Adhwan al-Ahmari seems to think that there is some kind of war raging between Saudi journalists and activists. He said the revolution in Egypt has produced a divide between the two groups. This war is taking place in Twitter and in newspaper columns. First, let’s get some facts straight. There is a lot of broad-brush [...]
Category Archives: Saudi Arabia
The New Activism
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 – 13:55
It is rather sad that at a time when peoples are toppling dictators and changing regimes, we are still stuck talking about women driving, underage marriage and the right of prisoners to get a speedy, fair trial. I’m not saying these issues are unimportant, but let’s face it: their importance pales quickly when compared to [...]
Here and there
Sunday, July 3, 2011 – 16:18
The Guardian sent their south Asia correspondent Jason Burke to Saudi Arabia for a special series on the country. While I think the overall reporting of the series leaves something to be desired, it was the third part of the series that made the headlines locally. Sheikh Saad al-Shethri (remember him?) said he intends to [...]
More and more on women driving
Monday, June 13, 2011 – 2:09
Photographer Reem Al Faisal mocks the ban on women driving in Arab News by calling women to start riding… camels. “OK, we give up and allow the men to drive cars and allow us what was never denied our grandmothers – camels. Let every household own as many camels as they wish or can afford. [...]
Manal released, Shoura still a joke, and why Islamists are silent
Friday, June 3, 2011 – 2:07
Manal al-Sharif has been released on Tuesday. After her release, she released a statement in which announced that she will no longer be involved with the women’s driving campaign that is scheduled for June 17. The campaign, however, is still on track according a statement published on Facebook. Meanwhile, the Shoura Council said the they [...]
More on Manal al-Sharif and women’s driving
Saturday, May 28, 2011 – 13:49
Eman al-Nafjan has a good roundup on the latest in Manal al-Sharif’s case. Al-Nafjan was on also on CNN to talk about the issues yesterday. Wikileaks documents reveal that the US government been quietly putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive, the Guardian reports. Sabria Jawhar says “There was a time when [...]
Is there hope for Saudi Arabia?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 – 14:50
Exciting times in the Middle East. Winds of change are sweeping across the region, giving hope to scores of frustrated youths after decades of stagnation. The Arab Spring was blossoming at alarming pace to the geriatric rulers who found themselves resisting an inevitable fate. No where was this clearer than in Saudi Arabia, which was, [...]
Saudi Jeans turns seven
Thursday, May 12, 2011 – 18:05
This blog has turned seven a couple of days ago. I said before that when I started this thing I never thought it would last long. But here we are, and I still can’t believe it’s been this long. Now I know that the past ten months were not exactly the best for the blog. [...]
#SaudiGirlsUnite, Bandar is back, Gulf monarchies challenge
Saturday, April 23, 2011 – 6:11
Saudi women activists are planning to show up in polling centers in the country’s major cities to demand their right to participate in the upcoming municipal elections when the registration starts today. The campaign is mainly organized via Facebook and Twitter. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, aka Bandar Bush, is back and John Hannah argues that [...]
