Category Women’s Rights

The Qatif Girl, Again

I honestly did not want to write again about the Qatif Girl case. The last thing this country needs is bad publicity, and as we have seen the so-called Ministry of Justice did not just bring us bad publicity, they also caused a global outrage and tremendous embarrassment to this nation. It wasn’t enough that the ruling was wrong to begin with, they continued to show their incompetency by releasing gibberish statements to justify their ridiculous position.

I think that when MoJ found that their image was badly damaged by this case, they decided that the best way to repair it is by slandering the girl and portray her like a slut who deserved to be raped. How is this supposed to improve their reputation is beyond my comprehension, but let’s wait and see what kind of gems MoJ are still keeping for us.

Two days ago, Shatha Omar on LBC hosted Abdul-Rahman Al Lahim, the girl’s lawyer, to talk about the case. In the opposite direction there was Sheikh Abdul-Mohsen Al Obeikan, an adviser to MoJ and member of the Shoura Council. I was shocked to hear Al Obeikan using certain expressions and words to imply that the girl committed adultery. It was really sickening. Later in the show, there was a call from the girl’s husband who sadly complained that the court did not consider the emotional and psychological state of his wife. “You think I would forgive her if she committed adultery?” he asked. “I’m an Arab man, after all.”

I agree with Al Lahim when he said this ruling sends a strong message to women in Saudi Arabia: don’t seek justice from the legal system, and if you were raped don’t even bother to report it to authorities; you better swallow it and shut up. Moreover, suspending Al Lahim and the statements issued later send a message to the rest of us: don’t even dare to question the judges or criticism the the legal system. But you know what your freakin’ honors? We will not shut up. We will speak up, we will expose your injustice, and we will do our best to ensure that justice and common sense would prevail in the end.

UPDATE: Ibrahim Al Khodhairi, a judge at the appeals court in Riyadh, told Okaz today that the judges in this case should have imposed the death penalty on all the parties involved, including the girl. He also said a lot of nonsense in his interview but I’m not in the mood to deconstruct his statements.

Justice and Common Sense

As the new reforms on the legal system are yet to be implemented, I guess that some judges thought they would use whatever left of time for the current system to demonstrate their misjudgment and lack of intelligence. It was not enough for them to sentence the Qatif girl to 90 lashes a year ago, so they decided to more than double the number of lashes plus six months of jail. The girl is a rape victim, but apparently being raped is not enough to spare her the punishment for something called ‘khulwa’.

Now what kind of ‘khulwa’ that would take place in front of a crowded shopping mall is beyond my comprehension, but that’s just me. I’m pretty sure our esteemed judges and those who support this bizarre ruling have many justifications to present upon request, but then again, who on earth am I to question a court which uses the word ‘sharia’ to legitimize their decisions no matter how absurd these decisions are?

Some people have asked me why I have not written about this earlier, and the reason is because I was angry, disgusted and depressed. Those following me on Twitter have probably seen this, and although I have been discussing the issues with my family and friends who share the same feelings with me, I could not bring myself to write about it without using some kind of language that I’d rather not to use on the blog.

The victim’s lawyer Abdul Rahman Al Lahem has been suspended from the case and faces a disciplinary session because the judge thinks that Al Lahem was using the media to affect the court’s ruling. Now how can the media be used to affect the ruling is anyone’s guess, but why should the judge be affected by the media might be something we should be looking at, because as far as I have been told, our right honorable judges are very wise men who claim to base their verdicts on Qura and Sunna, not some blabbering in the media. Anyway, it is not the first time that Al Lahem faces a problem like this. He has been jailed before for defending reformists but he continued his work as Saudi Arabia’s most important human rights lawyer.

It is up to the appeal court now to confront this unjust ruling and finish the suffering of the girl and her husband who bravely stood up beside his wife. Otherwise, this case might require the interference of the king in order for justice and common sense to prevail. Let’s hope they will prevail in the end.

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Job at MBC for Women

Middle East Broadcasting Corporation, or simply MBC, are looking for a woman to work on online community development for the imatter project which focuses on empowering women across the Arab World. I’m posting this because I thought some fellow female bloggers might be interested in getting this job, especially that the job description goes well with what they are already doing with their blogs. If you would like to apply please follow the instructions posted here, and let me know as I might be able to help.

Jeddah: Gurlz vs. Guyz

jeddah_boysI have said it before and I shall say it again and again: those Jeddawis never fail to impress me. Their latest is a 12-minute documentary featuring young men and women who talk about their views about the opposite sex and dating.

As I have said in a recent post, dating is a risky business in Saudi Arabia, and to have a documentary discussing it this way is truly amazing. The short film is produced by Izzaty Islamy, a two-year-old girl’s social club that sponsors monthly discussions and has conducted debate events at Dar Al-Hekma College and the International Medical Center. I can’t wait to get my hands on the film and watch it; and since it’s only 12-minute long the group might consider uploading it to YouTube or something like that.

Proud of You

Faris Bin Hizam has complained that some great accomplishments by the men and women of this country do not receive the attention they deserve in the mainstream media. He is right. That’s why I want to dedicate this post to these great people, especially women. I want to celebrate them and let the world know that our women are making a difference not just for Saudi Arabia but for the whole world.

I am proud of Dr. Huwaida Al Guthami, the heart surgeon at Prince Sultan Cardiac Center who pioneered some of most recent advancements in this field. Dr. Al Guthami was recently awarded with the King Faisal medallion of the fourth degree.

I am proud of Dr. Khawla Al Kuraya, the senior scientist at KFSH & RC and the director of research center at KFNCCC&R. She has recently received the Harvard University Scientific Achievement Award.

huwaid_guthami khawla_kuraya

buthainaI am proud of Buthaina Al Nassr, the first Saudi female news anchor. Buthaina was the first face to welcome the viewers at the launch of Al Ekhbariya news channel, and she continues to deliver some of the best reporting work on local issues on television.

These three women and many others work hard everyday to make life better for all of us. In addition to them, there are millions who do the same away from the limelight. Take my grandmother for example: although she was widowed twice when she was young, she worked hard to support her family and raised all of her children to become contributing members to their society. When my father (may his soul rest in peace) said he wants to leave school and get a job to help the family she firmly refused and insisted that he continues his education. He became a teacher and his brother became a dentist, and till this day, there is nothing my family puts more emphasis on than education. I am proud of her, and I am thankful that she continues to bless our life with her prayers and wisdom.

Succession and Women’s Driving

I don’t know why, but apparently we get a lot of our important decisions made during the last ten days of Ramadhan. Last year it was the new succession law, and this year we got the judiciary reform as well as the fine details of the aforementioned succession law. I guess our government is always inspired by the spirituality of those holy days.

Speaking of the government, I wonder how/if they are going to react to what Fawzia Al-Oyouni, a founding member of the Society for Protecting and Defending Women’s Rights, told Arab New today. She said they are planning to take field trips in markets, shopping malls and hospitals in order to educate as many women as possible and to spread awareness on women’s driving.

Working on the ground, like dating, is a risky business in Saudi Arabia. The public spaces Al-Oyouni talks about, such as markets and malls, are to a degree or another controlled by the infamous religious police. I can’t imagine they would allow anyone else to use these spaces for a cause that they have no sympathy with.

The King has always pledged his commitment to reform. He wants to make sure that his efforts in changing this country would last and the gains won’t be lost soon, and that the changes he is implementing for the good of the nation are solid and permanent. This is an issue where that commitment can be shown again.