Tag Archives: valentine’s day

  • Smile. Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day today or not. Just smile. Check out this video that Asmaa and her colleagues made:

  • It’s been more three years since we first heard about MOCI’s plan to allow new radio stations to broadcast in the country. Last month a media company owned by Prince Khaled al-Faisal won the first FM radio license for a reported price tag of SR75m. I was surprised. Is an FM radio license in Saudi Arabia really worth such costly price? Or is this simply a tactic by MOCI to put a high barrier to entry so they would only give the license to certain people? Yesterday the second license was sold for SR66m. Winners of the remaining three licenses will be announced over the next six weeks.
  • Saudi Valentine’s FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! (via rt)

  • Arab News reports on the campaign to boycott ‘manned’ lingerie shops that I wrote about a couple of days ago. Fellow blogger Eman al-Nafjan is quoted in the story.
  • Tariq al-Maeena: “Yes, tomorrow is different to some. And depending on which side of the fence you sit, the color red will definitely have some say.”
  • The young Bin Baz continues to make headlines. Here, he is interviewed by al-Watan daily where he reaffirms his not-so-orthodox opinions about women’s driving, mixing, khulwa, and birth control.

Unnecessary Wars

While the Religious Police today launched their annual nationwide crackdown on stores selling items that are red or in any other way allude to the banned celebrations of Valentine’s Day, Reem Asaad and her fellow women continue their lingerie jihad. Starting on the 13th of February and for two weeks, women are called to boycott all lingerie shops that employ men.

This is the second phase of the campaign that Asaad started a year ago, aiming to address one of the many bizarre contradictions in Saudi Arabia, where in this supposedly most conservative country on earth women have to divulge their underwear sizes and colors to strange men on regular basis. Check out this Facebook group to learn more about the campaign.

Ghazi al-Gosaibi, minister of labor, who is currently ill and being treated in the US, has issued a law in 2006 stating that “only females may be employed in women apparel and accessories stores.” However, the law has never been implemented due to the objection and resistance of different parties.