Category Women’s Rights

More Women Demonstrate in Qassim

Blogger Khalid al-Nassir has been following the news since today’s afternoon regarding a second women’s demonstration in Qassim. The women were shortly moved to the governate headquarters for negotiation, which ended by detaining the mother of one the detainees. Reuters ran this story about the demonstration and reports that participants in the protest said the women carried placards bearing the image of King Abdullah and others saying “Ministry of Interior, try the detainees legally and openly”.

This is getting more and more intense. In a country where public demonstrations are illegal, two demonstrations during a short period like this should indicate that a significant change is probably taking place. Moreover, both demonstrations occurred in the most ultra-conservative part of the Kingdom. Some argue that these detainees deserve to be where they are, but I think that whether they were innocent or not, they have the right to a public fair trial immediately.

Activists Seek Establishment of Women’s Rights Body

A group of women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia said they have applied to the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) for permission to establish an independent civil society organization under the name “Ansar al-Mar’a” (Supporters of Women), AlArabiya.net reports today. The group consists of 21 members, most of them are women.

The first time I heard about this group was few months ago when one of their members, Sulaiman al-Salman, appeared on Haifaa al-Mansour’s talk show on LBC to discuss women’s driving. Al-Salman said the aim of the group is to demand women’s rights such as driving cars and the right to uncover their faces and have more flexible work options. I have tried to acquire more information about them, but so far such information remain scarce.

I don’t think they will get the permission they are seeking. It’s a really long shot. The law that is supposed to regulate civil society organizations is still under discussion in Shoura Council and awaits to be voted after the Shoura members return from their summer vacation. As far as I know, the only type of permission MOSA give to establish an NGO in the present time is restricted to charities and philanthropic bodies.

The article quotes some other members of the group whom I’ve never heard of before, but I think these people are/should be fully aware of what I said here. It is unclear to me why they apply in the first place if they know their application would be rejected, at least until the new law is implemented. Such application seems like a move to create buzz around the group more than a serious attempt to establish something sustainable.

nujaimiHowever, it takes only a little spark like this to provoke the likes of Sahwa unofficial spokesman Mohammed al-Nujaimi, who would never miss a chance to be in the media, to release his loose cannons. Nujaimi has been leading a fierce crusade against all things liberal in Saudi Arabia, and this was a good opportunity for him to continue his efforts.

“I’m not against that liberals would start an organization to support women,” he said. “I’m against some of their ideas, especially that all people in this group are liberals.” This doesn’t make sense, but that’s OK because being the demagogue that he is, he’s never been known to make much sense. “We support women from an Islamic perspective,” he added.

Moreover, Nujaimi seems pretty sure that his views regarding women’s issues would prevail in the end. He said that a controversial issue like face covering can only be decided through some kind of a ‘domestic’ fatwa, and since the religious establishment here say a women must cover her face then there should be no argument about that (!). “In any case, women will cover their faces in government offices,” he concluded.

Sometimes I wonder if Nujaimi actually listens to himself when he comes up with stuff like these. He sounds as if he is trying to make things seem logical, but the problem is that his logic is so twisted. Since when one has to adhere to the instructions of some official authority to make up his beliefs and becomes a devoted Muslim? All I know is that the Islam Mohammed al-Nujaimi and his likes talk about is not the Islam I know.

I started talking about women’s rights and ended up talking about Islam. How did that happen? That’s normal: the conservatives here like to squeeze religion into everything, whether they were trying to object to some inevitable change or simply to make a point, but truth is, they have not been making many good of these lately.

Obstacles Remain for Women Employment

The Government often talk about providing more work opportunities for women. However, talking about that is one thing and actually working to make it happen is quite another. Take for example this piece from Arab News today:

Working mothers who spend eight hours or more at work want daycare services at work due to the distress caused by being away from their babies and toddlers.

Now you would think this brilliant idea has occurred to these women just now, but a moment later you will learn that it’s been more than two years since the Ministry of Labor (MOL) issued a law stating that businesses with 50 or more women and at least 10 working mothers must pay for daycare services to children under six years of age. As for businesses with over 100 women, a staffed daycare facility must be provided on the premises.

The mentioned above law sounds good, except for one thing: it has not been implemented. Is it possible that because MOL could not implement its controversial law to employ women in lingerie shops that they are having a difficult time now convincing anyone to take them and their laws seriously? Maybe, but it is certainly not an acceptable excuse.

If MOL cannot even force their fellow government departments to implement the law, and considering the fact that most businesses here have no idea whatsoever about something called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), I really doubt that we will see a practical solution for this problem any time soon.

P.S. As far as I know, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Social Affairs are two different things. Why Arab News decided to join them together to create a ministry that doesn’t exist is beyond my comprehension.

Quickies

Just some short commentary on some stories from Arab News today:

5 Women and Two Men Held in Buraidah
Saudi security forces on Thursday detained five women and two men in an incident that officials linked to weapons possession but which an activist said followed a sit-in by the women.

My friend Rasheed writes about the story that has been making the headlines in the blogosphere in the past few days. Unfortunately, they don’t offer much more than what we already know. Many people here are very disappointed with the way the government chose to deal with this issue. It is sad that none of the Arabic newspaper here has reported the story.

The Hospitality of Justice
I conclude this article with a request to my dear brothers and sisters. You must visit the general court in Jeddah to see for yourselves the truth of what’s happening there. And I’m sure that will only increase your trust in the judicial system and induce you to join me in my prayers for them to live long and remain always alert, concerned about people’s rights and making sure they are not denied justice. Amen.

When I read this column by Amr al-Faisal when it appeared first in al-Watan a few days ago, I immediately recalled my own suffering when I had to do some work at the court here two years ago. It was exactly the way he described it, if not worse. We have been saying for a long time that the whole legal system is in desperate need to be reformed. The new code that was released few months ago was a good, though small, step in the right direction, but we are yet to see a real change.

Citizens Complain About Poor DSL Services
A number of citizens are calling on Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and various service-providing companies to provide better DSL services. “We pay a lot of money but we get poor service and technical problems,” said one Saudi quoted in a report recently in Al-Watan daily whose name was not given.

They have been complaining about it for a long time and I’m afraid they will be for until other companies enter the market to end STC monopoly. As far as I can recall, the new telcos to operate in the kingdom soon will be allowed to build their own cable networks. So till then, I think STC will continue to cut their prices, and that’s as much as they can do because looking back at their history they have never been interested in improving their services.

TV Told Not to Promote Regionalism
Abdullah Al-Jasser, undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture and Information, has criticized Saudi owners of satellite channels for promoting regionalism in a recent press statement. He charged them with promoting narrow-minded regionalism.

This is not the first time Abdullah al-Jasser says something absurd, and most probably won’t be the last time. This is the same guy who described electronic media as “dangerous” and was very excited to take part in some Arab meeting to monitor the internet. The man seems irritated about the appearance of some local TV channels without his ministry’s permission, and irritated even more about the fact that he can’t ban them.

Women and Reformist Lawyer Arrested

Following their demonstration outside a state security HQ in Qassim, Rima al-Juraish and four other women were arrested today. Moreover, Abdullah al-Hamid, a well-known reformist and attorney of Rima al-Juraish’s husband Mohammed al-Hamily, was also arrested. Al-Hamid, who was previously jailed in the past after demanding constitutional reforms but was later pardoned by King Abdullah, has asked the authorities to allow his family to bring him his medicines. Read more here and here (Arabic).

UPDATE: The Interior Ministry have issued a statement confirming the arrests, claiming they took place after a search for weapons at Juraish’s home which uncovered three machine guns, three revolvers and some ammunition. However, it is said that it was the security forces themselves who brought the weapons when they raided the house at dawn, then planted them in a sofa and under floor tiles before arresting the group.

Women Demonstrate in Qassim

Fifteen women and seven children have demonstrated outside a state security HQ demanding a fair public trial for their husbands, stop torture, and transfer them back to a local prison. Fouad al-Farhan, the blogger who has been on hiatus for a long time and now is back, broke the story on his blog.

This is important because it is the first time for women to hold a public demonstration in protest in Saudi Arabia. I doubt that mainstream media would actually cover the story, and hence it is important to spread the word online in blogs and forums. Go to Fouad’s blog now and sign your name in support of these women, and make sure this reaches as many people as possible.

UPDATE: Reuters confirmed the story.

RIYADH, July 16 (Reuters) – Wives of Saudi men detained on suspicion of links to militant groups complained to the authorities on Monday, saying their husbands should be released or face a public trial, families said.

“Our husbands and sons are in prison … We have sent telegrams and we’ve gone to the Human Rights Commission but it’s useless. So we are staging this sit-in,” Rima al-Juraish said by telephone. She said she was speaking from outside a state security headquarters in the Qassim region north of Riyadh.

She said the women wanted cases involving their families brought to court, legal representation for the men, an end to “mistreatment” and their return to a local prison.

Juraish said the detainees, who have been held for periods ranging from two to five years, were removed to Riyadh last month for induction in a “correction” programme run by clerics that authorities say has led more than 700 suspects to “repent”.