Queendom of Saudi Arabia Actually a Result of Kneejerk Journalistic Illiteracy

August 28, 2012 By

About two weeks ago, my bulging eyes nearly met my falling jaw when I came across a flood of tweets in my feed about the Saudi Industrial Property Authority, “MODON,” building an all-woman city to boost the country’s economy and productivity all while ensuring that no one gets a hickey from the opposite sex in the process. I’m not going to lie or even attempt to hide the fact that I was extremely excited at this prospect; the possibility for the emergence of a matriarchal society challenging Saudi gender mores seemed a little too awesome for me to even consider this as what others deemed another brick in the gender apartheid wall. And, as per usual when it comes to anything about Muslim women’s bodies in cruel, cruel Muslim countries, the media went into an uproar about this story.

Then, however, my dreams of matriarchal bliss and womanly fortitude were dashed by what turned out to be – su-freakidy-prise – extremely poor and sensationalist journalism. As Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-based publication, would point out within days (August 15th) of the story breaking and going viral: no one actually seemed to have read the press release being cited beyond the headline:

“The subhead of the press release, set in italics, reads: “Al-Ahsa 2nd Industrial City will create job opportunities for both men and women.”

Yes, both men and women.

The second paragraph clearly states that the city “is not intended for women only.”

MODON clarified the issue further on Tuesday.

“It’s a city like any other city, where men and women work. But special sections and production halls will be reserved for women within the factories,” the Authority told Al Arabiya English via Twitter.”

So, what the hell happened that seemingly led some of the top online media to rabidly become illiterate? [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , , ,

The Right to Play or Creeping Sharia? FIFA Overturns its Headscarf Ban

July 16, 2012 By

FIFA has overturned its headscarf ban, enforced since 2007, on women playing soccer with their heads covered. Predictably, the French Football Federation issued an instant “this won’t happen here” communiqué, whereas Qatar, hosting the 2022 Olympics, commended the decision.

FIFA’s decision has incited strong criticism online. All you have to do is read the comments in news articles (including the ones I have linked) or participate in discussions on social media (if you like coming face to face with big, hairy trolls, as I found out on a Swiss forum the other night) to see that online reaction to FIFA’s decision appears to be overwhelmingly negative. And the divide isn’t just along Muslim/non-Muslim lines as some would like to say; some secular Muslims might find FIFA’s reversal a sign that fundies are being catered to. The problem is that anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, who comes out in support of FIFA’s decision is branded anti-feminist, stupid or misinformed. I would link to some examples but I don’t really like linking to hate and bigotry; Google News should sort out the curious.

So, let’s address some of the key points that keep coming up.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: , , , ,

Saudi Female Students Spark a Revolution

March 20, 2012 By

On a quiet Saturday morning, while browsing the web for the day’s news, a story from Saudi Arabia caught my attention: thousands of female university students at the King Khalid University in the southern city of Abha were reported protesting against against poor on-campus sanitary services. According to Emirati newspaper Al Bayan, one of the students said: “The University has to take extra care of us. They can’t just leave the trash for three days on campus. There was a bad smell all over the place.”

Saudi women protestors. Image via mubasheer.com.

Obviously, that was not the only reason that prompted angry female students to show their discontent with their university. Another student told the newspaper:

“we protested against the mistreatment our colleagues faced when they went out protesting last Wednesday. Security guards and members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice were present most of the time in front of the campus gate, but there were no incidents of arrests among them.”

This incident marks one of the rare, and daring, public protests by Saudi women in the history of the Kingdom. Female students were in fact speaking out against long-entrenched social attitudes towards women in the dominantly-conservative Saudi Arabia where women have made some impressive headways as professionals, yet continue to be deprived of some basic rights, and are banned from driving cars. In many ways, I have found the Saudi women’s protest rather normal in the context of Arab Spring developments.  But what I found rather interesting has been the critical comments the incident  has generated among Saudi women writers and commentators. No longer do national media serve as mouthpieces of official government views when it comes to emerging forms of social protestation in the age of Arab revolutions.

On 17th March 2012, Dr. Haya Al Manee wrote in Al Riyahd newspaper:

“It is no one’s right to question the loyalty of students at King Khalid University, who were calling for their basic rights. They might not have expressed themselves in the right way, but that is mainly related to the fact that doors have been always shut in their faces. Unfortunately, when the government fails to address the needs of its own people, it causes chaotic behaviors. What happened on that day is only solved with a strategic solution that takes into consideration the interest of all parties in the country.”

In Al  Watan newspaper, Halima Muthaffar wrote:

“I could not believe my eyes when I saw a number of Saudi female students protesting in King Khalid University. Through my twitter account, those students were telling me that they are not protesting against the poor cleaning services on campus, but also against the way they are treated by everyone. What even made me question the professionalism of the university administration is a statement issued by a dean of one of the colleges, saying that students are demanding that we allow connection to the internet, and the use of iPads and BlackBerries!! What kind of a university does not have connection to the internet these days?!”

A very illuminating insight of the problem was put forward by Saudi scholar Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Eissa, who wrote in Al Hayat newspaper:

“Our main challenge in this case derives from neither services provided for female students, nor the ability of Saudi women to run these institutes. The biggest challenge lies in our ability to imagine a real role for Saudi women in universities. The relationship between women and the educational institutes is vague and unclear, and is only defined by men in power.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , ,

Riding in Cars with Satan

December 7, 2011 By

2001: Driver’s Education on a warm spring day. Despite years of riding in cars, I felt the tremors of Western decadence between my legs once I sat behind the wheel. My hijab felt a little looser, and I was overwhelmed with so many haraam thoughts that I could not hear a word that my driving instructor was saying.  My brush with life behind the wheel showed me a darker element to driving. Professor Kamal Al-Subhi recently warned against lifting the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, as women driving directly correlates with the moral decline of society. I would have to agree with him; the moment that the key to the car rested in my own hand, I did not think of errands or going to school, but of unlocking a world of nightclubs, sin, in a station wagon that was most certainly steered by the devil.  It made me want to wear “a pair of pants so tight that [my] innermost organs were discernible.”** But thanks to Al-Subhi, I resolve to never drive again.

Please do not place pocket mahram in a haraam location, especially when batteries are in the device. This is to avoid forbidden sensations.

First and foremost, what Al-Subhi reiterates is something that I accept to be a reality about being a Muslim woman: my self-worth is directly proportional to my chastity, and we must never forget this. Clearly, this is our primary goal when we discuss Muslim women: keeping them pristine. I am not fooled when I read about the work of female activists in Saudi Arabia that want to drive. It is not about convenience or autonomy, or, I don’t know, trying to get to work on time. It is really about a Hollywood induced vision of broken hymens and debauchery in the backseat of cars, which, by the way, would be a logistical nightmare if women could drive.  Let us forget the other roles that women play in Islam; after all, what matters most is keeping women on the straight and narrow paths to avoid exciting them, as even the slightest taste of independence turns them into filthy-minded beings.

But in blaming the decline of society on women driving, Al-Subhi missed the real culprit:  unchaperoned women.  The problem is not the actual act of driving, but perhaps the fact that a woman is left in a space without a guardian. We cannot trust women with their urges, as even a speed bump could create worrisome scenarios. After all, a car can even become a portable whorehouse if it goes unsupervised. In order to avoid temptation and protect their honour, it would be wise for Al-Subhi to create Pocket Mahrams, which would be a collectible and fun way to teach women the importance of never leaving home without their small piece of patriarchy.

And as a final note: I would encourage Al-Subhi to push for heightened web censorship in Saudi Arabia. I was alarmed to read about such a learned scholar knowing what kind of a gesture would indicate availability. I presume that he gained this knowledge in research and good faith to protect the innocent and pure minds of Saudi women. However, I worry that women may be able to accidentally pollute their minds and perhaps expedite moral decline by being influenced by such rude gestures. Perhaps gender-based censorship would be most pertinent, after all, men must know what to keep out of the minds of women. Either way, I am glad that Al-Subhi is taking a stand and showing us the real value of women – and most importantly, keeping me from ever driving again.

** This part? Not making it up.  It’s a direct quote from Al-Subhi himself.

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , ,

Roundtable: Amnesty UK’s Video on Saudi Women (and Men)

November 24, 2011 By

Editor’s note: When Azra forwarded us this article, everyone had something to say.  Below are thoughts from several MMW contributors.

Azra: I saw this post from The Atlantic come up in my twitter feed, and was intrigued. And then I saw the video and read Max Fisher’s thoughts. My intrigue turned to disappointment.

[See the bottom of this post for a transcript of the video.]

Amnesty UK’s video paints the entire country in one broad stroke, with a vaguely Middle Eastern man (complete with accent) instructs a silent, voiceless Saudi Arabian woman of the finer points of Saudi patriarchy. The insinuation here is clear: Saudi Arabian men are boorish, repressive, and domineering to voiceless, submissive Saudi women. There is little accountability for the role the Saudi government and law plays in how Saudi women are treated. Fisher proclaims the film is “at points surprisingly entertaining,” “disconcertingly funny,” and: “highlights both the violence implicit in the Saudi patriarchal system and the suffocating control that men there have over women.” Touche.

What made this video all the more disappointing was reading that Amnesty hopes the video will serve as an educational aid of sorts to those unfamiliar with human rights (and, of course, Amnesty’s work in this domain). It serves as an important reminder that the submissive Arab/Muslim woman and domineering Arab/Muslim man theme is still alive and kicking, unfortunately, at an international human rights organization.

Lara: I’ve seen some excruciating things done in the name of “raising awareness”, but this not only takes the biscuit, it’s slumped in the corner scoffing packets of hobnobs, burbons and chocolate digestives. However, the teeth grinding this video inspires is worse for your teeth then any biscuit.

Eren: First of all I must say that I and my family have always supported Amnesty’s work. We make donations regularly because we believe that this organization has made a difference in terms of human rights advocacy in Latin America that is where we come from.

Looking at this video was a huge disappointment for me. Some of the things I liked about Amnesty were that they made an effort to understand local contexts, they tried to avoid the stereotypes and they advocated for human rights at the local level while being mindful of cultural and religious differences. This video, which unsuccessfully attempts to use black humour, does nothing to advocate for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

Diana: While I do like this a little better than say, videos of Saudi women being bludgeoned to death by stoning or the trite depictions of seas of burka donned women, this Amnesty UK video has its problems too.

The video carries with it, besides its overarching message, a kind-of satirical racism, as exemplified by the narrator’s shirtless displays of might juxtaposed against pictures of an endless desert or a series of pyramids.

In viewing the video a second time, I realized there was more subtle racism to be had in the video’s background images. For example in the beginning of the video when the narrating character speaks of women, images of white swans appear on the left of the screen. A few seconds later, when the narrating character speaks of men [Arab/Saudi men] a picture of a macaque appears on the right of the screen. Is there a comparison being drawn between Arab men and primates here?

Krista: And the lion noises.  Don’t forget the lion noises.

Diana: I think the real question here is does this video actually do much for viewers beyond giving them a brief chuckle?
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Roundtable, Video, Web Tagged With: , ,

Saudi Women Set Their Sights on the Right to Vote

June 22, 2011 By

"Equality." Image from Al-Watan.

Last March, Saudi authorities stated that half the seats in the municipal council in the next September 2011 run would be elected, rather than selected by the monarch himself as usual. But when they implemented elections, they neglected to include women’s votes. When asked why, the kingdom’s electoral commission mentioned it was because of logistic-related difficulties in sex-segregated election stations, the same reason that was previously used back in 2005. Almost six years have passed and nothing has changed, proving only that logistic-related difficulties are only an excuse for not making changes.

“Women will not participate in this session,” Abdul- Rahman al-Dahmash, director of the kingdom’s electoral commission, said referring to the municipal balloting. “There is a plan, though not with a definite time, to put in place a framework so that women can participate in upcoming elections.”

Saudi women are not shutting up this time! Activists decided to create their own municipal council to cast their votes, and a whole online campaign called “Baladi” (“My country”) has been lunched and widely spread—it’s gathered 2,000 members in a short period of time. The campaign is solely run by women from different parts of Saudi Arabia:

We will never give up, and we will not stop our campaigning,” said Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi whose is a human rights activist and a history lecturer at King Saud University in Riyadh. [sic]

Several Saudi women have recently challenged this ban by showing up at voter registration offices in different Saudi cities demanding voter identification cards. Saudi blogger Zaki Safar reports:

When two young women made attempts to register to vote, they were subjected by some locals to a broad spectrum of insults, ranging from “unoriginal/impure Saudis” to “attention seekers” to “whores”. They were told “to stay home and raise kids,” and in some cases thought to warrant legal prosecution.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Politics, Web Tagged With: , , ,
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