Saudi Columnist Describes the Treatment of Women in Saudi Arabia as Slavery

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There is an article written in the online version of the BBC Magazine written by Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz describing what she would change about her country, Saudi Arabia. In the article she list 5 things for immediate addressing.

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1. The Constitution

2. Divorce laws

3.Overhaul of the Education system

4. A complete reform of social services, and

5. Redefining the role of the Mahram (chaperone)

The article is here at this link Saudi princess: What I’d change about my country.  It really is an interesting articles and she gives many pause to think what a different world this would be if these suggestions were actual applied.

Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz describing what she would change about her country, Saudi Arabia. In the article she list 5 things for...

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This Movie was made by four American University Student for a Human Right Campaign to raise Awareness on Women Guardianship in the Work Force.

Make Saudi Women Count!

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Alfaris Deena is CEO of a family business in Saudi Arabia. She was and still is supported by her father and her family and she is trying to set up women networks in her country to drive change.

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Alfaris Deena on Women in Saudi Arabia

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Hamza Serafi is dipping his toes in the waters of self-expression in Saudi Arabia where criticizing authorities is unthinkable, and the censoring of art and media is considered the norm.

But the artist is pushing boundaries and is one of the 22 Saudis featured in an exhibit called “We need to talk”, a public exhibition of 50 contemporary pieces of art, organized by Edge of Arabia.

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Nader, one of the organizers of the exhibition, explains how the artwork on display show prevailing conditions in the country.

“This painting by Serafi called ‘Bed of the World’ reflects how people use the globe in the wrong way. The more they use it in the wrong way, the more warnings show up. In Australia, for example, it shows us the way energy is excessively used. There are problems in Russia with the elections. In the Arab world, there are demonstrations and re-elections. In Saudi Arabia, it’s the need for positive dialogue without protests. In Africa, it’s about buried toxic waste. In South America, it’s about gangs and drugs.”

Artists in the kingdom are discovering creative loopholes to voice their opinions on a wide range of issues.

The exhibit has highlighted some developments that have been underway, as guide Jehan Mahmoud points out.

“I like the painting behind me because it represents women in general and shines the spotlight on the role of Saudi women in society. The artist has shown women in various roles in his photographs, as mothers, diplomats, film directors, photographers, artists and computer engineers.”

Another artist, Ahmad Angawi, created an atomic structure of microphones which he had placed in various parts of Jeddah, allowing people to record messages. Visitors could hear such messages through his installation, although not all made the cut, indicating the challenge of free expression in a society that is slowly opening up.

Speakers:

Nader — an organizer of the exhibit
Jehan Mahmoud — exhibition guide

By Noora Faraj
Al Arabiya with Agencies

Saudi artists display contemporary art in exhibit

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There are many Saudi princesses that one would never hear about. After all it’s Saudi Arabia we are talking about, a country which is a tale of a life behind the veil. Princess Ameerah Al Taweel, wife of Prince AlWaleed Bin Talal, stands out as a social and cultural anomaly to this preconceived prototype of Saudi women.

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A commoner, who married a prince, is now turning out to be an emerging iconic public figure. Her humanitarian and philanthropic efforts spread wide globally. Especially, her efforts towards the empowerment of women in Saudi Arabia. She has spoken out publicly in several International channels and publications and has also spoken at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative…

http://www.carbonated.tv/news/princess-ameerah-al-taweel-the-unusual-saudi-pr…

Princess Amira Altaweel of Saudi Arabia

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Every year, Muslims from all over the world take part in the largest gathering on Earth, the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hajj is a religious obligation that every Muslim must fulfill, if financially and physically able, at least once in his or her lifetime.

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During these historic days, white, brown and black people, rich and poor, kings and peasants, men and women, old and young will all stand before God, all brothers and sisters, at the holiest of shrines in the center of the Muslim world, where all will call upon God to accept their good deeds. These days represent the zenith of every Muslim’s lifetime.
The Hajj resembles the re-enactment of the experiences of the Prophet Abraham, whose selfless sacrifice has no parallel in the history of humankind.

Hajj documentary 2011/1432

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho-jHj0-nsU

Complete steps on how to perform the different forms of Hajj

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Hajj Nasheed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oB5LLAHGBE

The Hajj resembles the re-enactment of the experiences of the Prophet Abraham, whose selfless sacrifice has no parallel in the history of humankind.

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The US has kept silent on Saudi regime’s human rights violations, as protests continue demanding reforms and the immediate release of political prisoners.

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Press TV has interviewed with Paul Wolf, Human Rights Lawyer, to share his opinion on this issue.

Press TV: Riyadh has been saying that it will allow women to take part in politics but at the same time these same women if they are candidates for municipal office for instance, they must present a written authorization from their husbands, women’s votes must be accompanied by their male guardians at the polling stations.

So when we are again speaking of the type of reforms that the Saudi kingdom may try to bring, is this going to be the answer for these protests or as I was just mentioning earlier, our reforms completely or simply impossible with the system of absolute monarchy inside Saudi Arabia?

Wolf: Well no. I do not think that the protests are specifically about women rights. I think that the Saudi monarchy has taken a number of steps including paying two thousand dollars to each citizen, providing loans for education and to start businesses to Saudi young people, a number of measures like this to try to prevent the kind of thing that we have seen in Bahrain, in Yemen and in Libya and women’s rights issue is only one.

You know, I like to follow up on what your previous guest said. In Saudi Arabia, cell phones with cameras are illegal. All telephone conversations are monitored. The government controls the TV and the print media. And …election was in 2009 and the election was cancelled. So the Saudis, they have legitimate right and self determination to demand right of free speech. Those rights are guaranteed by treaties that Saudi Arabia has signed. As a member of the United Nations it had to sign universal declaration of human rights, international covenant on civil and political rights and a number of other treaties.

So I mean it is great if they are taking action to try to include women in the political process but really no one is included in the political process. The Saudi monarchy has been in power for many generations and I mean just look at the Saudi king. Do you think that is a type of person who could be elected? The man is 78 years old and really I think that the situation is extremely disturbing in Saudi Arabia.

I do not like to advocate any kind of violence but I think that the protesters, they have to demand these rights, they have to be on the streets and probably is likely that some people will be hurt or even lose their lives as we see in many other countries in the Middle East.

Press TV: On the other hand some analysts have been saying that in fact the West may be speculating right now on the collapse of the Saudi regime and even planning beforehand on it. Some say that it is rather the interest of two sides meaning Riyadh and Washington and now diverting the US with rather use the gas reserves of the African region and start to part ways from Saudi Arabia. Would you agree with that speculation?

Wolf: Well I do not know where that comes from. What the United States will often do in these situations is make contacts and support both sides certainly what happened in Egypt and you know, I am sure we had contacts in Libya as well, because we just do not know which way things are going to go . So I am not surprised that someone is planning what would the United Sates do if the Saudi monarchy falls down. But I think that the United States is going to do as it did in Egypt, back the Saudis until the very last minute.

You know, United States is dependent on Saudi Arabia for something like 20 percent of its oil and that is very significant. Saudi Arabia has also been an air race really for the US war on Iraq and Saudi Arabia is the United States most important Arab ally and United States could not really afford to lose control of that area and particularly as your other guest said, Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia. It is really crucially important to the future of Muslim world, what happens in Saudi Arabia. So the United States is certainly going to plan for the contingency that the monarchy may not fall but I think the United States will also do whatever it can to try to prevent that from happening.

So let’s hope that this can happen without violence because as we have seen in Tunisia and in Egypt, if the dictators step down voluntarily, things get better maybe not at the rate that everyone wants but I think they are moving towards democracy in those countries but as we have seen in Yemen, Bahrain and in Libya, when they use a force to try to crush the protest, the result is an ongoing conflict and we still do not know how the situations in any of those countries are going to turn out.

Revolution imminent in Saudi Arabia

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King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz

RIYADH, Sept 25 (KUNA) — Saudi women will take part in upcoming elections of the Shura Council and the municipal polls, announced the Saudi Monarch on Sunday.
The decision to allow the women to take part in the advisory council elections and the polls for the municipal council, namely the right to vote, was taken following consultations with the Kingdom’s authority of senior scholars and experts, and “they all favored such an approach,” said King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in his crucial announcement, made in his speech, addressed at the fifth session of the council.

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Balanced modernization that complies with Islamic values is a significant demand at these times, where there is no place for the slack, said the King in his declaration. The decision was taken with the intention to affirm the role of the women in the society and reject bids to marginalize their role, King Abdullah re-stressed.

The Monarch also re-affirmed that the Saudi leaders would remain keen on holding consultations on such substantial affairs. (end) ay.aas.rk KUNA 251550 Sep 11NNNN

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Saudi women given voting rights

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Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has announced that women will have the right to vote and stand as candidates in local council elections – the only public polls in the Kingdom.

For the first time, women will also be appointed to the National Shura council, which advises the King.

Hatoon Al Fassi,a Professor of Women’s History at King Saud University in Riyadh, speaks to Al Jazeera about the changes.

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Saudi Arabia has apologised to Indonesia for executing a maid without informing Jakarta, officials say.
Indonesian officials said the Saudi ambassador to Jakarta had promised that such incidents would not happen again.
The beheading of Ruyati binti Sapubi on Saturday caused an outcry in Indonesia, where MPs called for a ban on workers being sent to the Middle East.

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The 54-year-old maid confessed to killing her boss with a kitchen knife after suffering abuse.
Saudi Arabia has not yet released any official comment on the incident.
But Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Michael Tene told journalists on Wednesday: “The ambassador apologised and regretted the situation and said that such a thing wouldn’t happen again.”
About 1.5 million Indonesians work in Saudi Arabia – many of them as domestic maids.
But there have been rows over the alleged mistreatment of maids in the recent past.
In April a Saudi woman, convicted of beating and torturing an Indonesian maid, had her conviction quashed on appeal – sparking protests in Indonesia

Ruyati Binti Sapubi

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Interview by Lisa Kaaki, program Not only for women on Saudi 2nd Chanel, Sep 2000 on Nabataean sites and my field trip in 99 during my Ph.D

مقابلة أجرتها ليزا كعكي على القناة السعودية الثانية في سبتمبر 2000 حول الرحلة العلمية لإنجاز رسالة الدكتوراة حول المرأة والسلطة في شمال الجزيرة العربية، الأنباط

Hatoon AL FASSI

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