Clipmarks | Deepti's 'saudi arabia' clips

Call to arm Saudi religious police during operations

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:14:36 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Al Gaith attributed this mainly to the aberrations made by some of the commission members as well as exaggerated reports in the media

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

The younger Saudi generations are developing a hatred towards the religious police

A recent study, which is related to upgrading the commission, called for increasing the number of "suitable security men" accompanying commission members during their fieldwork, and allowing them to carry arms

The study emphasised the role of the members of the commission in controlling the Saudi street and putting an end to what it called the "behavioral chaos within the Saudi society"

It also stressed that all commission members should master a number of languages, to facilitate communication with foreigners in Saudi Arabia

"I am afraid of a new generation that is in the making in the kingdom, who despises the commission members and their activities," said Shaikh Ebrahim Al Gaith, chairman of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice

He blamed the media for projecting negative impression about the commission members and their activities, saying that this would have bad impact

Tags: saudi, arms, religious police, young, generation, hatred

Saudi Women "Kept in Childhood"

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:09:07 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: "For Saudi women, reaching adulthood brings no rights, only responsibilities."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Saudi women are being kept in perpetual childhood so male relatives can exercise "guardianship" over them, the Human Rights Watch group has said.

Saudi women have to obtain permission from male relatives to work, travel, study, marry or even receive health care.

Their access to justice is also severely constrained, it says.

The group says the Saudi establishment sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.

The report says that Saudi women are denied the legal right to make even trivial decisions for their children - women cannot open bank accounts for children, enrol them in school, obtain school files or travel with their children without written permission from the child's father.

It's astonishing that the Saudi government denies adult women the right to make decisions for themselves but holds them criminally responsible for their actions at puberty

Farida Deif,
Human Rights Watch

Tags: world, human rights, women

Saudi Arabia opens its first women-only hotel

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:22:25 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

For a country that goes to such great lengths to segregate unrelated men and women, it took Saudi Arabia a long time to hit on the idea of women-only hotels

The kingdom's first hotel exclusively for females opened on Wednesday, offering plush lodgings with a full-range of health and beauty facilities for ladies to pamper themselves away from the accusing eyes of a male-dominated society

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

The Luthan Hotel & Spa is owned by a group of 20 Saudi princesses and businesswomen, but it was left to seven princes headed by Sultan bin Salman, a son of Riyadh's powerful governor, to officially inaugurate it on Wednesday evening

The few female journalists who came along liked the hotel but not the fact that men dominated the opening ceremony

Tags: saudi arabia, women, conservative, islam, arab, muslim, segregation, hotel, spa

Saudis lift ban on women drivers

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:20:47 GMT

clipped by: mickfinn
clipper's remarks: Mohammad al-Zulfa, a reformist member of the Saudi consultative Shura Council, which scrutinises official policies in the oil-rich state, said reversing the ban was part of King Abdullah's "clever" strategy of incremental reform.
"When it was first raised, the extremists were really mad," he said. "Now they just complain. It is diminishing into a form of consent." (DT)

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Saudi Arabia is to lift its ban on women drivers in an attempt to stem a rising suffragette-style movement in the deeply conservative state

Government officials have confirmed the landmark decision and plan to issue a decree

The move is designed to forestall campaigns for greater freedom by women

The royal family has previously balked at granting women driving permits, claiming the step did not have full public support

The driving ban dates back to the establishment of the state in 1932

"In terms of women driving, we don't have it now because of the reticence of some segments of society," he said. "For example, my mother wouldn't want my sister to drive

If the ban on women driving is lifted, it could be years before the full impact is seen. Practical hurdles stopping women obtaining licences and insurance must be overcome

Saudi Arabia maintains a strict segregation of the sexes outside the family home.

An unaccompanied woman must shop behind curtains and cannot hail a taxi.

Tags: slow pace of saudi liberalisation

Prostitution ordeal of Iraqi girls

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:56:23 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

With their bright neon signs and glitzy decor, dozens of nightclubs line the streets of the Maraba district in the Syrian capital Damascus

It's here that men come from far and wide - car number plates are not just from Syria but Iraq and Saudi Arabia - to watch young women dancing

Most of the dancers are teenagers and many of them are Iraqi refugees

They dance for the cash which gets tossed onto the stage

The dancers are surrounded by bodyguards, to stop them being touched by the men. But the guards also arrange for their charges to be paid for sex with members of the audience

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees have moved to Syria and Jordan during the past four years, escaping the violence and instability that followed the US-led toppling of Saddam Hussein

The government says police have arrested Iraqi girls as young as 12 working as prostitutes in the nightclubs

Women picked up by the police are sent to protection centres, which they frequently escape from, or are sent to prison

Tags: iraq, syria, middle east, prostitution, money, women, girls, arab

run girls, run!!!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:43:07 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: It couldn’t possibly be that these young girls see clearly the life that awaits them in the loving arms of Saudi Arabia and don’t want to live like an identity-less being, someone else’s third-rate possession and be doomed to a life of beatings, unending labor, and even death if they step out of line, could it?

Clip Source: www.alarabiya.net

The Saudi Ministries of Interior and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, are conducting a study on runaway girls, press reports said Wednesday

The move comes as the number of girls who ran away from their families hit 3,000, according to Saudi newspaper Okaz. Other local papers have reported that 850 of the runaways were under the age of 14

Psychiatrist Mohei Abdullah Al-Qurani, who heads the psychotherapy center in the southwestern governorate of Baljorashi, attributes the girls' behavior to the absence of devout religiosity and to family problems

According to Qurani, the solution is to raise children in accordance with Islamic principles and constantly monitor their behavior and circle of friends

The social affairs director in the Mecca Region, Ihsan Tayeb, warned in earlier press statements that a lack of monitoring and negligence on the part of parents are the main reasons behind the phenomenon

Tags: saudi arabia, runaways, adoloescents, muslim, islam

Riyadh defends verdict sentencing rape victim

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:18:08 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: oh, I see, in that case it's totally alright...

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Saudi Arabia has defended a controversial verdict sentencing a 19-year-old gang rape victim to six-month jail term and 200 lashes

The Shiite woman had initially been sentenced to 90 lashes after being convicted of violating Sharia on segregation of the sexes

In its decision doubling her sentence last week, the Saudi General Court also roughly doubled prison sentences for the seven men convicted of raping her, Saudi media said

Because he reached out to the media, the court has banned lawyer Abdul Rahman Al Lahem from further defending the woman, confiscating his licence and summoning him to a disciplinary hearing later this month

The Justice Ministry implied the victim's sentence was increased because she had spoken out to the press. "For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows to appeal without resorting to the media," said the statement carried on the official Saudi Press Agency

Tags: sa, rape, victim, sentence, lashes, sharia, media

Saudi women to lobby king for driving rights

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:52:05 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

A group of Saudi women have formed a committee to lobby for the right to get behind the wheel.

The group has said it plans to petition King Abdullah in the next few days about overturning the ban on women driving in the kingdom.

The government is unlikely to respond because the issue remains so highly sensitive and divisive

The driving ban applies to all women, Saudi and foreign, and forces families to hire live-in drivers.

Women whose families cannot afford a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them around

Conservatives

say women will be free to leave home alone and go when and where they please. They also will unduly expose their eyes while driving and interact with male strangers.

But supporters of female drivers say the prohibition exists neither in law nor Islam, but is based on fatwas, or edicts, by senior clerics

Tags: saudi arabia, women, driving, islamic, prohibition, cars, king, clerics

Internet-censor world championship

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:10:02 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.rsf.org

Most of the world’s authoritarian regimes are trying to control what their citizens read and do online. They’re getter better and better at blocking “objectionable” material, usually with technology bought from US firms

China, the world champion

Vietnam: a very tough team

Tunisia: "model" players

Iran: a vicious squad

Cuba: the "legend"

Saudi Arabia: record goals

Uzbekistan: dummy pass experts

Tags: internet, censorship, oppressive, block, web, world

Breaking repression, Saudi style

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:28:44 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: About 150 gang members emerged from Jeddah's shadows. The graffiti died down after the scheme was introduced but some rogue graffiti artists remain

Jeddah gangs benefit from being from powerful families. Ordinary Saudis who dare to paint graffiti can pay a heavy price. A teenager in the northern desert town of Hafr Al Baten was sentenced in February to 60 lashes of the whip and fined 2,000 riyals for defacing walls in his school

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Using spray paint cans, they defaced public property, and complained that youths didn't have a voice in Saudi Arabia.

Dozens of young Saudis in the coastal city of Jeddah have challenged the authorities with street graffiti which has highlighted a growing generation gap in one of the world's most socially conservative countries

The municipality waived financial or other punishments and made the scribblers clean up some of the obscenities, while seeking corporate sponsors for the official spaces and walls

Local authorities also took the unusual step of sitting down with some of the youths to hear what was bothering them about life in Saudi Arabia, or at least in Jeddah

What they heard was a litany of complaints that cut to the heart of life in a country so reluctant to let go of traditional ways that cinemas are not allowed, women are banned from driving and huge efforts go into segregating the sexes in public places

Tags: saudi arabia, repression, protest, graffiti, youth, arab, muslim, voice, culture

Edict against liberals raises violence fears

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:23:38 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

A religious edict by a prominent Saudi cleric suggesting liberals are not real Muslims has inflamed debate over reforms in the country, with self-professed liberals fearing they will be attacked.

Responding to an online request for a religious edict, or fatwa, Shaikh Saleh Al Fozan said last month: "Calling oneself a liberal Muslim is a contradiction in terms ... one should repent before God for such ideas in order to be a real Muslim".

The fatwa said liberal in this context meant "freedom which is not subject to the bounds of Sharia."

Al Fozan was recently forced to issue a clarification in Al Riyadh after Islamists hailed the fatwa as a declaration that liberals are infidels.

Tags: culture, muslim, islam, liberal, contradiction, violence, edict, saudi arabia, religion

Call to tap hidden water under desert

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 07:51:45 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Al Baz said radar images of Arab deserts have revealed numerous courses of rivers and streams that led to depressions where lakes have formed.

Al Baz is behind the recently announced 1000 Wells For Darfur programme.

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Dubai: Groundwater reserves under Arabian deserts have yet to be exploited but could provide vital resources for agriculture in some of the world's driest areas, according to a space photography expert.

Large underground reserves are situated under what appears to be barren deserts, said Farouk Al Baz, a veteran of the Apollo Programme, and Research Professor and Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing at Boston University in the United States.

Some underwater lakes have been found at depths of 25 metres below the surface. Al Baz said the Empty Quarter most likely has large water reserves underneath it. "When you look at the UAE and the wadi system, a lot of water could be underneath despite the rock being granite and not porous, the wadis have cracks and water has seeped underneath," he said.

Apparently fresh water has been found to seep out off the coast of Oman in the ocean.

Tags: water, underground, desert, environment, uae, oman, saudi arabia, groundwater, reserves

Families 'will refuse to hire a Saudi housekeeper'

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:31:43 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: "Not a long time ago, Al-Riyadh, the Arabic newspaper published an advertisement stating, 'Saudi female house manager ...wanted,' at that time many people expressed their anger about it and asked: Have Saudi women reached the point where they have to work as housemaids?"

whats so special about Saudi women? what do they have that women from other Asian countries dont have?

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Owners of recruitment offices for housemaids in Saudi Arabia have dismissed the labour ministry's plan to get Saudi women to work as housekeepers in an attempt to solve a shortage of maids after some Asian countries raised the minimum wage.

"Saudi families will refuse to hire a Saudi maid as these families are psychologically not accustomed to them and at the same time ... the issue requires the introduction of a new 'societal culture', despite that some poor Saudi women may reluctantly agree to work in rich family households," owners of recruitment offices for housemaids said in a statement to Gulf News.

A report by a Saudi newspaper said that the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Social Affairs are planning to encourage Saudi women to work as housekeepers

the Saudisation of housemaids is very difficult.

Tags: saudi arabia, culture, islam, arab, women, female, maids, asia, minimum wage

UAE will get access to Interpol database

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:25:23 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: The database holds information on 15 million stolen or lost travel documents, including passports, four million stolen vehicles and more than 20,000 wanted criminals in around 125 countries across the world

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Terrorists and criminals will find it hard to infiltrate in the Gulf once three countries in the region gain access to an advanced database of Interpol, said a senior official of the agency.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be the first three countries in Asia to access the most advanced system, said Spadina Ivanka, project manager of the 'Mind and Find', the most advanced database project of the Interpol.

"Once a country gets access to the database, its officials at the borders and ports can stop criminals and terrorists," she said.

"But only 16 countries in Europe and the Caribbeans have access to the system now. Even the United States do not have access due to complications in integrating their domestic system to the Interpol database," she said.

Tags: uae, interpol, database, crime, qatar, saudi arabia, terrorists, criminals

moral police eh?

Mon, 28 May 2007 06:17:55 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks:

Clip Source: archive.gulfnews.com

The Riyadh police have arrested three members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, also known as the muttawa (moral police), for beating to death a married Saudi youth.

The three men clashed with the young man who received several injuries, was rushed to hospital but died later of bleeding from the eye, the police sources added.

In a related development, a Saudi woman who complained of being insulted along with her daughter by two muttawa members, filed a lawsuit before the Grievance Board, her lawyer said.

Abdul Rahman Al Lahem, the woman's lawyer, said his client filed a case against the two men at Riyadh court few years ago, but a ruling was issued not to hold the men responsible because they belong to the muttawa.

Tags: saudi arabia, morality, police, moral, death, assault