Saudi Women Treated Like Children
Well, when some of their wives are under the age of 12 isn’t that expected? This isn’t rocket science here folks.
Saudi Arabia’s rigid sex segregation, compulsory male guardianship of women and other “grossly discriminatory” policies are a denial of fundamental rights, a leading human rights watchdog says today.
Women are treated like legal minors who have no authority over their lives or their children, finds a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The depth and detail of discrimination was laid bare in more than 100 interviews conducted during HRW’s first fact-finding visit to the oil-rich, conservative kingdom, where King Abdullah is often described as a cautious reformist.
“The Saudi government sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women,” concluded Farida Deif, HRW researcher for the Middle East. “Saudi women won’t make any progress until the government ends the abuses that stem from these misguided policies.”
Every Saudi woman must have a male guardian, normally a father or a husband, who is tasked with making a range of critical decisions. And even when permission from a guardian is not mandatory some officials still ask for it “because current practice assumes women have no power to make their own decisions” over medical procedures or discharge from hospital.
Women are “marginalised almost to the point of total exclusion” from the country’s workforce, the report says. And since Saudi women are banned from driving, a large proportion of their salaries goes on paying for transportation.
Saudi women are denied the right to make even trivial decisions for their children and are not permitted to travel with them without permission from the child’s father, it adds.
Reforms are often not implemented in practice: despite a recent decision allowing women over 45 to travel without permission, most airport officials still ask all women for written proof that their guardian has allowed them to travel.
The kingdom applies sharia law as the law of the land and the religious establishment largely controls education, the all-male judiciary and the policing of “public morality” through the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Segregation causes discrimination against Saudi women in voting, employment and education, says HRW.
Segregation can also endanger lives: in 2002 a fire at an elementary school in Mecca resulted in the deaths of 15 girls because religious police would not allow them to leave without their headscarves.
While Saudi Arabia has seen progress in female literacy in the past 50 years, with 83% of females over 15 literate in 2005, the general framework of education continues to reinforce discriminatory gender roles.
(guardian uk)
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Something is happening.
In the last couple of months I’ve seen articles like this from groups such as Human Rights Watch that would’ve never, ever have posted an article critical of Islam.
Now, they are. Why?
I may be wrong, but I think the word is out about Pat Dollard and “Young Americans” and the impact it’ll have, and the Left, those who are able to, are starting to cover their asses.
This, I’m not wrong about…every World War II movie that’s been made including “Saving Private Ryan” is now compared to the series “Band of Brothers”.
What “Band of Brothers” is to World War II movies, “Young Americans” is going to be to every film about the GWOT, including the films already on the garbage heap and those yet to be made and or finished!
Pat’s “YA” postings on YouTube and his “hints” posted here about “YA” has convinced me that this is true.
Career’s of many of the “Hate America” Crowd are about to implode and some of them are panicking and doing things they would have never have dreamed of doing 3 months ago.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
:beer:… but I’m not!
PS- Kudos to Larry… and to Dennis Miller who I Plagiarized in the above sentence.
April 20th, 2008 at 9:33 pmHere comes the bride
She just turned five.
Here comes the groom
With one foot in the tomb.
When are these groups going to put 2 and 2 together and understand that Sharia law is what is driving this, and that the hadjis want us to live under Sharia.
I’m still waiting for the, “Ohhhhhhh, okay.”
April 21st, 2008 at 8:47 am