Archive: saudi arabia
5th November 2013
Undocumented Indonesian workers gathering under a bridge in Jeddah on Sunday.
The Saudi authorities must have been delighted to see John Kerry, the US secretary of state, paying a schmooze visit to the king on Monday. This gave the western media something to talk about and diverted attention… Read more
31st October 2013
It must have been rather mortifying for the Saudi women who risked arrest last weekend by asserting their right to drive – only to see their efforts thoroughly upstaged by men, even if the men involved were supporters of their campaign.
By this morning, the YouTube video song, No Woman, No… Read more
28th October 2013
On Friday, as Saudi authorities braced themselves for the women's driving protest – and threatened to arrest any woman who dared to take to the streets behind the wheel of a car – there was better news from Geneva where the UN Human Rights Council has been reviewing the kingdom's performance.
The… Read more
27th October 2013
... and no comment from me.
Posted by Brian Whitaker
Sunday, 27 October 2013
20th October 2013
Saudi Arabia, which spent more than a year campaigning for a seat on the UN Security Council only to turn it down when elected last week, is seeking election to yet another UN body – the Human Rights Council. The kingdom is one of several notorious rights abusers hoping to win a place in next month… Read more
19th October 2013
Saudi Arabia was one of the founding members of the United Nations and yet, throughout the organisation's 68-year history, it has never held a seat on the Security Council. Until recently it had also shown no desire to do so.
That changed just over a year ago when the kingdom began lobbying for… Read more
2nd August 2013
I wrote recently about the Kafkaesque rules designed to restrict civil society activity in Bahrain, and I mentioned in passing that numerous Arab countries have similar laws.
Saudi Arabia, as might be expected, is one that keeps a firm grip on civil society organisations (CSOs) though it doesn't… Read more
17th June 2013
Metal music has a following in Saudi Arabia, despite accusations of Satanism. Picture: Saudi Gazette
In a country where superstition is rife and belief in black magic is official government policy, the authorities need to demonstrate from time to time that they are actively combating the power of… Read more
11th June 2013
The Saudi authorities, inching their way towards the 20th century, have decided that foreign domestic workers – servants and drivers – should be given one day off at weekends.
The Labour Ministry has also decreed that their wages must be paid into bank accounts. This is meant to put an end to… Read more
2nd June 2013
At the beginning of April chaos and alarm swept through Saudi Arabia as inspectors raided businesses that were thought to be employing foreigners illegally. Thousands were deported, often ignominiously (see earlier blog posts here and here).
The campaign – driven mainly by the Labour Ministry –… 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
