The confinement of four Saudi princesses is a reminder that the Gulf states are evil empires, especially if you are a woman
In the country where Islam’s most precious shrine is located, there is no equality, no dignity, no basic humanity extended to daughters, sisters, or mothers
A story appeared this weekend which has really shaken me up. It was about four Arab princesses – Sahar, 42, Jawaher, 38, Maha, 41, and Hala, 39 – daughters of the ailing King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who have, allegedly, been held under palace arrest, for 13 years. He has given his sons control over the captives. They are allowed no visitors or staff. Two are held in one gilded, echoing cage, the other two in another. Their mother Alanoud Alfayez, 57, lives in London and has been trying all these years to free her daughters who are unmarried, childless and fading away. Hala has serious mental problems. Two of the sisters contacted the British-Lebanese Sunday Times writer, Hala Jaber, via email and she wrote about their cruel incarceration. Jaber is an inspiring award-winning investigative journalist. I am in awe of her, more so now than ever before.
There are millions and millions of individual women who have been or continue to be abused in the region and worldwide. That they have not commented on this particular instance doesn't prove much of anything. Clinton in particular went out of her way to promote equal rights for women in the region during her tenure as Secretary of State.
First I've heard of it. Even though I'm no fan of either, maybe they haven't heard too.
Then again, Hillary was State Dept, so she SHOULD have...
Since it's the first any of us have heard about it, perhaps we shouldn't start the whining about who has or has not said enough juuuust yet.
Yes. And before we even start whining about who has or has not said enough about the issue shouldn't we first determine who cares? And after we determine who cares we should focus on is it any of our business into how arab royalty is treated?
It should be a concern how all people are treated, royalty or not.
This goes to prove that politicians care more about money and power than principles. How come you don't here Hillary Clinton and Michele Bachmann speaking out about the way these women are being treated?
The confinement of four Saudi princesses is a reminder that the Gulf states are evil empires, especially if you are a woman - Comment - Voices - The Independent
Goes to show money and power trump everything with politicians.
Since it's the first any of us have heard about it, perhaps we shouldn't start the whining about who has or has not said enough juuuust yet.
Economic and resource dependency have made our politicians cowardly. They say nothing about these violations or the Saudi takeover of Islam in Britain. Please, let some of them speak up for these four sisters before they too float off to paradise.
Prisoners at the palace: Saudi princesses plead for help as they claim they are being held by the king against their will
Two daughters of the King of Saudi Arabia claim they and their sisters have been held prisoner in the royal palace for 13 years.
Princesses Sahar, 42, and Jawaher, 38, said that they are being kept against their will in a guarded villa in the royal compound in Jeddah.
Their claims shed light into the usually secret world of royal family of a country where women are effectively treated as second-class citizens.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving. It scored 130th out of 134 countries analysed by the World Economic forum in a 2009 report on gender parity.
But the restrictions allegedly placed on Sahar and Jawaher go well beyond what is allowed under Saudi law.
In emails and phonecalls to a Sunday newspaper, Sahar and Jawaher claimed that their sisters Hala, 39, and Maha, 41, are also being held, incommunicado, in separate villas in the Jeddah compound.
Their mother Alanoud Alfayez, who is divorced from Saudi King Abdullah, has reportedly written to the UN's human rights agency to intervene on their behalf.
She told the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that her daughters are 'imprisoned, held against their will, cut off from the world', according to a report in The Sunday Times.
This goes to prove that politicians care more about money and power than principles. How come you don't here Hillary Clinton and Michele Bachmann speaking out about the way these women are being treated?
The confinement of four Saudi princesses is a reminder that the Gulf states are evil empires, especially if you are a woman - Comment - Voices - The Independent
Goes to show money and power trump everything with politicians.
Under the discriminatory Saudi guardianship system, girls and women are forbidden from traveling, conducting official business, or undergoing certain medical procedures without permission from their male guardians. In July, after a car chase by religious police left the driver dead and his wife and daughter in critical condition, King Fahd hospital in Baha postponed amputating the wife’s hand because she had no male legal guardian to authorize the procedure, Okaz newspaper reported.
In July 2012, the Ministry of Labor issued four decrees regulating women’s work in clothing stores, amusement parks, food preparation, and as cashiers, for which guardian permission was no longer required. However, the decrees reinforced strict sex segregation in the workplace, mandating that female workers not interact with men. Women remain barred from certain professions. On October 8, Al-Watan newspaper published a directive from the Ministry of Justice that approved granting Saudi female lawyers the right to obtain practice licenses. Prior to the announcement, women who graduated from law schools were allowed to work as consultants but could not officially represent clients in court. The new directive will apply to all women who have a law degree and at least three years of experience.
At the London 2012 summer Olympic Games, Saudi women for the first time participated in an official sporting event: Sarah Attar competed in the 800 meters, and Wujdan Shahrkhani in judo. Women and girls remain effectively banned from sports within the kingdom.
Women remain banned from driving. In November 2011, lawyer Abd al-Rahman al-Lahim sued the traffic department on behalf of Manal al-Sharif, who led a women’s driving protest in May 2011, for gender discrimination after the department refused to issue her a driving license. The case remained pending at this writing.
Strict clothing requirements for women were publicly enforced. In July, the Mecca public prosecution department detained three women for taking off their full-body cloaks and headscarves in a shopping mall, sabq.org news website reported.
Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper in March reported that the first women-staffed police stations had opened in Jeddah and Riyadh in order to facilitate women’s access to police. However, punishment for domestic violence remained lax. The government failed to enact a 2011 draft law to combat violence against women and children. In May, Jeddah’s Summary Court convicted a man for physically abusing his wife to the point of hospitalization, but sentenced him to learning by heart five parts of the Quran and 100 sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.
That's rather a rush to judgment. But do you think that female politicians have a special responsibility to speak out on women's rights? Shouldn't male politicians, including our President, be speaking out?
You've got it wrong. What it proves is that oil trumps human rights.
In case you missed it, here's the last "whining" paragraph of that article
Economic and resource dependency have make our politicians cowardly. That's the point I was making. But that's "whining" to you. Sorry state our political system is in.
Here's another "whining" article on that issue
Prisoners at the palace: Saudi princesses plead for help as they claim they are being held by the king against their will | Mail Online
Wow! Told the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. I bet if that was Vladamir Putin's daughters you would have heard plenty from Hillary by now.
Why is it a rush to judgement? It's been a feature of US foreign policy for years to demonize so called enemies for activities that so called allies engage in that we turn a blind eye to. So no it's not a rush to judgement.
And yes, Obama should be speaking out. Everyone in the Congress should be speaking out as well, male and female. But I haven't heard not one peep yet and don't expect to. Why? Because it's Saudi Arabia, and we turn a blind eye to their atrocities because we need the oil and need them to buy that US debt. That's why.
When your argument revolves around hypothetical hypocrisy, it's a weak argument.
When you're using the Daily Mail, it's worse.
You admit that male politicians should speak out too, then return to your misogynistic attack on female ones. OK
It should be a concern how all people are treated, royalty or not.
This goes to prove that politicians care more about money and power than principles. How come you don't here Hillary Clinton and Michele Bachmann speaking out about the way these women are being treated?
The confinement of four Saudi princesses is a reminder that the Gulf states are evil empires, especially if you are a woman - Comment - Voices - The Independent
Goes to show money and power trump everything with politicians.
Why did you limit the Op to just those 2 women?
Aren't there more women in the government that should speak out first?
I mean Hillary Clinton is a private citizen and she is not obligated to speak out on anything.
So then you're going to campaign for better treatment of prisoners, yes?
Let's hope she remains a private citizen.
Probably for the same reasons you explained above.Oh, and since when did Western feminists care about anything other than Western feminists?
When your argument revolves around hypothetical hypocrisy, it's a weak argument.
When you're using the Daily Mail, it's worse.
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