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[johnslat]

JULY 6, 2012, 9:21 AM
Score 1 for Saudi Women�s Rights

By LARA SETRAKIAN
DUBAI - It's only just the runup to the London Olympics, and Saudi women athletes seem to have already suffered a near miss. Last week Saudi Arabia announced that women would be allowed to compete in the games, a landmark change from the ultra-strict Islamic mores that ban women from public competition. But then the one Saudi woman set to compete in London, the equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas, had to bow out due to an injured horse.

As the stopwatch clicks toward the opening ceremony, Saudi Arabia is under pressure to find other female athletes to compete. But having banned its women and girls from engaging in sports at home, finding one who's had access to Olympic-level training is a long stretch.

With sports as with other matters, women's rights are the barometer for change in Saudi Arabia. But the issue of Saudi women in the Olympics also marks a milestone in how the kingdom tackles demands for change.

For roughly a decade, the dynamics have worked like this: for fear of a conservative backlash, King Abdullah has taken careful and coordinated steps toward reform. With the Olympics issue, however, it is public pressure, inside the country and out, that seems to have changed official policy.

Saudi rulers prefer to shift course on policy when they want and how they want rather than be seen as responding to popular demands. The concessions they do make, like appointing more women to government posts and granting women the theoretical right to vote in future elections, aren't the ones activists specifically demand. It's as if they don't want to set a precedent that would effectively reward protests or public campaigns.

But this time, after a wave of international pressure from human rights groups and an active debate in Saudi Arabia about women in sports, public pressure moved policy. Human Rights Watch, among others, lobbied the International Olympic Committee to pressure Saudi Arabia to allow women to compete. (Gender discrimination violates the Olympic Charter.)

On the domestic front, women activists like Lina al-Maeena, who coaches the Jeddah United basketball team, are looking for ways that women can play sports while respecting Islamic norms. Her team plays in track-suit abayas that match their traditional headscarves.

"Saudi Arabia is in flux," said Theodore Karasik, a Saudi watcher based in Dubai. Saudi royals do seem to be in a progressive phase, relative to the country's past standards, and it's likely to expand given the current politics of Saudi succession. The recent death of Crown Prince Nayef, long feared as an arch-conservative, elevated his more liberal half-brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, as heir to the throne.

And just as Saudi royals are granting women more rights, Saudi women are growing bolder and claiming more rights for themselves. They famously boycotted lingerie shops until male sales clerks were replaced with females ones. And a circle of Saudi women writers is trying to steer the national agenda, rousing debate around issues like child marriage with their newspaper columns.

Traveling in Jeddah a few months back, I was taken by the relaxed state of play. More women than I'd ever seen were strolling the malls and seaside boulevards with their hair blowing in the wind, the compulsory headscarf hanging lose around their necks. If they were worried about the religious police, they didn't show it. And if the religious police were around, they weren't taking any issue. At a dinner party in a private home, men and women mixed freely and ladies left their abayas at the door.

Even if the Olympic decree is a token gesture, Saudi women say they'll to use it to their advantage. Off the Olympic momentum, they're making a push for sports in schools and athletic federations for women. It would be a bigger win than anything they get in London.


http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/letting-saudi-women-compete-in-the-olympics-is-a-milestone-in-saudi-politics/

Regards,
John

[wantok]

.....

[posh]

I really hope they both get gold medals.

[trapezius]

Is this her replacement?

http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/sarah-attar-one-of-saudi-arabia-s-first-female-olympians-29963982.html

She sounds completely American.

[veiledsentiments]

She does... I suspect that she may have an American mother... or went to one of the top American schools in KSA?

I had a member of the Omani royal family in one of my classes many years back who sounded as American as this young woman. When I asked her where she learned English, she told me that her mother was French, but her nanny was American...

VS

[nomad soul]

Judo federation orders Saudi woman to compete without hijab
By Maggie Hendricks, Yahoo.com | 26 July 2012
(Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/judo-federation-orders-saudi-woman-compete-without-hijab-140830808--oly.html )

Wojdan Shaherkani, the judoka from Saudi Arabia who is one of the first women to represent her country in the Olympics, has been ordered not to wear the hijab, or head scarf, during competition. The International Judo Federation said she will compete without a head covering.

"The Saudi Arabian athlete will take part in judo and she will fight according to the principle and spirit of judo, so without a hijab," said IJF president Marius Vizer following Thursday's draw.

Any head covering in judo is considered a safety risk. Judo players, or judokas, toss their opponents. Quite often the gi, the judo uniform that is used for other martial arts, is used to grab opponents. The gi is made of a heavy weave cotton, and it is easier to hold onto than the light, slippery fabrics normally used to make hijabs. It's not much of a leap to think Shaherkani could be injured if an opponent grabbed her hijab instead of her gi. Even in a different fabric, it could cause injuries as her head and neck would be vulnerable to a throw, instead of just her body.

Saudi Arabia made news this summer by allowing women to participate in the Olympics for the first time. They made this decision contingent on if the women wore the head covering, could be chaperoned by a guardian and didn't mix with men.

Though they don't compete against each other, judokas don't separate by gender for competition. Shaherkani will be competing and preparing near men on Aug. 1.

(End of article)

[Grendal]

[johnslat]

Dear Grendal,

No, that falls under really rich people's rights and freedoms .

Regards,
John

[trapezius]

johnslat, that's how it is in most of the world, but in the Gulf Arab countries, that also a right of the middle class, unfortunately.

[Grendal]

No comment.



Grendal

[Geronimo]

One of the Saudi Women�s few basketball teams in Jeddah
was featured in action in the BBC documentary,
"The Frankincense Trail"

The episode is now available on youtube..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBoFkwd6hyI (c. 38 mins.)

I found the response of Kate Humble�s Saudi male guide
to the action and her questions to be instructive.

Geronimo

[trapezius]

[nomad soul]

She may have lost the match, but she certainly made history. Kudos to her!

Saudi woman makes history
By Chesterman, AFP | 3 August 2012
(Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/saudi-womans-historic-bow-over-82-seconds-101223048--oly.html )

(Edited)

Judoka Wojdan Shaherkani became the first woman from Saudi Arabia to compete at the Olympics. Shaherkani, 16, walked onto the judo mat and bowed to her opponent Melissa Mojica of Puerto Rico before grippng up to make history.

But her debut lasted just 82 seconds before she was thrown for the maximum ippon. She broke down in tears in her father's arms -- himself a referee at the competition -- as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

"I'm proud, I'm happy and I want to continue in judo. I want to thank the fans for their support," said Shaherkani after it was all over. "I was disturbed and afraid at the beginning, it was my first time in a big competition and there was a lot of pressure because of the hijab issue."

Shaherkani's headwear almost cost her this opportunity after International Judo Federation president Marius Vizer said she wouldn't be allowed to compete in a hijab. In the end a deal was struck between judo officials and Saudi authorities and she appeared in a black, swimming cap.

(End of excerpt)

[nomad soul]

A bit extreme, but it's the Kingdom's way of doing things...

Saudi Arabia plans new city for women workers only
By Caroline Davies, guardian.co.uk | 12 August 2012
(Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/12/saudi-arabia-city-women-workers?newsfeed=true )

Businesswomen behind 5,000-job scheme designed to give women greater independence while maintaining segregation.

A women-only industrial city dedicated to female workers is to be constructed in Saudi Arabia to provide a working environment that is in line with the kingdom's strict customs. The city, to be built in the Eastern Province city of Hofuf, is set to be the first of several planned for the Gulf kingdom. The aim is to allow more women to work and achieve greater financial independence, but to maintain the gender segregation, according to reports. Proposals have also been submitted for four similar industrial cities exclusively for women entrepreneurs, employers and employees in Riyadh.

Segregation of the sexes is applied in Saudi Arabia, where Wahabi sharia law and tribal customs combine to create an ultra-conservative society that still does not allow women to drive. Saudi women are said to make up about 15% of the workforce, with most in female-only work places. Although the number of mixed gender workplaces has increased these are still few.

The proposals follow government instructions to create more job openings for women to enable them to have a more important role in the country's development. The Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), which is developing the women-only industrial city at Hofuf, said it hoped the city would open next year. Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz, minister of municipal and rural affairs, had approved the plan, a spokesperson said. "I'm sure that women can demonstrate their efficiency in many aspects and clarify the industries that best suit their interests, nature and ability," said Modon's deputy director general, Saleh al-Rasheed.

The Hofuf development is expected to create about 5,000 jobs in textiles, pharmaceuticals and food-processing industries, with women-run firms and production lines. Modon said the Hofuf industrial site was a suitable location given its "proximity to residential neighbourhoods to facilitate the movement of women to and from the workplace". In a statement it added that the site was equipped "for women workers in environment and working conditions consistent with the privacy of women according to Islamic guidelines and regulations".

The project has been proposed by a group of Saudi businesswomen, said Al Eqtisadiah, the business daily, quoting the business woman Hussa al-Aun. She told the paper: "The new industrial city should have a specialised training centre to help women develop their talents and train them to work at factories. This is essential to cut unemployment among our female graduates."

The oil rich kingdom has one of the world's largest disparities between male and female employment, with a gap of 23%, according to a recent Gallup poll, arabianbusiness.com reported. An increasing number of firms were insisting that women had to be unmarried to qualify for employment; this violated the kingdom's workforce regulations, reports said. "Some private companies are stipulating conditions such as a woman shall be recruited only if she is single or not pregnant if married," Hatab al-Anazi, a ministry spokesman, is reported to have told the paper Arab News. "[That] is against the regulations approved by the ministry."

Saudi Arabia attracts constant criticism from human rights groups for its systemic discrimination against women. Last September King Abdullah, who has taken some tentative steps towards loosening strict gender segregation, announced that women would be able to vote in the 2015 local elections and for the consultative assembly.

In January the government enforced a law allowing Saudi women to be employed in lingerie and cosmetic shops, following a campaign by the women's rights activist Reem Asaad. Previously women had to purchase underwear from male shop assistants. The plan is that by the end of this year women will replace men in stores selling abayas, the traditional black cloak worn by women. Last month a poll of working women in Saudi Arabia by YouGov and Bayt.com found 65% wanted to achieve greater financial independence through their careers. Those under 25 also wanted to make use of their educational qualifications.

(End of article)

Also see the CNN video report, "A Saudi city exclusively for women," http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/world/2012/08/13/robertson-saudi-women-only-city.cnn

[veiledsentiments]

The Nic Robertson report gave lots of odd statistics... 60% of the Emirates workforce is female? Emiratis? Huh? Or is he counting imported clerks, retail and teachers? Even if he meant that 60% of Emirati women work... I don't buy that either.

Anyway... this is probably one of the silliest ideas I've heard Gulf planners come up with...

Sheesh... just drop the stupid segregation... ...every other Muslim country seems to be able to find normal integration acceptable while following the same religious book.

VS