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16th February 2010
The complexities of Saudi Arabia's gender apartheid are highlighted by the latest campaign against men selling underwear to women. Reem Asaad, a female economics professor in Jeddah, is urging a boycott of lingerie shops that don't employ saleswomen.
She argues that women can feel embarrassed … Read more
15th February 2010
XPRESS, a weekly tabloid in the Emirates, reports:
A shocking trend is sweeping across educational institutions in the UAE. It’s called same-sex relationships and it’s worrying officials and parents no end.
A number of students, school employees and others confided in XPRESS that inappropriate… Read more
15th February 2010
Writing for the Huffington Post, Magda Abu-Fadil – director of journalism training at the American University of Beirut – points to the growing number of countries beaming Arabic-language TV towards the Middle East and suggests it's "an exercise in futility".
The list includes the US, Britain,… Read more
14th February 2010
Today is the fifth anniversary of the explosion in Beirut that killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri and at least 20 others – an event that triggered the most extraordinary period in Lebanese politics since the civil war.
Five years on, though, it's difficult to say what the Cedar Revolution (… Read more
14th February 2010
The annual Valentine's Day ban in Saudi Arabia has prompted some discussion in the local media. Regardless of what Saudis actually think about it, the fact that this issue can now be discussed so openly is one reflection of the way the kingdom is changing.
Judging by comments from the anti-… Read more
12th February 2010
After six months, the latest round in Yemen's pointless war with the Houthi rebels is officially over. An agreed ceasefire was declared at midnight on Thursday.
But a ceasefire is not the same as lasting peace. It doesn't mean the Yemeni government can sit back and do nothing (as is likely to… Read more
12th February 2010
February every year brings a plethora of stories about the suppression of Valentine's Day in Saudi Arabia and, once again, the religious police have obliged. As a headline in The Scotsman puts it: "Roses are banned, violets are too".
As most of the stories point out, heart-shaped objects and other… Read more
11th February 2010
On the face of it, the Arab Gulf states have every reason to want to help Yemen: if it finally tips over the brink, they will be among the first to suffer. But while none of them wants to see Yemen turn into another Somalia, the idea of a stable, prosperous Yemen is something they also find rather… Read more
11th February 2010
During a discussion that I attended yesterday a prominent Islamist with Palestinian connections (who unfortunately I can't name) was asked if Islamist movements in the Middle East are growing or declining. He replied that the movements themselves are declining but that the influence of religion is… Read more
9th February 2010
Despite talk of a ceasefire in the Yemeni-Saudi war with the Houthi rebels, fighting continues. AFP reports that 10 Yemeni soldiers died in the latest clashes, while the rebels say Saudi warplanes fired at least 150 rockets on Sunday, killing two children.
One encouraging sign, though, it that the… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
