Long before the Madinah affair, I’ve thought about writing a post on the difference between Shia and Sunnis and then I thought why put myself in a minefield of misunderstandings. After reconsideration, I reasoned that nothing ever gets resolved by keeping quiet so I might as well write. When the Madinah affair happened this week, [...]
Entries from February 2009
February 25, 2009
The problem lies within
With the exception of the Human Rights Organization, to my knowledge there are no organized associations or unions of women rights activists in Saudi Arabia. Those who care are doing it individually and at the local level quietly. Most of them, like myself, are talking to the outside world more than the inside. On the [...]
February 18, 2009
Prominent Saudis: Mrs. Nora Al Faiz
Mrs. Al Faiz has only recently become a household name in Saudi Arabia. She comes from an average middle-class family from the central region in Saudi Arabia. She graduated from King Saud University in Riyadh in 1978 majoring in Sociology. She married Sulaiman Al Suwlai a year before graduating and later accompanied him for higher [...]
February 17, 2009
The recent changes in the ministry of education
Former minister of education: Dr. Al Obaid
NO CLEAR PHOTO AVAILABLE
New deputy minister of girls’ education: Mrs. Nora Al Faiz
So the dust has settled and now that we can look more closely at the changes made, we can see that there is a new position that wasn’t there before. It’s not the position given to the [...]
February 15, 2009
First Saudi Woman Minister
Today is definitely a happy day. Saudi Arabia has made a leap of progress. King Abdullah surprised everyone yesterday morning with major overhauls to the judicial and educational system. And the biggest bombshell of all was that a woman was appointed as head of girl’s education. This is a position that has always belonged to [...]
February 15, 2009
The Saudi Obsession
Saudi men are obsessed with women. That is a fair statement that few will argue. Some will even go as far as to say that most men are, regardless of nationality. But the degree to which Saudis are obsessed is amazing. When I read about and firsthand experience how men view women, it makes me [...]
February 12, 2009
Runaway Saudi Woman
Today in the news there was a story about a 25 year old Saudi lady called Hayat. She was caught in K0shi, India after she had run off with her driver, Abdulrahman. The couple managed to travel out of Saudi Arabia on forged passports. She told the Indian authorities that she came to India so that [...]
February 8, 2009
Confiscated Abayas
Today I went to a major mall here in Riyadh to pick up an abaya I had ordered and instead got a story. The abaya was supposed to be ready yesterday but when I got to the shop there was an off vibe to it. The abayas on the racks were plain. The creative cuts [...]
