lashes and jail time for being in a car with a man who was not her relative. The case sparked international criticism over the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia, where strict interpretation of Islamic law gives men and women different rights with respect to education, marriage and participation in public life.
Earlier this month, Saudi officials told the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that the kingdom would likely lift the ban on women driving in the near future and was taking measures to address the issue of domestic violence.
A report last year by New York-based Human Rights Watch found many female foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are physically abused by their employers.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Government tightens grip on internet use
by David Westley
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has begun implementing new laws for controlling the use of technology for terrorism, fraud, pornography, defamation, violating religious values and disregarding public etiquette.
The new information technology law contains 16 articles, and provides a maximum penalty of 10 years and a SR5 million fine for persons found guilty of running web sites in support of terrorist organisations. A maximum penalty of three years and a SR500,000 fine will be handed to anyone found guilty of financial or data fraud, or found guilty of attacking the private life of another subject.
The new law also covers the religious and social use of information and communications technology. Those who produce and distribute IT materials that violate public law, religious values and public etiquette will receive up to five years in jail, and a SR3 million fine.
Those who use information technology to spread and market pornography will face the same punishment.The new law comes into effect as Saudi Arabia faces the world's attention for its treatment of Saudi blogger Ahmad Fouad Al-Farhan.
Al-Farhan was arrested for violating "non-security regulations", and is believed to be the first online critic to be arrested in the kingdom.Al-Farhan’s blog - Searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, shoura and all the rest of lost Islamic values - has posted a letter, allegedly from Al-Farhan, which states he believes he was arrested because he "wrote about political prisoners in Saudi Arabia".
According to a Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry source, speaking to Saudi newspaper, Arab News, the new law has been introduced to "combat IT-related crimes that threatens security and safety of human societies".
Punishment will be extended to those who aid those who commit IT crime; while those show that they exhibited intent to commit the crime through their actions, even if the crime didn’t take place, will receive up to half the maximum sentence.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has begun implementing new laws for controlling the use of technology for terrorism, fraud, pornography, defamation, violating religious values and disregarding public etiquette.
The new information technology law contains 16 articles, and provides a maximum penalty of 10 years and a SR5 million fine for persons found guilty of running web sites in support of terrorist organisations. A maximum penalty of three years and a SR500,000 fine will be handed to anyone found guilty of financial or data fraud, or found guilty of attacking the private life of another subject.
The new law also covers the religious and social use of information and communications technology. Those who produce and distribute IT materials that violate public law, religious values and public etiquette will receive up to five years in jail, and a SR3 million fine.
Those who use information technology to spread and market pornography will face the same punishment.The new law comes into effect as Saudi Arabia faces the world's attention for its treatment of Saudi blogger Ahmad Fouad Al-Farhan.
Al-Farhan was arrested for violating "non-security regulations", and is believed to be the first online critic to be arrested in the kingdom.Al-Farhan’s blog - Searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, shoura and all the rest of lost Islamic values - has posted a letter, allegedly from Al-Farhan, which states he believes he was arrested because he "wrote about political prisoners in Saudi Arabia".
According to a Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry source, speaking to Saudi newspaper, Arab News, the new law has been introduced to "combat IT-related crimes that threatens security and safety of human societies".
Punishment will be extended to those who aid those who commit IT crime; while those show that they exhibited intent to commit the crime through their actions, even if the crime didn’t take place, will receive up to half the maximum sentence.
Saudi Arabia: First Girls’ Soccer Match
JEDDAH - The first soccer match between female teams has taken place in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, the Al-Watan newspaper said.
No men were allowed in the stadium, and the referee and her linesman, as well as the fans, were also female.
The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University team defeated their guests, the Al-Yamamah College, from the capital, Riyadh, in a penalty shoot out after the game had ended 2-2 on Thursday.
Al-Yamamah college's goalkeeper was declared "woman of the match."
The match was held at a 35,000 capacity stadium in the city of Dammam.
Saudi Arabia's male national soccer team is one of Asia's most successful teams, currently ranking 57 in the FIFA ratings and has taken part in the last four World Cups.
It is unclear if a female Saudi national soccer team is in the offing and whether they would participate in international competitions.
- Saudi Gazette report
No men were allowed in the stadium, and the referee and her linesman, as well as the fans, were also female.
The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University team defeated their guests, the Al-Yamamah College, from the capital, Riyadh, in a penalty shoot out after the game had ended 2-2 on Thursday.
Al-Yamamah college's goalkeeper was declared "woman of the match."
The match was held at a 35,000 capacity stadium in the city of Dammam.
Saudi Arabia's male national soccer team is one of Asia's most successful teams, currently ranking 57 in the FIFA ratings and has taken part in the last four World Cups.
It is unclear if a female Saudi national soccer team is in the offing and whether they would participate in international competitions.
- Saudi Gazette report
Bahrain: Female judges proposed for Shariah courts in Bahrain
The recruitment of women as Shariah judges has been suggested as a solution to the problems faced by females at Islamic-oriented courts in Bahrain by the Freedom in the World 2008 report.
It highlights that women face hardships due to delay in court proceedings especially in divorce cases.Although the kingdom recruited the first women judge in 2006 for a civilian court, the Shariah courts mainly dealing with marital conflicts have no female judge.
Published recently by the Freedom House, the report also calls upon Bahrain to sign the optional protocol of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that allows women to file complaints with the CEDAW committee if they are denied justice in their own countries.
Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organisation that conducted the part on Bahrain with the assistance of Bahraini human rights and woman activist Dr Sabika Najjar.
On the scale of 1-7 with seventh being rated as the least free country, the kingdom was rated fifth on the 'map of freedom’ for political rights and civil liberties.
The report judged the kingdom on five parameters -non-discrimination and access to justice, autonomy, security and personal freedom, economic rights and equal opportunity, political rights and civic voice and social and cultural rights. The report says that despite efforts of the government and NGOs, there was no codified family law in the kingdom.
The recommendations of the report include women to be represented in Municipal Councils. A gender integration plan to increase women in decision-making in private and public sectors was also suggested.
- Khaleej Times
It highlights that women face hardships due to delay in court proceedings especially in divorce cases.Although the kingdom recruited the first women judge in 2006 for a civilian court, the Shariah courts mainly dealing with marital conflicts have no female judge.
Published recently by the Freedom House, the report also calls upon Bahrain to sign the optional protocol of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that allows women to file complaints with the CEDAW committee if they are denied justice in their own countries.
Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organisation that conducted the part on Bahrain with the assistance of Bahraini human rights and woman activist Dr Sabika Najjar.
On the scale of 1-7 with seventh being rated as the least free country, the kingdom was rated fifth on the 'map of freedom’ for political rights and civil liberties.
The report judged the kingdom on five parameters -non-discrimination and access to justice, autonomy, security and personal freedom, economic rights and equal opportunity, political rights and civic voice and social and cultural rights. The report says that despite efforts of the government and NGOs, there was no codified family law in the kingdom.
The recommendations of the report include women to be represented in Municipal Councils. A gender integration plan to increase women in decision-making in private and public sectors was also suggested.
- Khaleej Times
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Kuwait: Reaction of universities to segregation law not strong
Private universities in Kuwait have not reacted strongly to the decision by Minister of Education and Higher education Nuriya Al Subaih to implement gender segregation law in private universities, starting from Sunday.
The administrative departments at the universities were talking to the Arab Times Monday a day after the law came into effect. The student’s administration department at Gulf University (GUST) said the university is already adhering to the law.
"All the classes in the university are unisex, with different classrooms for boys and girls. GUST has always followed the gender segregation laws in Kuwait." The university is moving to a new bigger campus in Mishref shortly, where again the segregation law will be fully in place, the officer at the department added.
The general information department at American University of Kuwait (AUK) said "we are already gender segregated. However, we hold co-education classes depending on the number of sessions and the availability of faculty for certain subjects."
When asked if the decision to implement the segregation law in private universities will bring about any change in the university, the official said it would be decided by the university management after due deliberations. Australian University of Kuwait (ACK) is also mostly gender segregated, except for classes in some majors, opted by large number of students and requiring more teaching sessions, the students administration department said.
"It’s too early to comment about the changes that will be implemented in the university following the ministerial decision to implement the segregation law."
- Arab Times
The administrative departments at the universities were talking to the Arab Times Monday a day after the law came into effect. The student’s administration department at Gulf University (GUST) said the university is already adhering to the law.
"All the classes in the university are unisex, with different classrooms for boys and girls. GUST has always followed the gender segregation laws in Kuwait." The university is moving to a new bigger campus in Mishref shortly, where again the segregation law will be fully in place, the officer at the department added.
The general information department at American University of Kuwait (AUK) said "we are already gender segregated. However, we hold co-education classes depending on the number of sessions and the availability of faculty for certain subjects."
When asked if the decision to implement the segregation law in private universities will bring about any change in the university, the official said it would be decided by the university management after due deliberations. Australian University of Kuwait (ACK) is also mostly gender segregated, except for classes in some majors, opted by large number of students and requiring more teaching sessions, the students administration department said.
"It’s too early to comment about the changes that will be implemented in the university following the ministerial decision to implement the segregation law."
- Arab Times
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Students Welcome Decision on Unions
The Shoura Council has passed a new University Law that allows the formation of student unions at Saudi universities. The unions will have a representative on the university council, the law said. The members of the unions will be elected by secret ballot and can serve for more than one term. Financing will be from the university budget, donations, gifts and revenue from their activities.
University students and teachers have welcomed the decision to form student unions and said it would improve educational standard and create a healthy environment on campuses. “It’s a very important decision,” said Dr. Abdul Ilah Saaty, vice dean of the Community College at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). “The union will help students raise their voice and express their wishes.” Saaty proposed election of a member from each college to the student union in order to have proper representation.
Abdullah Abdul Jawad, a university student, was excited hearing the news and said the unions would make Saudi campuses more lively and engaging.
Malekah Bakash, a KAU home economics student, commended the Shoura decision and said it would have great impact on student life in campuses. “It will enable students to participate in extracurricular activities in order to show off their skills and capabilities,” she added.
The promotion of dialogue between students and teachers is another major point in favor of student unions. “The unions will break down the barriers between students and faculty members,” Saaty said. He also urged authorities to make student unions an important body at universities to allow students to participate in the decision-making process.
Dr. Hassan Felemban, vice dean of KAU’s Faculty of Science for development, commended the new law passed by the Shoura which will give students a pivotal role in the university system. “The proposed student unions will help in developing responsible students.”
Felemban said unions would also provide a good place for students to achieve practical experience before entering the job market, especially in the area of taking up responsibilities with efficiency.
Professor Muhammad Ismail Abdussalam at KAU’s College of Engineering, described the move to establish student unions as a progressive decision, adding that it would stimulate educational development. “Unions will also help us stay aware of the quality and impact of our educational products and make continuous assessment, keeping in view student views and demands.”
- Arab News
University students and teachers have welcomed the decision to form student unions and said it would improve educational standard and create a healthy environment on campuses. “It’s a very important decision,” said Dr. Abdul Ilah Saaty, vice dean of the Community College at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). “The union will help students raise their voice and express their wishes.” Saaty proposed election of a member from each college to the student union in order to have proper representation.
Abdullah Abdul Jawad, a university student, was excited hearing the news and said the unions would make Saudi campuses more lively and engaging.
Malekah Bakash, a KAU home economics student, commended the Shoura decision and said it would have great impact on student life in campuses. “It will enable students to participate in extracurricular activities in order to show off their skills and capabilities,” she added.
The promotion of dialogue between students and teachers is another major point in favor of student unions. “The unions will break down the barriers between students and faculty members,” Saaty said. He also urged authorities to make student unions an important body at universities to allow students to participate in the decision-making process.
Dr. Hassan Felemban, vice dean of KAU’s Faculty of Science for development, commended the new law passed by the Shoura which will give students a pivotal role in the university system. “The proposed student unions will help in developing responsible students.”
Felemban said unions would also provide a good place for students to achieve practical experience before entering the job market, especially in the area of taking up responsibilities with efficiency.
Professor Muhammad Ismail Abdussalam at KAU’s College of Engineering, described the move to establish student unions as a progressive decision, adding that it would stimulate educational development. “Unions will also help us stay aware of the quality and impact of our educational products and make continuous assessment, keeping in view student views and demands.”
- Arab News
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Kuwait: Lone woman minister survives no-confidence vote
Kuwait's only woman cabinet minister survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday tabled by MPs who accused her of legal and administrative irregularities.
Twenty-seven MPs voted in favour of Education Minister Nuriya al-Sabeeh and 19 against her, while two abstained.
The motion required 25 votes to pass in the 50-member house. Only 48 MPs were eligible to vote as two elected MPs are cabinet ministers who, under Kuwaiti law, are not allowed to take part in no-confidence votes.
During a nine-hour grilling in parliament two weeks ago, Sabeeh was accused of failing to implement a sex segregation law at universities and held responsible for a "serious deterioration" in the educational standards.She categorically denied the allegations.
Sabeeh was appointed to the cabinet last March becoming only the second woman minister in the oil-rich Gulf emirate.
Maasouma al-Mubarak, who made history by becoming the first female minister in Kuwait after women were granted full political rights in 2005, resigned last year after Islamist MPs summoned her to appear before parliament.
- Agence France-Presse
Twenty-seven MPs voted in favour of Education Minister Nuriya al-Sabeeh and 19 against her, while two abstained.
The motion required 25 votes to pass in the 50-member house. Only 48 MPs were eligible to vote as two elected MPs are cabinet ministers who, under Kuwaiti law, are not allowed to take part in no-confidence votes.
During a nine-hour grilling in parliament two weeks ago, Sabeeh was accused of failing to implement a sex segregation law at universities and held responsible for a "serious deterioration" in the educational standards.She categorically denied the allegations.
Sabeeh was appointed to the cabinet last March becoming only the second woman minister in the oil-rich Gulf emirate.
Maasouma al-Mubarak, who made history by becoming the first female minister in Kuwait after women were granted full political rights in 2005, resigned last year after Islamist MPs summoned her to appear before parliament.
- Agence France-Presse
Friday, January 18, 2008
Saudi Arabia: UN watchdog grills Saudi Arabia on women’s rights
GENEVA: Saudi Arabia, appearing for the first time before a UN watchdog for women’s rights, faced tough questions yesterday and was challenged to grant gender equality.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has 23 independent experts monitoring adherence to a 1979 international bill of rights for women.
The world’s biggest oil exporter ratified the pact in 2000 that Shariah law would prevail if there were any contradiction with its provisions.
At a one-day debate on its record, the Saudi delegation came under fire for failing to meet international norms guaranteeing women’s political, economic, social and civil rights.
"Only when women are free to make their own decisions on all aspects of their life are they full citizens," committee member Maria Regina Tavares da Silva told the Geneva session.
Heisoo Shin, another committee member, said that a system of male guardianship "governed virtually every aspect of a women’s life" in Saudi Arabia.
"Without a man’s consent, a woman cannot study or get health service, work, marry, conduct business or even get an ambulance service in an emergency," she said.
A report submitted by Riyadh on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women said that there was "no discrimination against women in the laws of the Kingdom."
The Saudi government said while women’s rights outlined in the Convention could be invoked before the courts or state authorities, Shariah must ultimately prevail.
The application of Shariah law in a rape case last month drew international criticism and fanned concerns about the status of women in the conservative Islamic state where powerful clerics demand the strict seclusion of females.
In that case, King Abdullah pardoned a 19-year-old woman who was sentenced to flogging for being in the company of a man she was not related to.
Her indiscretion came to light because she and her companion had been abducted and gang-raped by seven other men.
Zeid bin Abdul Mushin al-Hussein, vice president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, told the experts: "Human rights in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are based on Shariah."
Saudi officials emphasised progress for women in terms of greater employment and education in the country, where women may now study both law and engineering.
The UN experts are expected to raise further questions on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia before issuing conclusions on the kingdom and seven other countries at the end of their three-week session on February 1.
– Reuters
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has 23 independent experts monitoring adherence to a 1979 international bill of rights for women.
The world’s biggest oil exporter ratified the pact in 2000 that Shariah law would prevail if there were any contradiction with its provisions.
At a one-day debate on its record, the Saudi delegation came under fire for failing to meet international norms guaranteeing women’s political, economic, social and civil rights.
"Only when women are free to make their own decisions on all aspects of their life are they full citizens," committee member Maria Regina Tavares da Silva told the Geneva session.
Heisoo Shin, another committee member, said that a system of male guardianship "governed virtually every aspect of a women’s life" in Saudi Arabia.
"Without a man’s consent, a woman cannot study or get health service, work, marry, conduct business or even get an ambulance service in an emergency," she said.
A report submitted by Riyadh on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women said that there was "no discrimination against women in the laws of the Kingdom."
The Saudi government said while women’s rights outlined in the Convention could be invoked before the courts or state authorities, Shariah must ultimately prevail.
The application of Shariah law in a rape case last month drew international criticism and fanned concerns about the status of women in the conservative Islamic state where powerful clerics demand the strict seclusion of females.
In that case, King Abdullah pardoned a 19-year-old woman who was sentenced to flogging for being in the company of a man she was not related to.
Her indiscretion came to light because she and her companion had been abducted and gang-raped by seven other men.
Zeid bin Abdul Mushin al-Hussein, vice president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, told the experts: "Human rights in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are based on Shariah."
Saudi officials emphasised progress for women in terms of greater employment and education in the country, where women may now study both law and engineering.
The UN experts are expected to raise further questions on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia before issuing conclusions on the kingdom and seven other countries at the end of their three-week session on February 1.
– Reuters
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Role of Saudi Women Increases in Government
JEDDAH — As women’s participation in the Kingdom’s national development increases, special women’s sections with all female staff have opened in several government offices. Several municipality offices in the Kingdom have also opened sections exclusively for women so that they will get more involved in both administrative and field activities of local governments.
And of course permitting women to work in areas which were formerly the exclusive domains of men is a bold move in Saudi society.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of media relations in the mayor’s office told Arab News yesterday that the Jeddah Mayor’s office had recruited 16 women computer operators and information technologists. They began working on the first working day of the new Hijri year which was Jan. 12. "Our office plans to increase women’s participation to other branches including the field inspection of commercial establishments," Al-Ghamdi said.
Women have also been employed in the administrative department of the office.
- Arab News
And of course permitting women to work in areas which were formerly the exclusive domains of men is a bold move in Saudi society.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of media relations in the mayor’s office told Arab News yesterday that the Jeddah Mayor’s office had recruited 16 women computer operators and information technologists. They began working on the first working day of the new Hijri year which was Jan. 12. "Our office plans to increase women’s participation to other branches including the field inspection of commercial establishments," Al-Ghamdi said.
Women have also been employed in the administrative department of the office.
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia: Role of Women Increases
JEDDAH — As women’s participation in the Kingdom’s national development increases, special women’s sections with all female staff have opened in several government offices. Several municipality offices in the Kingdom have also opened sections exclusively for women so that they will get more involved in both administrative and field activities of local governments.
And of course permitting women to work in areas which were formerly the exclusive domains of men is a bold move in Saudi society.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of media relations in the mayor’s office told Arab News yesterday that the Jeddah Mayor’s office had recruited 16 women computer operators and information technologists. They began working on the first working day of the new Hijri year which was Jan. 12. “Our office plans to increase women’s participation to other branches including the field inspection of commercial establishments,” Al-Ghamdi said.
Women have also been employed in the administrative department of the office.
Galal Fakkar, Arab News
And of course permitting women to work in areas which were formerly the exclusive domains of men is a bold move in Saudi society.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, director of media relations in the mayor’s office told Arab News yesterday that the Jeddah Mayor’s office had recruited 16 women computer operators and information technologists. They began working on the first working day of the new Hijri year which was Jan. 12. “Our office plans to increase women’s participation to other branches including the field inspection of commercial establishments,” Al-Ghamdi said.
Women have also been employed in the administrative department of the office.
Galal Fakkar, Arab News
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights Activist Wajiha Al-Huweidar Criticizes Middle Eastern Men and Saudi Society and States
Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi women's rights activist Wajiha Al-Huweidar, which aired on Al-Hurra TV on January 13, 2008:
(The interview can be seen here)
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: We have raised a generation – I think it began with my own generation – on the belief that we are a special people, that we are the cradle of Islam, that the truth is ours and ours alone, that we are the Saved Sect of Islam. People have begun to believe all these lies, and they use them as pretexts. When we demanded that women be employed in public workplaces, they say: "No, we are a special people." When we demand that women be allowed to drive, they say: "No, we are a special people." No, we are not. In what way are we special? There is nothing special about us. True, we have the two holy cities – Mecca and Al-Madina – but this does not mean that we have a monopoly on religion, and that we are the only Muslims in the world.
[...]
This Saudi patriarchal culture has become prevalent under religious guise, but if you examine everything that goes on in this society, none of it has anything to do with religion. How can it be that people are stripped of their individual judgment, and the Commission [for the Prevention of Vice] is sent to spy on people in the streets, and to determine who errs and who acts properly? Who gave them the right to do this? People have the right to decide for themselves what they do and don't want.
Interviewer: Should women be allowed to decide this for themselves?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: Of course. After all, they are like any...
Interviewer: Despite this commission?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: This commission must be abolished, and the day will come when it will be. Look, the early signs that a wrong ideology is dying are fanaticism and extremism. This is obvious. Have you ever seen a dead body that is soft? When the person dies, the body becomes rigid. Similarly, this ideology will become increasingly rigid, and will reach the height of fanaticism, but it is constantly in the process of dying. Take a look at history. Let's examine what happened to the Church in Europe. It becomes rigid and persecuted ideologies, killing and burning scientists, until people rebelled against it, and this led to its collapse. History tells us that this holds true for all ideologies. Communism...
Interviewer: Are you seeing signs of this collapse?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: This will not happen in our generation. It will take time, but it will happen.
[...]
We, in the East – and I am talking about the East in a broad sense, including Pakistan, Turkey, and the Kurds... The way I see it, these are all wretched people, wretched men. This is obvious. He who has nothing cannot give anything to others. These men have lost what could have given them a real sense of masculinity. They draw their masculinity from Islam, if they are Muslims, of if they are non-Muslims, from the customs and tradition of the very harsh society that gives men more rights than women. Hence, they do not draw any strength from within. In the case of our Saudi society, they draw their strength from the weakness of women too. Most women choose to be weak, because it makes their lives easier. The weaker the wife is, the stronger the husband feels. How can you rely on a man who does not draw his strength from within?
[...]
Do not forget that Eastern men are oppressed both by society and by the authorities. Men face the authorities more than women, and the authorities in Eastern countries are very harsh, to the point that a person can vanish, without anybody ever knowing what happened to him.
[...]
Saudi men strut around like peacocks, as they say, because they were given more than they deserve, and they have authorities beyond what they are capable of bearing. The Saudi man believes he should be president. The moment he graduates from university, he wants to become president. I know that men will say that I am generalizing, but I am talking about the phenomenon, about the vast majority. How come you can hardly find any Saudi laborers? My father was a laborer, and so were many of his generation.
[...]
I do not understand why there is no room for other religions in the vast land of Saudi Arabia. To this day, there is no church for the Christians, no synagogue for the Jews, and temple for the Hindus, even though they constitute a large part of the foreign communities in Saudi Arabia. There are 6-8 million of these people.
Interviewer: There is the notion that Saudi Arabia is the cradle of Islam, as you've said, and that it is the most conservative Islamic conservative Islamic country. That is the response you usually get to such questions.
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: Why do we fear other religions? What frightens us? We should have confidence in ourselves and in our religion. There is no religious text that prohibits the establishment of a church or a temple of any religion. If they want to oppose this in Mecca or Al-Madina – there could be a justification for this, but in the other cities, where there are many foreign workers... How can this be justified? It could be justified because these cities are holy to Muslims, even though Mecca... In my opinion, Mecca should be opened to all the Muslim and non-Muslim peoples of the world. How come the Sheik of the Haram Mosque, to this day, comes from the same family and from the same region – Najd.
Interviewer: What family?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: It is passed down from father to son in the Subayyil family. Why only this family, and why must it be a family from Najd? How come Saudis have a monopoly on Islam? Are the Saudis the only Muslims? If we want to spread the notion of tolerance towards other religions and sects, the Haram Mosque should be given to the different sects.
Interviewer: Which sects?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: All of them. Why must the Sheik of the Haram Mosque be of the Hanbali school? Why can't there be a Hanbali sheik one day, and on other days, sheiks form the Shafe'i, Maliki, Hanafi, Ja'fari, and Isma'ili schools? Why can't there be sheiks of other nationalities? Why only Saudis?
[...]
Saudi society is based on enslavement – the enslavement of women to men and of society to the state. People still do not make their own decisions, but it is the women of Saudi Arabia who have been denied everything. The Saudi woman still lives the life of a slavegirl. So in what way are we different from Guantanamo? At least in the case of Guantanamo, many prisoners have been releases, while we remain in this prison, and nobody ever hears of us. When will we be freed? I don't know.
(The interview can be seen here)
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: We have raised a generation – I think it began with my own generation – on the belief that we are a special people, that we are the cradle of Islam, that the truth is ours and ours alone, that we are the Saved Sect of Islam. People have begun to believe all these lies, and they use them as pretexts. When we demanded that women be employed in public workplaces, they say: "No, we are a special people." When we demand that women be allowed to drive, they say: "No, we are a special people." No, we are not. In what way are we special? There is nothing special about us. True, we have the two holy cities – Mecca and Al-Madina – but this does not mean that we have a monopoly on religion, and that we are the only Muslims in the world.
[...]
This Saudi patriarchal culture has become prevalent under religious guise, but if you examine everything that goes on in this society, none of it has anything to do with religion. How can it be that people are stripped of their individual judgment, and the Commission [for the Prevention of Vice] is sent to spy on people in the streets, and to determine who errs and who acts properly? Who gave them the right to do this? People have the right to decide for themselves what they do and don't want.
Interviewer: Should women be allowed to decide this for themselves?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: Of course. After all, they are like any...
Interviewer: Despite this commission?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: This commission must be abolished, and the day will come when it will be. Look, the early signs that a wrong ideology is dying are fanaticism and extremism. This is obvious. Have you ever seen a dead body that is soft? When the person dies, the body becomes rigid. Similarly, this ideology will become increasingly rigid, and will reach the height of fanaticism, but it is constantly in the process of dying. Take a look at history. Let's examine what happened to the Church in Europe. It becomes rigid and persecuted ideologies, killing and burning scientists, until people rebelled against it, and this led to its collapse. History tells us that this holds true for all ideologies. Communism...
Interviewer: Are you seeing signs of this collapse?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: This will not happen in our generation. It will take time, but it will happen.
[...]
We, in the East – and I am talking about the East in a broad sense, including Pakistan, Turkey, and the Kurds... The way I see it, these are all wretched people, wretched men. This is obvious. He who has nothing cannot give anything to others. These men have lost what could have given them a real sense of masculinity. They draw their masculinity from Islam, if they are Muslims, of if they are non-Muslims, from the customs and tradition of the very harsh society that gives men more rights than women. Hence, they do not draw any strength from within. In the case of our Saudi society, they draw their strength from the weakness of women too. Most women choose to be weak, because it makes their lives easier. The weaker the wife is, the stronger the husband feels. How can you rely on a man who does not draw his strength from within?
[...]
Do not forget that Eastern men are oppressed both by society and by the authorities. Men face the authorities more than women, and the authorities in Eastern countries are very harsh, to the point that a person can vanish, without anybody ever knowing what happened to him.
[...]
Saudi men strut around like peacocks, as they say, because they were given more than they deserve, and they have authorities beyond what they are capable of bearing. The Saudi man believes he should be president. The moment he graduates from university, he wants to become president. I know that men will say that I am generalizing, but I am talking about the phenomenon, about the vast majority. How come you can hardly find any Saudi laborers? My father was a laborer, and so were many of his generation.
[...]
I do not understand why there is no room for other religions in the vast land of Saudi Arabia. To this day, there is no church for the Christians, no synagogue for the Jews, and temple for the Hindus, even though they constitute a large part of the foreign communities in Saudi Arabia. There are 6-8 million of these people.
Interviewer: There is the notion that Saudi Arabia is the cradle of Islam, as you've said, and that it is the most conservative Islamic conservative Islamic country. That is the response you usually get to such questions.
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: Why do we fear other religions? What frightens us? We should have confidence in ourselves and in our religion. There is no religious text that prohibits the establishment of a church or a temple of any religion. If they want to oppose this in Mecca or Al-Madina – there could be a justification for this, but in the other cities, where there are many foreign workers... How can this be justified? It could be justified because these cities are holy to Muslims, even though Mecca... In my opinion, Mecca should be opened to all the Muslim and non-Muslim peoples of the world. How come the Sheik of the Haram Mosque, to this day, comes from the same family and from the same region – Najd.
Interviewer: What family?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: It is passed down from father to son in the Subayyil family. Why only this family, and why must it be a family from Najd? How come Saudis have a monopoly on Islam? Are the Saudis the only Muslims? If we want to spread the notion of tolerance towards other religions and sects, the Haram Mosque should be given to the different sects.
Interviewer: Which sects?
Wajiha Al-Huweidar: All of them. Why must the Sheik of the Haram Mosque be of the Hanbali school? Why can't there be a Hanbali sheik one day, and on other days, sheiks form the Shafe'i, Maliki, Hanafi, Ja'fari, and Isma'ili schools? Why can't there be sheiks of other nationalities? Why only Saudis?
[...]
Saudi society is based on enslavement – the enslavement of women to men and of society to the state. People still do not make their own decisions, but it is the women of Saudi Arabia who have been denied everything. The Saudi woman still lives the life of a slavegirl. So in what way are we different from Guantanamo? At least in the case of Guantanamo, many prisoners have been releases, while we remain in this prison, and nobody ever hears of us. When will we be freed? I don't know.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Jordan: Government moves to curb domestic violence
AMMAN (IRIN) - The Jordanian parliament on 6 January endorsed a family protection bill in a bid to combat rising domestic violence.
The draft law, which still needs to be approved by the Senate before taking effect, imposes stiff penalties on violators, ranging from hefty fines to imprisonment of up to six months.
The bill also gives the authorities the power to detain perpetrators of domestic violence for 24 hours "in order to protect the victim" and the court has the right to bar perpetrators from approaching "safe houses" where victims are sheltered in order to guarantee their safety.
Under the bill, victims can also file for financial compensation in cases of physical harm or psychological abuse.
The bill reflects recent campaigns aimed at curbing domestic violence, said Rim Abu Hassan, a human rights activist from the Jordan Society for Protection from Family Violence.
"This is a necessary law to deal with family violence; it specifies procedures on how to handle this issue and finds alternative solutions that could help families heal any rift as a result of violence," said Abu Hassan.
The law paves the way for the creation of "family conciliation committees" to mediate between victims and perpetrators.
Adult family members are required to report physical or sexual abuse that takes place in their households, according to the draft law.
However, lawmakers rejected an article in the bill that obliged health care staff and school teachers to report to the authorities any incidents of family violence.
Abu Hassan believes it will be hard to combat family violence without obliging officials exposed to such cases to inform the authorities of suspected abuse.
The bill seeks to combat violence against women and children. Some deputies, however, believe the solution is not stringent laws, but awareness-raising campaigns targeting impoverished communities. The law is a necessary tool to remind people of what penalties they face if they harm their wives or children, but we also need to educate people on the issue, said member of parliament Mahmoud Kharabsheh.
The number of domestic violence cases in 2006-2007 rose to 132, according to a recent study covering 11 of the kingdom's 62 courts. Most of the victims ended up having to recuperate in bed for 10 days.
The draft law, which still needs to be approved by the Senate before taking effect, imposes stiff penalties on violators, ranging from hefty fines to imprisonment of up to six months.
The bill also gives the authorities the power to detain perpetrators of domestic violence for 24 hours "in order to protect the victim" and the court has the right to bar perpetrators from approaching "safe houses" where victims are sheltered in order to guarantee their safety.
Under the bill, victims can also file for financial compensation in cases of physical harm or psychological abuse.
The bill reflects recent campaigns aimed at curbing domestic violence, said Rim Abu Hassan, a human rights activist from the Jordan Society for Protection from Family Violence.
"This is a necessary law to deal with family violence; it specifies procedures on how to handle this issue and finds alternative solutions that could help families heal any rift as a result of violence," said Abu Hassan.
The law paves the way for the creation of "family conciliation committees" to mediate between victims and perpetrators.
Adult family members are required to report physical or sexual abuse that takes place in their households, according to the draft law.
However, lawmakers rejected an article in the bill that obliged health care staff and school teachers to report to the authorities any incidents of family violence.
Abu Hassan believes it will be hard to combat family violence without obliging officials exposed to such cases to inform the authorities of suspected abuse.
The bill seeks to combat violence against women and children. Some deputies, however, believe the solution is not stringent laws, but awareness-raising campaigns targeting impoverished communities. The law is a necessary tool to remind people of what penalties they face if they harm their wives or children, but we also need to educate people on the issue, said member of parliament Mahmoud Kharabsheh.
The number of domestic violence cases in 2006-2007 rose to 132, according to a recent study covering 11 of the kingdom's 62 courts. Most of the victims ended up having to recuperate in bed for 10 days.
Monday, January 7, 2008
UAE: United Arab Emirates will soon have women judges
Women in the United Arab Emirates will soon be allowed to become judges, breaking a male monopoly over the profession in the conservative monarchy, the justice minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Women are currently being trained at the Judicial Institute to become judges and prosecutors across the UAE once the law is amended, the English daily Gulf News reported, quoting minister Mohammad bin Nakhira al-Dhaheri."
At present the law states that only a Muslim man is entitled to assume the position of a judge," he said, without specifying when the law will be changed.The proposed law, which should cover the judiciary in the seven-member federation, would make the UAE the second Gulf country after Bahrain to allow women to become judges.
Women hold nine seats in the 40-member Federal National Council, with eight appointed by the UAE president to join the half-elected advisory body.
- Agence France-Presse
Women are currently being trained at the Judicial Institute to become judges and prosecutors across the UAE once the law is amended, the English daily Gulf News reported, quoting minister Mohammad bin Nakhira al-Dhaheri."
At present the law states that only a Muslim man is entitled to assume the position of a judge," he said, without specifying when the law will be changed.The proposed law, which should cover the judiciary in the seven-member federation, would make the UAE the second Gulf country after Bahrain to allow women to become judges.
Women hold nine seats in the 40-member Federal National Council, with eight appointed by the UAE president to join the half-elected advisory body.
- Agence France-Presse
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saudi Arabia: Majorities Support Women's Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The "Qatif girl" has put the spotlight on the Saudi justice system. Last year, several men abducted and raped a young woman and her male friend in Saudi Arabia. While the court sentenced the rapists to prison, it also ruled that the 19-year-old woman (and her male companion) would receive 90 lashes. The woman was in the company of a man not related to her in the absence of her legal male guardian (khulwa), which is illegal in Saudi Arabia. After her lawyer appealed the ruling, the court increased her sentence to 200 lashes and added a six-month prison term. Earlier this week, Saudi King Abdullah pardoned the woman.
The plight of the "Qatif girl" has drawn much international attention and public outcry, but it has also oversimplified the debate over women's rights in Saudi Arabia by focusing on a dramatic case of government action. Findings from a recent Gallup Poll conducted in Saudi Arabia show that majorities of respondents support freedoms for women. Although Saudi men are less likely than Saudi women to agree that certain rights should be guaranteed to women, it is important to note that majorities of men do support such freedoms. People surveyed in Egypt and Iran, where women experience various levels of restrictions, express different opinions and interpretations of women's rights in the Muslim world.
Freedom of Movement and the Right to Work
Age and a valid driver's license usually determine whether an individual can operate a vehicle, but in Saudi Arabia, women are prohibited from driving. Poll results show that 66% of Saudi women and 55% of Saudi men agree that women should be allowed to drive a car by themselves. In light of the ban on female driving, such relatively high levels of public support are remarkable. Recently, several Saudi women founded a group to raise awareness about this issue. This fall, the Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia collected more than 1,000 signatures and sent the petition to the king asking him to rescind the driving ban, which has been official since 1990.
Both sexes also support the right to work outside the home. More than 8 in 10 Saudi women (82%) and three-quarters of Saudi men (75%) agree that women should be allowed to hold any job for which they are qualified outside the home. As a point of comparison, in Iran, the gender gap on this issue is 17 points and in Egypt, it stretches to 21 points.
In recent years, more Saudi women have been entering the labor force. And although less than 20% of women in Saudi Arabia participate in the workforce, they represent 31% of professional and technical workers, according to the United Nations' latest Human Development Report. Speaking at the Tallberg Forum this summer, Princess Deema Bint Turki Ben Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia told the audience that Saudi women "are able to achieve success in several areas of public and social life." For example, in 2005, female candidates ran for seats on the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and two women were elected, a great achievement in conservative Saudi society. Currently, four women sit on the board.
The Meaning of Equality
Under Islamic law, men bear full financial responsibility to provide for their households and women are not obligated to work outside the home. But if they do, they have the right to keep their wages. This distinction between the genders casts light on the complementary roles that women and men have in Islam, where each is a partner to the other.
Gallup findings reveal that there is no gender gap among Saudis with respect to attitudes toward women keeping their earnings. Eighty-four percent of Saudi women and 83% of Saudi men agree that women should be allowed to keep all earnings from their jobs for themselves and that their husbands should support their households in full. It is noteworthy that a law that appears to disadvantage men receives such strong support from them. The Gallup Poll also asked this question in three European countries: Fifty-eight percent of French respondents agree that women should keep their wages and that their husbands should support them. But in Germany and the United Kingdom, only 38% and 34%, respectively, agree.
However, Egyptian respondents express far less enthusiasm than Saudi respondents do for such a right, as 48% of Egyptian women and 51% of Egyptian men agree on this issue. This finding suggests that in light of the challenging socio-economic realities in Egypt, many families may be forced to ignore rights women do have under Islamic law out of financial necessity. As a comparison, in Iran, 63% of women versus 51% of men agree that women should have the right to keep their wages.
When asked if both sexes should have equal legal rights, almost 8 in 10 Saudi women (79%) and two-thirds of men (66%) agree. In Egypt, respondents express similar levels of support for "equal legal rights" and Iranians, especially women, are even more likely to agree on this issue. But "equal legal rights" do not mean men and women have the same rights. In Islamic family law, rights reflect the different obligations of the wife and husband, acting as partners in life. The issue of "same rights" in Muslim communities could actually mean a loss of rights for women. For instance, in some Muslim societies, women would have to share their wages with their husbands, which they do not have to do under current law, as interpreted by Muslims globally. Such nuance is frequently overlooked in conversations about gender parity in the Muslim world.
The Right to Lead
In 2006, Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, issued a religious opinion (fatwa) stating that women, under Islamic law, have the right to become heads of state in contemporary Muslim nations. But just as women have the right to keep what they earn or inherit, tradition in patriarchal, conservative societies may take priority over the legal codes.
While the right for women to lead a nation is the issue that elicits the greatest differences of opinions between the sexes in Saudi Arabia, that a slight majority of men agree is remarkable. Sixty-six percent of Saudi women versus 52% of Saudi men agree women should be able to hold leadership positions in the cabinet and the national council. In Iran, the gender split reaches 18 points and in Egypt, the gap between women's and men's attitudes on this item widens to 24 points. In September 2006, findings from a Gallup Panel survey conducted in the United States revealed that 57% of women and 65% of men said that Americans were ready to elect a woman as president.
While many in the international community have focused on the unfairness of the sentence of the "Qatif girl" before the king's pardon, the case should not be considered representative of Saudis' attitudes toward women. In fact, the poll findings reveal that support to ensure certain rights for women exists in Saudi Arabia. Although much remains to be done, Western analysts should not conflate the government's interpretation of Islamic law's restrictions of women and the perspectives of the Saudi public.
Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,006 adults in Saudi Arabia in June-July 2007, aged 15 and older.
In Egypt, results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,024 adults in July 2007, aged 15 and older.
In Iran, results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,004 adults in June-July 2007, aged 15 and older.
In France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, results are based on telephone interviews with a total of 3,053 adults, aged 15 and older, in December 2006-January 2007.
In the United States, results are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 21-24, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's household panel. Gallup panel members are recruited through random selection methods. The panel was weighted prior to sampling so that it was demographically representative of the U.S. adult population.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
- Magali Rheault (Gallup)
The plight of the "Qatif girl" has drawn much international attention and public outcry, but it has also oversimplified the debate over women's rights in Saudi Arabia by focusing on a dramatic case of government action. Findings from a recent Gallup Poll conducted in Saudi Arabia show that majorities of respondents support freedoms for women. Although Saudi men are less likely than Saudi women to agree that certain rights should be guaranteed to women, it is important to note that majorities of men do support such freedoms. People surveyed in Egypt and Iran, where women experience various levels of restrictions, express different opinions and interpretations of women's rights in the Muslim world.
Freedom of Movement and the Right to Work
Age and a valid driver's license usually determine whether an individual can operate a vehicle, but in Saudi Arabia, women are prohibited from driving. Poll results show that 66% of Saudi women and 55% of Saudi men agree that women should be allowed to drive a car by themselves. In light of the ban on female driving, such relatively high levels of public support are remarkable. Recently, several Saudi women founded a group to raise awareness about this issue. This fall, the Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia collected more than 1,000 signatures and sent the petition to the king asking him to rescind the driving ban, which has been official since 1990.
Both sexes also support the right to work outside the home. More than 8 in 10 Saudi women (82%) and three-quarters of Saudi men (75%) agree that women should be allowed to hold any job for which they are qualified outside the home. As a point of comparison, in Iran, the gender gap on this issue is 17 points and in Egypt, it stretches to 21 points.
In recent years, more Saudi women have been entering the labor force. And although less than 20% of women in Saudi Arabia participate in the workforce, they represent 31% of professional and technical workers, according to the United Nations' latest Human Development Report. Speaking at the Tallberg Forum this summer, Princess Deema Bint Turki Ben Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia told the audience that Saudi women "are able to achieve success in several areas of public and social life." For example, in 2005, female candidates ran for seats on the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and two women were elected, a great achievement in conservative Saudi society. Currently, four women sit on the board.
The Meaning of Equality
Under Islamic law, men bear full financial responsibility to provide for their households and women are not obligated to work outside the home. But if they do, they have the right to keep their wages. This distinction between the genders casts light on the complementary roles that women and men have in Islam, where each is a partner to the other.
Gallup findings reveal that there is no gender gap among Saudis with respect to attitudes toward women keeping their earnings. Eighty-four percent of Saudi women and 83% of Saudi men agree that women should be allowed to keep all earnings from their jobs for themselves and that their husbands should support their households in full. It is noteworthy that a law that appears to disadvantage men receives such strong support from them. The Gallup Poll also asked this question in three European countries: Fifty-eight percent of French respondents agree that women should keep their wages and that their husbands should support them. But in Germany and the United Kingdom, only 38% and 34%, respectively, agree.
However, Egyptian respondents express far less enthusiasm than Saudi respondents do for such a right, as 48% of Egyptian women and 51% of Egyptian men agree on this issue. This finding suggests that in light of the challenging socio-economic realities in Egypt, many families may be forced to ignore rights women do have under Islamic law out of financial necessity. As a comparison, in Iran, 63% of women versus 51% of men agree that women should have the right to keep their wages.
When asked if both sexes should have equal legal rights, almost 8 in 10 Saudi women (79%) and two-thirds of men (66%) agree. In Egypt, respondents express similar levels of support for "equal legal rights" and Iranians, especially women, are even more likely to agree on this issue. But "equal legal rights" do not mean men and women have the same rights. In Islamic family law, rights reflect the different obligations of the wife and husband, acting as partners in life. The issue of "same rights" in Muslim communities could actually mean a loss of rights for women. For instance, in some Muslim societies, women would have to share their wages with their husbands, which they do not have to do under current law, as interpreted by Muslims globally. Such nuance is frequently overlooked in conversations about gender parity in the Muslim world.
The Right to Lead
In 2006, Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, issued a religious opinion (fatwa) stating that women, under Islamic law, have the right to become heads of state in contemporary Muslim nations. But just as women have the right to keep what they earn or inherit, tradition in patriarchal, conservative societies may take priority over the legal codes.
While the right for women to lead a nation is the issue that elicits the greatest differences of opinions between the sexes in Saudi Arabia, that a slight majority of men agree is remarkable. Sixty-six percent of Saudi women versus 52% of Saudi men agree women should be able to hold leadership positions in the cabinet and the national council. In Iran, the gender split reaches 18 points and in Egypt, the gap between women's and men's attitudes on this item widens to 24 points. In September 2006, findings from a Gallup Panel survey conducted in the United States revealed that 57% of women and 65% of men said that Americans were ready to elect a woman as president.
While many in the international community have focused on the unfairness of the sentence of the "Qatif girl" before the king's pardon, the case should not be considered representative of Saudis' attitudes toward women. In fact, the poll findings reveal that support to ensure certain rights for women exists in Saudi Arabia. Although much remains to be done, Western analysts should not conflate the government's interpretation of Islamic law's restrictions of women and the perspectives of the Saudi public.
Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,006 adults in Saudi Arabia in June-July 2007, aged 15 and older.
In Egypt, results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,024 adults in July 2007, aged 15 and older.
In Iran, results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,004 adults in June-July 2007, aged 15 and older.
In France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, results are based on telephone interviews with a total of 3,053 adults, aged 15 and older, in December 2006-January 2007.
In the United States, results are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 21-24, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's household panel. Gallup panel members are recruited through random selection methods. The panel was weighted prior to sampling so that it was demographically representative of the U.S. adult population.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
- Magali Rheault (Gallup)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Saudi Arabia: ‘Qatif Girl’ Subjected to Brutal Crime: King
JEDDAH — The official pardon of “Qatif Girl”, which was released late Monday night by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, said that the “Qatif Girl” had been subjected to “a brutal crime”. The pardon, which was read by Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh on Monday night on Saudi Channel One, describes the reasoning for the decision. “According to what has been gathered in the file of this case from the evidence, the facts show that the woman was subjected to a brutal crime, which saddened us,” the statement from the king reads.
“A mistake in pardoning is less than a mistake in punishment, according to Islamic jurists. As no final ruling was issued by the court, besides a (Ta’azir) ruling, we are allowed to pardon her.”
A Ta’azir ruling is one based on an interpretation of Shariah by a judge or panel of judges, rather than a direct reference to proper punishments for specific crimes in the Qur’an or Hadith. The “Qatif Girl” was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison based on an interpretation of her crime (in this case “khulwa”, or “isolation”, with a man in a vehicle) and its detrimental effect on society as determined by the judge.
Asheikh said on Monday to a Saudi local newspaper that the king “is convinced and trusts that the verdicts are just and fair.” But the king’s pardon read by the minister says that the pardon was “because the woman and the man who was with her were subject to torture and stubbornness that is considered in itself sufficient in disciplining both of them and to learn from the lesson.”
The pardon ordered the suspension of the trial against both defendants — “Qatif Girl” and her male companion, who was also reportedly raped — and a continuation of the review of the sentencing of the seven young men found guilty of rape. The king ordered the Ministry of Justice to give the rapists the strictest sentence possible for their crime. The king also issued a warning that no mercy would be given to those who dare to violate Islamic law or pose a threat to public safety.
In the second verdict that was issued in November, the convicted rapists had their sentences increased to between two and nine years in prison. The pardon also underscored the king’s support for the justice system. “Men of justice are our men and deputies and we count on them, after God, to establish justice; to cut the way in front of every jealous person who wants to use such cases to harm the country’s reputation,” the statement reads.
The pardon continued to be well-received yesterday by human rights and women’s groups, who tempered their thanks with a request for increased protection of women in the judicial system.
The recently formed Saudi Women’s Association, which petitioned for the right to drive in September, issued a statement yesterday thanking King Abdullah for recognizing the brutal nature of the crime and reversing the decision to punish the rape victim.
“We sincerely thank you and deliver our highest appreciation of your kind pardon of the ‘Qatif Girl’,” the statement reads. “We were sure of your kind heart and the goodness of your soul.”
The statement goes on to ask that the Saudi government “issuing legislations that protect women from abuse and family oppression.”
King Saud University professor and columnist Hamza Al-Mezaini, who received a royal pardon from King Abdullah in 2005 when he was crown prince, said Qatif Girl’s pardon is a sign that the king is following closely such matters.
“Pardoning the girl means the king is monitoring and directly following up such cases,” he said. “It clearly shows that he is keeping a close eye on all matters Saudi. He is our shelter.”
Mizeini was facing 275 lashes and four-months of imprisonment after a professor brought slander charges against him for criticizing what the columnist called extremist elements at the institution.
Although Mizeini said that there should be some control over the way the media cover ongoing court cases, he said the media scrutiny in this trial “served the girl well.”
“But that’s not guarantee it will have the same effect each time,” he said.
In one interview published in Saudi Arabia, one of the judges of the High Court openly expressed his desire to see the rape victims and the rapists executed.
During the televised presentation of the king’s pardon, Asheikh denied what he describes as “rumors” that the license of Qatif Girl’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, had been revoked. The minister said that the Saudi law has established means to punish lawyers if mistakes were reported on them from individuals or societies.
“Punishing any lawyer is not merely a reactionary move,” he said. “There is a formed committee at the ministry that decides on lawyers state and whether to keep their license, revoke them or punish them accordingly. No decision was made by the Ministry (of Justice) against the lawyer in this regard.”
- Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab News
“A mistake in pardoning is less than a mistake in punishment, according to Islamic jurists. As no final ruling was issued by the court, besides a (Ta’azir) ruling, we are allowed to pardon her.”
A Ta’azir ruling is one based on an interpretation of Shariah by a judge or panel of judges, rather than a direct reference to proper punishments for specific crimes in the Qur’an or Hadith. The “Qatif Girl” was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison based on an interpretation of her crime (in this case “khulwa”, or “isolation”, with a man in a vehicle) and its detrimental effect on society as determined by the judge.
Asheikh said on Monday to a Saudi local newspaper that the king “is convinced and trusts that the verdicts are just and fair.” But the king’s pardon read by the minister says that the pardon was “because the woman and the man who was with her were subject to torture and stubbornness that is considered in itself sufficient in disciplining both of them and to learn from the lesson.”
The pardon ordered the suspension of the trial against both defendants — “Qatif Girl” and her male companion, who was also reportedly raped — and a continuation of the review of the sentencing of the seven young men found guilty of rape. The king ordered the Ministry of Justice to give the rapists the strictest sentence possible for their crime. The king also issued a warning that no mercy would be given to those who dare to violate Islamic law or pose a threat to public safety.
In the second verdict that was issued in November, the convicted rapists had their sentences increased to between two and nine years in prison. The pardon also underscored the king’s support for the justice system. “Men of justice are our men and deputies and we count on them, after God, to establish justice; to cut the way in front of every jealous person who wants to use such cases to harm the country’s reputation,” the statement reads.
The pardon continued to be well-received yesterday by human rights and women’s groups, who tempered their thanks with a request for increased protection of women in the judicial system.
The recently formed Saudi Women’s Association, which petitioned for the right to drive in September, issued a statement yesterday thanking King Abdullah for recognizing the brutal nature of the crime and reversing the decision to punish the rape victim.
“We sincerely thank you and deliver our highest appreciation of your kind pardon of the ‘Qatif Girl’,” the statement reads. “We were sure of your kind heart and the goodness of your soul.”
The statement goes on to ask that the Saudi government “issuing legislations that protect women from abuse and family oppression.”
King Saud University professor and columnist Hamza Al-Mezaini, who received a royal pardon from King Abdullah in 2005 when he was crown prince, said Qatif Girl’s pardon is a sign that the king is following closely such matters.
“Pardoning the girl means the king is monitoring and directly following up such cases,” he said. “It clearly shows that he is keeping a close eye on all matters Saudi. He is our shelter.”
Mizeini was facing 275 lashes and four-months of imprisonment after a professor brought slander charges against him for criticizing what the columnist called extremist elements at the institution.
Although Mizeini said that there should be some control over the way the media cover ongoing court cases, he said the media scrutiny in this trial “served the girl well.”
“But that’s not guarantee it will have the same effect each time,” he said.
In one interview published in Saudi Arabia, one of the judges of the High Court openly expressed his desire to see the rape victims and the rapists executed.
During the televised presentation of the king’s pardon, Asheikh denied what he describes as “rumors” that the license of Qatif Girl’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, had been revoked. The minister said that the Saudi law has established means to punish lawyers if mistakes were reported on them from individuals or societies.
“Punishing any lawyer is not merely a reactionary move,” he said. “There is a formed committee at the ministry that decides on lawyers state and whether to keep their license, revoke them or punish them accordingly. No decision was made by the Ministry (of Justice) against the lawyer in this regard.”
- Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab News
Monday, December 17, 2007
Egypt: Egypt's YouTube Democrats
Washington Post
By Jackson Diehl
They do know a lot of people like themselves. "The majority of Egyptians are like us, under the age of 35," said Ahmed Samih, the 28-year-old director of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies in Cairo. "Our president is 85, and far away from Facebook."
Samih, a fearless man who says he has been a political activist since age 17, ought to know. Six months ago he founded a Facebook group called "What happens when Hosni Mubarak dies?"
Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt under "emergency law" since 1981, is actually only 79. But he is noticeably fading. And Samih's group has attracted 2,741 members, almost all of them Egyptian.
Facebook and YouTube are where the young Egyptian democracy movement lives -- mostly out of reach of Mubarak's secret police. There are more than 60 Facebook groups devoted to liberal Egyptian causes; many of them have thousands of members. On YouTube, one can find hundreds of video clips showing demonstrations for human rights in Egypt, speeches by liberal activists, sermons by reformist Muslim clerics -- and torture by Mubarak's security forces, captured on cellphones.
The king of torture videos is Wael Abbas, a 34-year-old journalist and blogger. A clip he posted of police sodomizing a minibus driver with a stick scandalized the country and forced the prosecution of two officers. Last month, his YouTube account was suspended, on the grounds that his videos violated the site's standards. Following a clamor from human rights groups and a shower of e-mails from outraged Egyptians, his access was restored, and 187 of his clips were back up last week.
This is not to say that Egyptian activists can't be found in real-life neighborhoods. One of the interesting things about the activists visiting Washington was their disdain for the aging elite of Egypt's opposition parties, who mostly confine themselves to editing small newspapers or writing books. "It's time to get out and work with groups that have concrete problems," said Mozn Hassan, the 28-year-old head of Nazra for Feminist Studies, a group focused on training female activists. "People who are living in Upper Egypt don't care about the emergency law. But if we can relate this to their rights as a woman, or as a [Christian] Copt, or as a person who cannot get work, we can recruit them to the overall cause of reform."
The activists were brought to the United States by the human rights group Freedom House, which gave them one-month fellowships to work with U.S. community organizations and arranged for them to meet Rice on Human Rights Day. Many of them were in the United States for the first time. They seemed grateful for the opportunity to meet Rice even though they've been disappointed by her swivel in the past two years from calling on Egypt to "lead the way" to Arab democratization to embracing Mubarak as a "mainstream ally" and helpmate in Israeli-Palestinian talks.
"The United States has decided it needs Mubarak more than they need to support the human rights cause," said Ola Shahba, a 29-year-old project manager for Nahdet El Mahrousa, a group that promotes community development projects. "We are in trouble, and we need to work our way out of it."
Part of that work, as the activists saw it, was reminding Rice and others in Washington that support for democracy in Egypt is not a matter of charity. "We are not just saying, 'We are some idealistic group so help us,' " said Samih. "We are saying, 'This is in your national interest.' Reform in Egypt is important to the United States. The theory that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't doesn't work -- because the devil you know brought you Mohamed Atta."
For now that truth seems to have been forgotten at Rice's State Department. But Samih and his friends are young, and they are busy planning for life after Hosni Mubarak and George W. Bush.
By Jackson Diehl
They do know a lot of people like themselves. "The majority of Egyptians are like us, under the age of 35," said Ahmed Samih, the 28-year-old director of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies in Cairo. "Our president is 85, and far away from Facebook."
Samih, a fearless man who says he has been a political activist since age 17, ought to know. Six months ago he founded a Facebook group called "What happens when Hosni Mubarak dies?"
Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt under "emergency law" since 1981, is actually only 79. But he is noticeably fading. And Samih's group has attracted 2,741 members, almost all of them Egyptian.
Facebook and YouTube are where the young Egyptian democracy movement lives -- mostly out of reach of Mubarak's secret police. There are more than 60 Facebook groups devoted to liberal Egyptian causes; many of them have thousands of members. On YouTube, one can find hundreds of video clips showing demonstrations for human rights in Egypt, speeches by liberal activists, sermons by reformist Muslim clerics -- and torture by Mubarak's security forces, captured on cellphones.
The king of torture videos is Wael Abbas, a 34-year-old journalist and blogger. A clip he posted of police sodomizing a minibus driver with a stick scandalized the country and forced the prosecution of two officers. Last month, his YouTube account was suspended, on the grounds that his videos violated the site's standards. Following a clamor from human rights groups and a shower of e-mails from outraged Egyptians, his access was restored, and 187 of his clips were back up last week.
This is not to say that Egyptian activists can't be found in real-life neighborhoods. One of the interesting things about the activists visiting Washington was their disdain for the aging elite of Egypt's opposition parties, who mostly confine themselves to editing small newspapers or writing books. "It's time to get out and work with groups that have concrete problems," said Mozn Hassan, the 28-year-old head of Nazra for Feminist Studies, a group focused on training female activists. "People who are living in Upper Egypt don't care about the emergency law. But if we can relate this to their rights as a woman, or as a [Christian] Copt, or as a person who cannot get work, we can recruit them to the overall cause of reform."
The activists were brought to the United States by the human rights group Freedom House, which gave them one-month fellowships to work with U.S. community organizations and arranged for them to meet Rice on Human Rights Day. Many of them were in the United States for the first time. They seemed grateful for the opportunity to meet Rice even though they've been disappointed by her swivel in the past two years from calling on Egypt to "lead the way" to Arab democratization to embracing Mubarak as a "mainstream ally" and helpmate in Israeli-Palestinian talks.
"The United States has decided it needs Mubarak more than they need to support the human rights cause," said Ola Shahba, a 29-year-old project manager for Nahdet El Mahrousa, a group that promotes community development projects. "We are in trouble, and we need to work our way out of it."
Part of that work, as the activists saw it, was reminding Rice and others in Washington that support for democracy in Egypt is not a matter of charity. "We are not just saying, 'We are some idealistic group so help us,' " said Samih. "We are saying, 'This is in your national interest.' Reform in Egypt is important to the United States. The theory that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't doesn't work -- because the devil you know brought you Mohamed Atta."
For now that truth seems to have been forgotten at Rice's State Department. But Samih and his friends are young, and they are busy planning for life after Hosni Mubarak and George W. Bush.
Saudi Arabia: Reforms in Higher Education Raise Questions
In a lavish ceremony in November in the remote port town of Thuwal, a three-hour drive from Mecca, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia laid the cornerstone for a new Western-style science and technology university. "Based on Islam's eternal values, which urge us to seek knowledge and develop ourselves and our societies, and relying on God Almighty, we declare the establishment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and hope it will be a source of knowledge and serve as a bridge between people and cultures," he told the crowd of over 1,500 national and foreign dignitaries. Observers, however, are skeptical about the viability of such new institutions.
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is at the forefront of Saudi Arabia's new efforts to reform an antiquated higher education system. The country’s Ministry of Higher Education—established in 1975—has been mainly controlled by the Wahhabi elite, who emphasize religious instruction over liberal arts or sciences. As recently as 2003, Saudi Arabia had only eight universities for a population of over 22 million people—75 percent of them under 30—and spent less than a quarter of one percent of its GDP on research, as opposed to 10 percent spent on the military.
Under the leadership of reform-minded King Abdullah, the country has begun a massive overhaul of its higher education system. The Ministry of Higher Education has opened more than 100 new universities and colleges in the past four years, funded by a $15-billion budget, which has tripled since 2004. KAUST's $10-billion endowment makes it the sixth richest university in the world before even opening its doors. King Saud University, the nation's largest, recently announced the hiring of twenty-four Nobel laureates. The government has also lifted its ban on private universities, and will be providing $10-million toward scholarships and building costs for the half-dozen private institutions already in the works.
As a personal project of the King—and under the aegis of the relatively secular Saudi oil company Aramco rather than the Ministry—KAUST will push social boundaries by becoming the Kingdom’s first co-educational university. Some of the new private universities are hoping to follow in its path. Among KAUST's advisors are high-ranking administrators from Cornell University, Imperial College of London, and the National Academy of Sciences. Private universities have already teamed up with consultants from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Cambridge.
Education reform is also part of a set of broader efforts to diversify the Saudi economy and “Saudify” the Kingdom's companies, a strategy to address the staggering youth unemployment rate of 30 percent. In turn, most of the reforms are directed toward the sciences, high-tech, and other lucrative fields. "We've tailored most of out new programs—I'd say close to 80 percent of them—to the labor market needs," says Mohammed al-Ohali, deputy minister of higher education. Many university administrators also admit that focusing on the sciences—rather than politics, literature or history—will help them escape the scorn of the Saudi religious elite.
One of the primary challenges facing these new universities will be attracting Western faculty to a country known for its severe social restrictions, such as the ban on alcohol, most public entertainment, and women’s driving as well as restrictions on women's dress. To overcome these challenges, KAUST is planning on spending $100-million a year on international research grants and academic prizes, and will shoulder the costs of jointly hiring professors at foreign universities who will split their time between the partners. The university also hopes to create a steady pipeline of graduate students by funding 250 undergraduates every year to complete their studies abroad in exchange for commitments to enroll in KAUST as graduate students.
But critics both inside and outside the Kingdom are skeptical that these new universities, even with Western faculty and Western-designed curricula, will be able to flourish in the restrictive Saudi environment. "It's not only about buildings and labs and big names and throwing money at everything," says Khalid al-Dakhil, a former professor at King Saud University who was forced to retire early because of his controversial research about Saudi history. "If you want to build a Western-style university in Saudi Arabia, you have to remember that these institutions prospered because of the freedom of those societies. You have to be comfortable asking questions."
Even the special status accorded to KAUST by the King's sponsorship may not be enough to protect it from adversarial forces in Saudi society. Hassan al-Husseini, a former administrator at the King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, which was Saudi Aramco's first attempt at starting a Western-style university, cautions that "when something is established by royal edict, then that same thing can be reversed by another royal edict. It's not like you have legal protection for such things in Saudi Arabia."
- Zvika Krieger, a special correspondent for Newsweek and Middle East correspondent for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is at the forefront of Saudi Arabia's new efforts to reform an antiquated higher education system. The country’s Ministry of Higher Education—established in 1975—has been mainly controlled by the Wahhabi elite, who emphasize religious instruction over liberal arts or sciences. As recently as 2003, Saudi Arabia had only eight universities for a population of over 22 million people—75 percent of them under 30—and spent less than a quarter of one percent of its GDP on research, as opposed to 10 percent spent on the military.
Under the leadership of reform-minded King Abdullah, the country has begun a massive overhaul of its higher education system. The Ministry of Higher Education has opened more than 100 new universities and colleges in the past four years, funded by a $15-billion budget, which has tripled since 2004. KAUST's $10-billion endowment makes it the sixth richest university in the world before even opening its doors. King Saud University, the nation's largest, recently announced the hiring of twenty-four Nobel laureates. The government has also lifted its ban on private universities, and will be providing $10-million toward scholarships and building costs for the half-dozen private institutions already in the works.
As a personal project of the King—and under the aegis of the relatively secular Saudi oil company Aramco rather than the Ministry—KAUST will push social boundaries by becoming the Kingdom’s first co-educational university. Some of the new private universities are hoping to follow in its path. Among KAUST's advisors are high-ranking administrators from Cornell University, Imperial College of London, and the National Academy of Sciences. Private universities have already teamed up with consultants from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Cambridge.
Education reform is also part of a set of broader efforts to diversify the Saudi economy and “Saudify” the Kingdom's companies, a strategy to address the staggering youth unemployment rate of 30 percent. In turn, most of the reforms are directed toward the sciences, high-tech, and other lucrative fields. "We've tailored most of out new programs—I'd say close to 80 percent of them—to the labor market needs," says Mohammed al-Ohali, deputy minister of higher education. Many university administrators also admit that focusing on the sciences—rather than politics, literature or history—will help them escape the scorn of the Saudi religious elite.
One of the primary challenges facing these new universities will be attracting Western faculty to a country known for its severe social restrictions, such as the ban on alcohol, most public entertainment, and women’s driving as well as restrictions on women's dress. To overcome these challenges, KAUST is planning on spending $100-million a year on international research grants and academic prizes, and will shoulder the costs of jointly hiring professors at foreign universities who will split their time between the partners. The university also hopes to create a steady pipeline of graduate students by funding 250 undergraduates every year to complete their studies abroad in exchange for commitments to enroll in KAUST as graduate students.
But critics both inside and outside the Kingdom are skeptical that these new universities, even with Western faculty and Western-designed curricula, will be able to flourish in the restrictive Saudi environment. "It's not only about buildings and labs and big names and throwing money at everything," says Khalid al-Dakhil, a former professor at King Saud University who was forced to retire early because of his controversial research about Saudi history. "If you want to build a Western-style university in Saudi Arabia, you have to remember that these institutions prospered because of the freedom of those societies. You have to be comfortable asking questions."
Even the special status accorded to KAUST by the King's sponsorship may not be enough to protect it from adversarial forces in Saudi society. Hassan al-Husseini, a former administrator at the King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, which was Saudi Aramco's first attempt at starting a Western-style university, cautions that "when something is established by royal edict, then that same thing can be reversed by another royal edict. It's not like you have legal protection for such things in Saudi Arabia."
- Zvika Krieger, a special correspondent for Newsweek and Middle East correspondent for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Saudi Arabia: Reforms in higher education raise questions.
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is at the forefront of Saudi Arabia's new efforts to reform an antiquated higher education system.
The country’s Ministry of Higher Education—established in 1975—has been mainly controlled by the Wahhabi elite, who emphasize religious instruction over liberal arts or sciences. Under the leadership of reform-minded King Abdullah, the country has begun a massive overhaul of its higher education system.
The Ministry of Higher Education has opened more than 100 new universities and colleges in the past four years, funded by a $15-billion budget, which has tripled since 2004.
KAUST's $10-billion endowment makes it the sixth richest university in the world before even opening its doors. King Saud University, the nation's largest, recently announced the hiring of twenty-four Nobel laureates.
The government has also lifted its ban on private universities, and will be providing $10-million toward scholarships and building costs for the half-dozen private institutions already in the works.
(Arab Reform Bulletin, December)
The country’s Ministry of Higher Education—established in 1975—has been mainly controlled by the Wahhabi elite, who emphasize religious instruction over liberal arts or sciences. Under the leadership of reform-minded King Abdullah, the country has begun a massive overhaul of its higher education system.
The Ministry of Higher Education has opened more than 100 new universities and colleges in the past four years, funded by a $15-billion budget, which has tripled since 2004.
KAUST's $10-billion endowment makes it the sixth richest university in the world before even opening its doors. King Saud University, the nation's largest, recently announced the hiring of twenty-four Nobel laureates.
The government has also lifted its ban on private universities, and will be providing $10-million toward scholarships and building costs for the half-dozen private institutions already in the works.
(Arab Reform Bulletin, December)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Algeria: Violence mars women's equality
ALGIERS (Reuters) - The sight of women working as bus and taxi drivers, petrol pump attendants or police officers in Algeria's larger towns can surprise newcomers by suggesting women are emancipated in Algeria. They are not, feminists say.
Such cases remain exceptions in a male-dominated Muslim society in which, despite official appearances, women are often treated like slaves and violently abused by husbands, fathers and brothers.
"Don't be fooled by a minority of westernized women," said Saliha Larab from Algerian women's organization RAFD. "Algeria remains a very conservative society that considers women as second-class citizens."
Algerian women who fought for independence -- like Hassiba Ben Bouali and Jamila Bouhired -- are still held up as heroines in the north African country.
Equality of the sexes is enshrined in Algeria's constitution and women hold senior positions in central and regional government, the courts, security services and embassies.
The government says sexual harassment has been criminalized and provisions added to legislation to bolster women's rights.
But up to a dozen women and children can sometimes be seen sleeping rough on the streets in downtown Algiers at night, many fleeing spousal abuse or rejected by husbands in family disputes.
According to police figures, 7,400 women in the north African country of 33 million were victims of violence in 2005, up from 5,845 in 2004.
"The figures don't say much. The big problem is most victims don't complain," said Larab. "They stay silent, fear reprisals by society. A woman does not have the right to complain."
At a centre for women in distress in Algiers, Lamia, 35, said she had endured five years of beatings from her husband in front of her young children before he threw her onto the streets.
She fled her village to escape a barrage of persecution and insults from her husband and neighbors. Destitute, she appealed to her own family but they rejected and abandoned her.
Lamia received no support and for a while lost custody of her children. When they were returned to her she found they had been sexually abused by one of her husband's relatives. "I made a complaint but all I got in return was another beating from my husband, who is a police officer."
Now in the shelter, Lamia's daughter is back in primary school after a long break in her education. A non-governmental organization gave her legal assistance to claim rights such as child maintenance payments from her husband and official custody of the children.
HEROINES
Although reproductive health has improved dramatically and the birth rate declined, the rate of illiteracy among Algerian women is still twice as high as for men, at 37 percent, and only 13 per cent of women are in the paid workforce, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
With nearly a quarter of Algerians living below the national poverty line and 70 percent of adults under 30 without a job, frustration and insecurity are widespread -- and women are most often the victims.
Amnesty International said in a report in 2005 that allegations of rape and other sexual violence were often not investigated and those responsible were not brought to justice.
A 2005 amendment to the family code improved the position of women by banning men from divorcing their wives for no reason, giving women access to financial support from former husbands and a right to a home if they gain custody of their children.
But President Abdelaziz Bouteflika rejected a recommendation by a government-appointed reform commission to abolish a rule forcing women to get permission from a male family member or so-called tutor to marry.
Analysts say Bouteflika's decision not to drop the clause from an amendment to the 1984 family code showed Islamic parties still carry influence after a long-running militant uprising that has claimed the lives of up to 200,000.
SINGING CAREER, SUICIDE
Wives and daughters who make their grievances public often risk a violent revenge by incensed male relatives.
Fatiha, 53, filed for divorce after beatings from her husband -- who disapproved of her career plans -- left her in hospital for three months with severe trauma and fractures. "All I wanted was to become a singer," Fatiha said.
The repeated violence caused psychiatric disorders in her children and one of her daughters attempted suicide, she said. Exhausted and unable to endure such humiliating violence any longer, Fatiha sought refuge with her aged father while waiting for her divorce, leaving the children with her husband.
When her father died and she was left without a protector, her husband came with one of her sons to kill her, knowing that she was alone in the house. She escaped death thanks to a neighbor who warned her of their plan, and found refuge at the Darna women's centre in Algiers.
Now divorced, Fatiha has the freedom to develop her talents as a poet and singer.
With support from the women's centre she has written a collection of poems, and made a CD expressing her pain in song.
- Reuters
By Lamine Chikhi
Additional reporting by Abdelaziz Boumzar; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
Such cases remain exceptions in a male-dominated Muslim society in which, despite official appearances, women are often treated like slaves and violently abused by husbands, fathers and brothers.
"Don't be fooled by a minority of westernized women," said Saliha Larab from Algerian women's organization RAFD. "Algeria remains a very conservative society that considers women as second-class citizens."
Algerian women who fought for independence -- like Hassiba Ben Bouali and Jamila Bouhired -- are still held up as heroines in the north African country.
Equality of the sexes is enshrined in Algeria's constitution and women hold senior positions in central and regional government, the courts, security services and embassies.
The government says sexual harassment has been criminalized and provisions added to legislation to bolster women's rights.
But up to a dozen women and children can sometimes be seen sleeping rough on the streets in downtown Algiers at night, many fleeing spousal abuse or rejected by husbands in family disputes.
According to police figures, 7,400 women in the north African country of 33 million were victims of violence in 2005, up from 5,845 in 2004.
"The figures don't say much. The big problem is most victims don't complain," said Larab. "They stay silent, fear reprisals by society. A woman does not have the right to complain."
At a centre for women in distress in Algiers, Lamia, 35, said she had endured five years of beatings from her husband in front of her young children before he threw her onto the streets.
She fled her village to escape a barrage of persecution and insults from her husband and neighbors. Destitute, she appealed to her own family but they rejected and abandoned her.
Lamia received no support and for a while lost custody of her children. When they were returned to her she found they had been sexually abused by one of her husband's relatives. "I made a complaint but all I got in return was another beating from my husband, who is a police officer."
Now in the shelter, Lamia's daughter is back in primary school after a long break in her education. A non-governmental organization gave her legal assistance to claim rights such as child maintenance payments from her husband and official custody of the children.
HEROINES
Although reproductive health has improved dramatically and the birth rate declined, the rate of illiteracy among Algerian women is still twice as high as for men, at 37 percent, and only 13 per cent of women are in the paid workforce, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
With nearly a quarter of Algerians living below the national poverty line and 70 percent of adults under 30 without a job, frustration and insecurity are widespread -- and women are most often the victims.
Amnesty International said in a report in 2005 that allegations of rape and other sexual violence were often not investigated and those responsible were not brought to justice.
A 2005 amendment to the family code improved the position of women by banning men from divorcing their wives for no reason, giving women access to financial support from former husbands and a right to a home if they gain custody of their children.
But President Abdelaziz Bouteflika rejected a recommendation by a government-appointed reform commission to abolish a rule forcing women to get permission from a male family member or so-called tutor to marry.
Analysts say Bouteflika's decision not to drop the clause from an amendment to the 1984 family code showed Islamic parties still carry influence after a long-running militant uprising that has claimed the lives of up to 200,000.
SINGING CAREER, SUICIDE
Wives and daughters who make their grievances public often risk a violent revenge by incensed male relatives.
Fatiha, 53, filed for divorce after beatings from her husband -- who disapproved of her career plans -- left her in hospital for three months with severe trauma and fractures. "All I wanted was to become a singer," Fatiha said.
The repeated violence caused psychiatric disorders in her children and one of her daughters attempted suicide, she said. Exhausted and unable to endure such humiliating violence any longer, Fatiha sought refuge with her aged father while waiting for her divorce, leaving the children with her husband.
When her father died and she was left without a protector, her husband came with one of her sons to kill her, knowing that she was alone in the house. She escaped death thanks to a neighbor who warned her of their plan, and found refuge at the Darna women's centre in Algiers.
Now divorced, Fatiha has the freedom to develop her talents as a poet and singer.
With support from the women's centre she has written a collection of poems, and made a CD expressing her pain in song.
- Reuters
By Lamine Chikhi
Additional reporting by Abdelaziz Boumzar; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Kuwait: Politicians Debate Why Women Were Not Elected to Parliament
Following are excerpts from a discussion on women's failure in Kuwaiti elections, which aired on Kuwait TV on November 11, 2007:
(View more extensive version of the discussion here)
Interviewer: Why was no woman elected in the parliamentary election in Kuwait, or in the other Gulf states?
Kuwaiti MP Ahmad Baqer: In my opinion, a large part, if not the majority, of society believes – and even considers this to be part of its faith and religion – that women should not hold governing positions. A fatwa on this was issued by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Religious Endowment, and by the Al-Azhar University in 1952, as well as fatwas in many other countries. Things that are described sometimes as social or religious heritage are facts in which we believe. We consider this to be for the benefit of the woman and the family. The Prophet sent male governors, judges, and ambassadors, but he never sent women, only men, even though the most perfect women lived in his time – 'Aisha, the Prophet's companions, and Fatima. The Prophet never... On the contrary, the Prophet said: "A woman's prayer at home is better than in my mosque."
[...]
I said before the elections that no woman would be elected, and I say now that no woman will be elected in Kuwait even in 50 years time.
[...]
Former Kuwaiti parliamentary candidate 'Aisha Al-Rashid: The early Muslims were more fair and just than the Muslims of the 21st century. We live in the modern Era of Ignorance, I'm sad to say.
[...]
In the world today, there are 111 women who hold the positions of head of state, prime minister, and other positions. Women hold leadership positions. We don't have to go far. Take, for example, Islamic Republic of Iran. Isn't Iran an Islamic country? Look how many women are members of municipal councils. 500 women. A woman is vice president, and another is deputy speaker of the shura council.
Kuwaiti MP Ahmad Baqer: I'm surprised at America. Women are only 14% of their parliament, but when they drafted the Iraqi constitution, they imposed a 25% quota, against the Iraqis' will. Why? Because this is their way to change all the Islamic laws.
(View more extensive version of the discussion here)
Interviewer: Why was no woman elected in the parliamentary election in Kuwait, or in the other Gulf states?
Kuwaiti MP Ahmad Baqer: In my opinion, a large part, if not the majority, of society believes – and even considers this to be part of its faith and religion – that women should not hold governing positions. A fatwa on this was issued by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Religious Endowment, and by the Al-Azhar University in 1952, as well as fatwas in many other countries. Things that are described sometimes as social or religious heritage are facts in which we believe. We consider this to be for the benefit of the woman and the family. The Prophet sent male governors, judges, and ambassadors, but he never sent women, only men, even though the most perfect women lived in his time – 'Aisha, the Prophet's companions, and Fatima. The Prophet never... On the contrary, the Prophet said: "A woman's prayer at home is better than in my mosque."
[...]
I said before the elections that no woman would be elected, and I say now that no woman will be elected in Kuwait even in 50 years time.
[...]
Former Kuwaiti parliamentary candidate 'Aisha Al-Rashid: The early Muslims were more fair and just than the Muslims of the 21st century. We live in the modern Era of Ignorance, I'm sad to say.
[...]
In the world today, there are 111 women who hold the positions of head of state, prime minister, and other positions. Women hold leadership positions. We don't have to go far. Take, for example, Islamic Republic of Iran. Isn't Iran an Islamic country? Look how many women are members of municipal councils. 500 women. A woman is vice president, and another is deputy speaker of the shura council.
Kuwaiti MP Ahmad Baqer: I'm surprised at America. Women are only 14% of their parliament, but when they drafted the Iraqi constitution, they imposed a 25% quota, against the Iraqis' will. Why? Because this is their way to change all the Islamic laws.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Saudi Arabia: King Tries to Grow Modern Ideas in Desert
Oct 26, 2007
New York Times, A1
THANASSIS CAMBANIS
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 25 - On a marshy peninsula 50 miles from this Red Sea port, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is staking $12.5 billion on a gargantuan bid to catch up with the West in science and technology.
Between an oil refinery and the sea, the monarch is building from scratch a graduate research institution that will have one of the 10 largest endowments in the world, worth more than $10 billion.
Its planners say men and women will study side by side in an enclave walled off from the rest of Saudi society, the country's notorious religious police will be barred and all religious and ethnic groups will be welcome in a push for academic freedom and international collaboration sure to test the kingdom's cultural and religious limits.
This undertaking is directly at odds with the kingdom's religious establishment, which severely limits women's rights and rejects coeducation and robust liberal inquiry as unthinkable.
For the new institution, the king has cut his own education ministry out the loop, hiring the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to build the campus, create its curriculum and attract foreigners.
Supporters of what is to be called the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or Kaust, wonder whether the king is simply building another gated island to be dominated by foreigners, like the compounds for oil industry workers that have existed here for decades, or creating an institution that will have a real impact on Saudi society and the rest of the Arab world.
"There are two Saudi Arabias," said Jamal Khashoggi, the editor of Al Watan, a newspaper. "The question is which Saudi Arabia will take over."
The king has broken taboos, declaring that the Arabs have fallen critically behind much of the modern world in intellectual achievement and that his country depends too much on oil and not enough on creating wealth through innovation.
"There is a deep knowledge gap separating the Arab and Islamic nations from the process and progress of contemporary global civilization," said Abdallah S. Jumah, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco. "We are no longer keeping pace with the advances of our era."
Traditional Saudi practice is on display at the biggest public universities, where the Islamic authorities vet the curriculum, medical researchers tread carefully around controversial subjects like evolution, and female and male students enter classrooms through separate doors and follow lectures while separated by partitions.
Old-fashioned values even seeped into the carefully staged groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for King Abdullah's new university, at which organizers distributed an issue of the magazine The Economist with a special advertisement for the university wrapped around the cover. State censors had physically torn from each copy an article about Saudi legal reform titled "Law of God Versus Law of Man," leaving a jagged edge.
Despite the obstacles, the king intends to make the university a showcase for modernization. The festive groundbreaking and accompanying symposium about the future of the modern university were devised partly as a recruiting tool for international academics.
"Getting the faculty will be the biggest challenge," said Ahmed F. Ghoniem, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is consulting for the new university. "That will make it or break it." Professor Ghoniem has advised the new university to lure international academics with laboratory facilities and grants they cannot find at home, but he also believes that established professors will be reluctant to leave their universities for a small enclave in the desert.
"You have to create an environment where you can connect to the outside world," said Professor Ghoniem, who is from Egypt. "You cannot work in isolation."
He admitted that even though he admired the idea of the new university, he would be unlikely to abandon his post at M.I.T. to move to Saudi Arabia.
Festivities at the construction site on Sunday for 1,500 dignitaries included a laser light show and a mockup of the planned campus that filled an entire room. The king laid a crystal cornerstone into a stainless steel shaft on wheels.
Cranes tore out mangroves and pounded the swampland with 20-ton blocks into a surface firm enough to build the campus on. Inside a tent, the king, his honor guard wearing flowing robes and curved daggers, and an array of Aramco officials in suits took to a shiny stage lighted with green and blue neon tubing, like an MTV awards show. Mist from dry ice shrouded the stage, music blared in surround sound, and holographic projections served as a backdrop to some of the speeches.
From a laconic monarch known for his austerity, the pomp, along with a rare speech by the king himself, was intended to send a strong signal, according to the team charged with building and staffing the new campus within two years.
The king is lavishing the institution not only with money, but also with his full political endorsement, intended to stave off internal challenges from conservatives and to win over foreign scholars who doubt that academic freedom can thrive here.
The new project is giving hope to Saudi scholars who until the king's push to reform education in the last few years have endured stagnant research budgets and continue to face extensive government red tape.
"Because Aramco is founding the university, I believe it will have freedom," said Abdulmalik A. Aljinaidi, dean of the research and consultation institute at King Abdulaziz University, Jidda's biggest, with more than 40,000 students. "For Kaust to succeed, it will have to be free of all the restrictions and bureaucracy we face as a public university."
Even in the most advanced genetics labs at King Abdulaziz, the women wear full face coverings, and female students can meet with male advisers only in carefully controlled public free zones like the library. Scientists there tread carefully when they do research in genetics, stem cells or evolution, for fear of offending Islamic social mores.
Even in Jidda, the kingdom's most liberal city, a status rooted in its history as a trading outpost, change comes slowly. This month the governor allowed families to celebrate the post-Ramadan Id al-Fitr holiday in public, effectively allowing men and women to socialize publicly on the same streets for the first time.
The religious police were accused of beating a man to death because he was suspected of selling alcohol. Conservatives have fended off efforts by women to secure the right to drive or to run for office, although women have made considerable gains in access to segregated education and workplaces.
Against this backdrop, said Mr. Khashoggi, the newspaper editor, the king has conceived of the new university as a liberalizing counterweight, whose success depends on how much it engages the rest of Saudi society. "Nobody wants to live in a ghetto, even a nice one," Mr. Khashoggi said. "As a Saudi, I say, let's open up."
Upon completion, the energy-efficient campus will house 20,000 faculty and staff members, students and their families. Social rules will be more relaxed, as they are in the compounds where foreign oil workers live; women will be allowed to drive, for example. But the kingdom?s laws will still apply: Israelis, barred by law from visiting Saudi Arabia, will not be able to collaborate with the university. And one staple of campus life worldwide will be missing: alcohol.
The university president will be a foreigner, and the faculty members and graduate students at first will be overwhelmingly foreign as well. Generous scholarships will finance the 2,000 graduate students; planners expect the Saudi share of the student body to increase over the years as scholarships aimed at promising current undergraduates help groom them for graduate studies at the new university.
The university's entire model is built around partnerships with other international universities, and faculty members are expected to have permanent bases at other research institutions abroad.
The university will also rely on a new free-market model. The faculty members will not have tenure, and almost all of them will have joint appointments. While the university will initially be awash in money, its faculty and graduate students will still have to compete with top international institutions for the limited pool of private money that underwrites most graduate research.
Suhair el-Qurashi, dean of the private all-female Dar Al Hekma College, often attacked as 'bad' and 'liberal,' said a vigorous example of free-thinking at the university would embolden the many Saudis who back the king's quest to reform long-stagnant higher education.
"The king knows he will face some backlash and bad publicity," Ms. Qurashi said. "I think the system is moving in the right direction."
New York Times, A1
THANASSIS CAMBANIS
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 25 - On a marshy peninsula 50 miles from this Red Sea port, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is staking $12.5 billion on a gargantuan bid to catch up with the West in science and technology.
Between an oil refinery and the sea, the monarch is building from scratch a graduate research institution that will have one of the 10 largest endowments in the world, worth more than $10 billion.
Its planners say men and women will study side by side in an enclave walled off from the rest of Saudi society, the country's notorious religious police will be barred and all religious and ethnic groups will be welcome in a push for academic freedom and international collaboration sure to test the kingdom's cultural and religious limits.
This undertaking is directly at odds with the kingdom's religious establishment, which severely limits women's rights and rejects coeducation and robust liberal inquiry as unthinkable.
For the new institution, the king has cut his own education ministry out the loop, hiring the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to build the campus, create its curriculum and attract foreigners.
Supporters of what is to be called the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or Kaust, wonder whether the king is simply building another gated island to be dominated by foreigners, like the compounds for oil industry workers that have existed here for decades, or creating an institution that will have a real impact on Saudi society and the rest of the Arab world.
"There are two Saudi Arabias," said Jamal Khashoggi, the editor of Al Watan, a newspaper. "The question is which Saudi Arabia will take over."
The king has broken taboos, declaring that the Arabs have fallen critically behind much of the modern world in intellectual achievement and that his country depends too much on oil and not enough on creating wealth through innovation.
"There is a deep knowledge gap separating the Arab and Islamic nations from the process and progress of contemporary global civilization," said Abdallah S. Jumah, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco. "We are no longer keeping pace with the advances of our era."
Traditional Saudi practice is on display at the biggest public universities, where the Islamic authorities vet the curriculum, medical researchers tread carefully around controversial subjects like evolution, and female and male students enter classrooms through separate doors and follow lectures while separated by partitions.
Old-fashioned values even seeped into the carefully staged groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for King Abdullah's new university, at which organizers distributed an issue of the magazine The Economist with a special advertisement for the university wrapped around the cover. State censors had physically torn from each copy an article about Saudi legal reform titled "Law of God Versus Law of Man," leaving a jagged edge.
Despite the obstacles, the king intends to make the university a showcase for modernization. The festive groundbreaking and accompanying symposium about the future of the modern university were devised partly as a recruiting tool for international academics.
"Getting the faculty will be the biggest challenge," said Ahmed F. Ghoniem, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is consulting for the new university. "That will make it or break it." Professor Ghoniem has advised the new university to lure international academics with laboratory facilities and grants they cannot find at home, but he also believes that established professors will be reluctant to leave their universities for a small enclave in the desert.
"You have to create an environment where you can connect to the outside world," said Professor Ghoniem, who is from Egypt. "You cannot work in isolation."
He admitted that even though he admired the idea of the new university, he would be unlikely to abandon his post at M.I.T. to move to Saudi Arabia.
Festivities at the construction site on Sunday for 1,500 dignitaries included a laser light show and a mockup of the planned campus that filled an entire room. The king laid a crystal cornerstone into a stainless steel shaft on wheels.
Cranes tore out mangroves and pounded the swampland with 20-ton blocks into a surface firm enough to build the campus on. Inside a tent, the king, his honor guard wearing flowing robes and curved daggers, and an array of Aramco officials in suits took to a shiny stage lighted with green and blue neon tubing, like an MTV awards show. Mist from dry ice shrouded the stage, music blared in surround sound, and holographic projections served as a backdrop to some of the speeches.
From a laconic monarch known for his austerity, the pomp, along with a rare speech by the king himself, was intended to send a strong signal, according to the team charged with building and staffing the new campus within two years.
The king is lavishing the institution not only with money, but also with his full political endorsement, intended to stave off internal challenges from conservatives and to win over foreign scholars who doubt that academic freedom can thrive here.
The new project is giving hope to Saudi scholars who until the king's push to reform education in the last few years have endured stagnant research budgets and continue to face extensive government red tape.
"Because Aramco is founding the university, I believe it will have freedom," said Abdulmalik A. Aljinaidi, dean of the research and consultation institute at King Abdulaziz University, Jidda's biggest, with more than 40,000 students. "For Kaust to succeed, it will have to be free of all the restrictions and bureaucracy we face as a public university."
Even in the most advanced genetics labs at King Abdulaziz, the women wear full face coverings, and female students can meet with male advisers only in carefully controlled public free zones like the library. Scientists there tread carefully when they do research in genetics, stem cells or evolution, for fear of offending Islamic social mores.
Even in Jidda, the kingdom's most liberal city, a status rooted in its history as a trading outpost, change comes slowly. This month the governor allowed families to celebrate the post-Ramadan Id al-Fitr holiday in public, effectively allowing men and women to socialize publicly on the same streets for the first time.
The religious police were accused of beating a man to death because he was suspected of selling alcohol. Conservatives have fended off efforts by women to secure the right to drive or to run for office, although women have made considerable gains in access to segregated education and workplaces.
Against this backdrop, said Mr. Khashoggi, the newspaper editor, the king has conceived of the new university as a liberalizing counterweight, whose success depends on how much it engages the rest of Saudi society. "Nobody wants to live in a ghetto, even a nice one," Mr. Khashoggi said. "As a Saudi, I say, let's open up."
Upon completion, the energy-efficient campus will house 20,000 faculty and staff members, students and their families. Social rules will be more relaxed, as they are in the compounds where foreign oil workers live; women will be allowed to drive, for example. But the kingdom?s laws will still apply: Israelis, barred by law from visiting Saudi Arabia, will not be able to collaborate with the university. And one staple of campus life worldwide will be missing: alcohol.
The university president will be a foreigner, and the faculty members and graduate students at first will be overwhelmingly foreign as well. Generous scholarships will finance the 2,000 graduate students; planners expect the Saudi share of the student body to increase over the years as scholarships aimed at promising current undergraduates help groom them for graduate studies at the new university.
The university's entire model is built around partnerships with other international universities, and faculty members are expected to have permanent bases at other research institutions abroad.
The university will also rely on a new free-market model. The faculty members will not have tenure, and almost all of them will have joint appointments. While the university will initially be awash in money, its faculty and graduate students will still have to compete with top international institutions for the limited pool of private money that underwrites most graduate research.
Suhair el-Qurashi, dean of the private all-female Dar Al Hekma College, often attacked as 'bad' and 'liberal,' said a vigorous example of free-thinking at the university would embolden the many Saudis who back the king's quest to reform long-stagnant higher education.
"The king knows he will face some backlash and bad publicity," Ms. Qurashi said. "I think the system is moving in the right direction."
Friday, October 5, 2007
Saudi Arabia: Overhaul of Legal System
Saudi Arabia has announced an overhaul of its judicial system, including the allocation of $2bn (£981m) for training judges and building new courts.
The reforms, by royal decree, will lead to the creation of a supreme court, an appeals court and new general courts to replace the Supreme Judicial Council.
Reformers have welcomed the measures, which they say will improve human rights and help modernise the country.
They complain that the current judicial system is often opaque and arbitrary.
Until now, Saudi judges have had wide discretion to issue rulings according to their own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
The judiciary has also long resisted the codification of laws or the reliance on precedent when making a ruling.
Defendants also do not have recourse to appeal and often have no right to proper legal representation.
Unchecked powers
The new reforms announced by King Abdullah are aimed at addressing some of these perceived failings and at introducing safeguards such as appeal courts that can overturn decisions by lower courts, the BBC's Heba Saleh says.
The decree sets up two supreme courts for the general courts and administrative courts, according to Hassan al-Mulla, the head of the Saudi Bar Association.
These courts will replace the Supreme Judicial Council, which will now only review administrative issues such as judges' salaries and appointments.
Mr Mulla said the decree also set up specialised court circuits within the system for commercial, labour and personal status cases.
Ministerial tribunals previously dealt with labour disputes and the system did not allow for internationally-recognised processes of appeal.
Saudi reformers say the changes will chip away at the unchecked powers of the conservative clerics, who lead the judiciary.
Although Islamic law will remain at the heart of the system, they argue that both human rights and the business environment will benefit from the overhaul.
The king will appoint the head of the Supreme Court. The reformers say he is interested in modernisation so he is likely to choose someone who will further his plans, our correspondent says.
- BBC News
The reforms, by royal decree, will lead to the creation of a supreme court, an appeals court and new general courts to replace the Supreme Judicial Council.
Reformers have welcomed the measures, which they say will improve human rights and help modernise the country.
They complain that the current judicial system is often opaque and arbitrary.
Until now, Saudi judges have had wide discretion to issue rulings according to their own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
The judiciary has also long resisted the codification of laws or the reliance on precedent when making a ruling.
Defendants also do not have recourse to appeal and often have no right to proper legal representation.
Unchecked powers
The new reforms announced by King Abdullah are aimed at addressing some of these perceived failings and at introducing safeguards such as appeal courts that can overturn decisions by lower courts, the BBC's Heba Saleh says.
The decree sets up two supreme courts for the general courts and administrative courts, according to Hassan al-Mulla, the head of the Saudi Bar Association.
These courts will replace the Supreme Judicial Council, which will now only review administrative issues such as judges' salaries and appointments.
Mr Mulla said the decree also set up specialised court circuits within the system for commercial, labour and personal status cases.
Ministerial tribunals previously dealt with labour disputes and the system did not allow for internationally-recognised processes of appeal.
Saudi reformers say the changes will chip away at the unchecked powers of the conservative clerics, who lead the judiciary.
Although Islamic law will remain at the heart of the system, they argue that both human rights and the business environment will benefit from the overhaul.
The king will appoint the head of the Supreme Court. The reformers say he is interested in modernisation so he is likely to choose someone who will further his plans, our correspondent says.
- BBC News
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