Archive: saudi arabia
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
4th February 2010
Five years ago this month, there was a good deal of excitement in Saudi Arabia when men (but not women) were given an opportunity to vote for the first time in 40 years.
They were electing half the members of municipal councils – the other half to be appointed by the king – and there was no… Read more
31st January 2010
A Saudi couple who were forcibly divorced more than four years ago have finally had their marriage reinstated by the Supreme Court, in a decision which is being hailed as a triumphfor individual rights over archaic tribal attitudes.
The family of Fatima ‘Azzaz, now 36, initially gave permission for… Read more
22nd January 2010
News organisations in the Philippines are reporting that a woman who alleges she was raped has been jailed in Saudi Arabia and faces a probable flogging.
The 35-year-old Filipina went to Dammam last May to take up a job in a dental clinic. She says that three months after she started working there… Read more
21st January 2010
Writing in the London Review Blog, Hugh Miles discusses the mystery of Prince Bandar, the head of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council who previously spent 18 years as the kingdom's ambassador to Washington. According to Miles, the last official sighting of Prince Bandar was more than two years… Read more
20th January 2010
Four inmates and several staff were injured when a riot broke out at a women's prison in the holy city of Mecca last Friday. Predictably, the head of social affairs in Mecca described it as a “mutiny” and threatened harsh action against the instigators.
A few years ago, that would probably have… Read more
19th January 2010
As Saudi Arabia moves to set a minimum age for females to marry, the Jeddah-based Arab News reports that and 80-year-old man in Buraidah has married a 12-year-old girl.
The child's mother, who is divorced from the father, is seeking to have the marriage annulled.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 19… Read more
16th January 2010
The Saudi authorities – who operate one of the world's most sophisticated internet filtering systems – receive on average 850 requests per day from members of the public to block access to websites, Asharq Alwsat reports. Requests to unblock websites are running at around 200 a day.
This is a… Read more
13th January 2010
Saudi Arabia is preparing to outlaw the much-criticised practice of child marriage. According to the Saudi Gazette, the justice ministry is considering a proposal to set 18 as the minimum age for females to marry.
However, the move is likely to meet stiff resistance from religious and… Read more
8th January 2010
You may find it entirely unsurprising – and perhaps uninteresting too – to learn that until last year no Saudi royal had ever performed in a music video.
But that was before Prince Faisal bin Mansour bin Thunayan Al Saud, who previously "worked" as a bodybuilder and motorcyclist decided to embark… 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
