John Whitehead's Commentary
Saudi Arabia: Where We Do Nothing While Women Suffer
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country of more than 20 million people ruled by a monarchy and a strict interpretation of Islamic religious law, has been the backdrop for some of our most beloved legends and fairy tales.
Revered by Muslims the world over as the birthplace of Islam and the site of the Islamic holy city of Mecca, this international powerhouse in the oil and gas business has an equally powerful hold on the world economy.
But behind the legend and the money lies a country seething in human rights abuses--especially in regard to its treatment of women.
This issue came to the forefront recently when 14 schoolgirls died after the mutaween--the Saudi religious police--herded them back into a burning building because they were not wearing Islamic headscarves and black robes and their male relatives were not present to retrieve them.
One eyewitness claims to have seen three members of the religious police "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya." Another bystander said that members of the religious police stopped men who tried to help the girls escape, saying, "It is sinful to approach them."
In the height of irony and Orwellian thinking, the government body under which these religious police operate is self-titled the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Armed with their own interpretations of the Koran as justification for their actions, these religious police have played a key role in the Saudi government's successful efforts to oppress and subjugate women. They are particularly feared for their policing of the "abaya," a black head-to-toe robe that Saudi women must wear when in public.
According to the U.S. Department of State report on Saudi Arabia, the mutaween reportedly arrest women for such unlawful activities as riding in a taxi with a man who is not their relative, appearing with their heads uncovered in shopping malls, and eating in restaurants with males who are not their relatives. In such cases, prisoners can be held for days, sometimes weeks. Women cannot walk alone, even in their own neighborhoods, without fear of being stopped, beaten or accused of prostitution.
Sadly, there is more. Saudi women have significantly fewer rights in the eyes of the law than men--and are treated as less than second-class citizens. For example, daughters receive half the inheritance awarded to their brothers. And in court, the testimony of one man equals that of two women. In order for a woman's interests to be represented in court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases, male relatives must be appointed to speak on her behalf. And while women must demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, men may divorce without giving cause. Women cannot even be admitted to a hospital for medical treatment without the consent of a male relative. Although women make up approximately 5 percent of the formal work force and own about 20 percent of the businesses, they must appoint a male relative to represent them in financial transactions.
In a throwback to our own days of racial segregation, women in Saudi Arabia must enter city buses by separate rear entrances and sit in specially designated sections. Even to be allowed by authorities to travel inside the country or abroad, women must first obtain written permission from their closest male relative.
Women have few outlets for expressing opposition to Saudi Arabia's oppressive system of government. Even driving is prohibited under Saudi law. In 1990, 47 women defied the ban by driving around the capital of Riyadh for 15 minutes. After losing their jobs and passports for two years, many of those women are still feeling the repercussions today.
Amazingly enough, Saudi Arabia was voted onto the UN Commission on Human Rights, which leads me to believe that when government officials insist that money and oil are not influencing the debate on human rights in Saudi Arabia, it's sheer fantasy. In fact, it's all about money and oil.
Otherwise, the international community would have sanctioned Saudi Arabia for its many abuses, and George W. Bush would not be preparing to roll out the red carpet this spring for a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.
But it's time that the U.S. government started speaking out against these blatant acts of injustice, abuse and intolerance--and U.S. corporations need to follow suit.
Indeed, according to one American who was stationed in Riyadh, "McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and other U.S. firms...maintain strictly segregated eating zones in their restaurants. The men's sections are typically lavish, comfortable and up to Western standards, whereas the women's or families' sections are often run-down, neglected and, in the case of Starbucks, have no seats. Worse, these firms will bar entrance to Western women who show up without their husbands."
Even more reprehensible are reports that Saudi Arabia pays a fortune to U.S. public relations firms to cover up its human rights violations.
It's shameful that American businesses, as well as our representatives in Congress and even our president, turn a blind eye to these abuses. But it doesn't mean that we--the American people--must do the same. My plea is that we all get on the telephone and computer and bombard Congress and the president with our concerns. And maybe, just maybe, because of our stand for human rights, we can see some of these evil wrongs righted.
Revered by Muslims the world over as the birthplace of Islam and the site of the Islamic holy city of Mecca, this international powerhouse in the oil and gas business has an equally powerful hold on the world economy.
But behind the legend and the money lies a country seething in human rights abuses--especially in regard to its treatment of women.
This issue came to the forefront recently when 14 schoolgirls died after the mutaween--the Saudi religious police--herded them back into a burning building because they were not wearing Islamic headscarves and black robes and their male relatives were not present to retrieve them.
One eyewitness claims to have seen three members of the religious police "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya." Another bystander said that members of the religious police stopped men who tried to help the girls escape, saying, "It is sinful to approach them."
In the height of irony and Orwellian thinking, the government body under which these religious police operate is self-titled the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Armed with their own interpretations of the Koran as justification for their actions, these religious police have played a key role in the Saudi government's successful efforts to oppress and subjugate women. They are particularly feared for their policing of the "abaya," a black head-to-toe robe that Saudi women must wear when in public.
According to the U.S. Department of State report on Saudi Arabia, the mutaween reportedly arrest women for such unlawful activities as riding in a taxi with a man who is not their relative, appearing with their heads uncovered in shopping malls, and eating in restaurants with males who are not their relatives. In such cases, prisoners can be held for days, sometimes weeks. Women cannot walk alone, even in their own neighborhoods, without fear of being stopped, beaten or accused of prostitution.
Sadly, there is more. Saudi women have significantly fewer rights in the eyes of the law than men--and are treated as less than second-class citizens. For example, daughters receive half the inheritance awarded to their brothers. And in court, the testimony of one man equals that of two women. In order for a woman's interests to be represented in court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases, male relatives must be appointed to speak on her behalf. And while women must demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, men may divorce without giving cause. Women cannot even be admitted to a hospital for medical treatment without the consent of a male relative. Although women make up approximately 5 percent of the formal work force and own about 20 percent of the businesses, they must appoint a male relative to represent them in financial transactions.
In a throwback to our own days of racial segregation, women in Saudi Arabia must enter city buses by separate rear entrances and sit in specially designated sections. Even to be allowed by authorities to travel inside the country or abroad, women must first obtain written permission from their closest male relative.
Women have few outlets for expressing opposition to Saudi Arabia's oppressive system of government. Even driving is prohibited under Saudi law. In 1990, 47 women defied the ban by driving around the capital of Riyadh for 15 minutes. After losing their jobs and passports for two years, many of those women are still feeling the repercussions today.
Amazingly enough, Saudi Arabia was voted onto the UN Commission on Human Rights, which leads me to believe that when government officials insist that money and oil are not influencing the debate on human rights in Saudi Arabia, it's sheer fantasy. In fact, it's all about money and oil.
Otherwise, the international community would have sanctioned Saudi Arabia for its many abuses, and George W. Bush would not be preparing to roll out the red carpet this spring for a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.
But it's time that the U.S. government started speaking out against these blatant acts of injustice, abuse and intolerance--and U.S. corporations need to follow suit.
Indeed, according to one American who was stationed in Riyadh, "McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and other U.S. firms...maintain strictly segregated eating zones in their restaurants. The men's sections are typically lavish, comfortable and up to Western standards, whereas the women's or families' sections are often run-down, neglected and, in the case of Starbucks, have no seats. Worse, these firms will bar entrance to Western women who show up without their husbands."
Even more reprehensible are reports that Saudi Arabia pays a fortune to U.S. public relations firms to cover up its human rights violations.
It's shameful that American businesses, as well as our representatives in Congress and even our president, turn a blind eye to these abuses. But it doesn't mean that we--the American people--must do the same. My plea is that we all get on the telephone and computer and bombard Congress and the president with our concerns. And maybe, just maybe, because of our stand for human rights, we can see some of these evil wrongs righted.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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