Baby steps towards women's equality in Saudi Arabia

[Scooter]

Hints of a thaw in the subjugation of women?

In a long profile by Bloomberg’s Peter Waldman, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the most powerful man in Saudi Arabia (his portfolio is larger even than that of his father, king Salman), hinted at changes to come for women as part of a plan to restructure the country’s economy and modernize its culture.

“We believe women have rights in Islam that they’ve yet to obtain,” the 31-year-old prince said.

Waldman writes that a former senior US military officer told him that “Mr. Everything,” as prince Mohammed is reportedly nicknamed by foreign diplomats, would be ready to grant women the right to drive. The US officer said he heard the prince say: “If women were allowed to ride camels [in the time of the Prophet Muhammad], perhaps we should let them drive cars, the modern-day camels.”

The prince has been relatively candid regarding his position on women’s role in his country. “We look at citizens in general and women are half of this society and we want it to be a productive half,” he told Bloomberg on another occasion, stating that the country’s government is trying to address people “who distort the facts of the religious establishment so that women don’t get their complete rights granted them by Islam.”

Saudi women were granted the right to vote, and be elected to office, for the first time ever, in a Dec. 2015 municipal election. Eighteen female representatives were elected.

[Scooter]

Meanwhile, in Egypt:

In what’s being hailed as “the first time many people in the Arab world have heard directly from a gay person,” openly gay Egyptian actor Omar Sharif Jr. gave an interview this week on the Arabic program Shabab Talk, a youth-oriented political talk show with over four million weekly viewers.

Sharif Jr. appeared on the program in part to discuss the recent passing of his grandfather, Omar Sharif — an actor best known for his roles in Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl — as well as his upcoming film The Secret Scripture in which Sharif and Sharif Jr. both appear. Sharif Sr. died in July 10, 2015 after a long bout with Alzheimer’s Disease.

“Before anything, in the eyes of my grandparents, I was their grandson,” Sharif Jr. said. “It was a never a topic of conversation in our relationship and it never changed. We never spoke about it and to them, I was just Omar.”

He continued, “I’m a son, I’m a brother, I’m a coworker, I’m a friend,” he said. “I’m not a fact, or a figure, or a statistic. I’m not a moral or an ethical debate.”

He later had this advice for young LGBT people struggling with acceptance:

“Be open enough to be who you are. Don’t pay attention to the conversation happening around you. Pay attention to the conversation happening in your heart and in your head because that’s the only thing you can control.”

The interview marked Sharif Jr.’s first appearance on Arabic TV. In addition to acting, Sharif Jr. is also a spokesperson for Gays and Lesbians Allied Against Defamation (GLAAD), a group that “works with print, broadcast and online news sources to bring people powerful stories from the LGBT community that build support for equality.”

LGBT rights in Egypt are nearly non-existent. Same-sex marriage and non-discrimination protections are a fantasy in the predominantly Muslim country, and while there’s no law explicitly criminalizing homosexual relationships, gay men are sometimes arrested on charges of prostitution under a national “debauchery” law, even when prostitution has not actually occurred.

In 2013, Egypt does have an increasing number of gay bars and in 2013 statewide media covered various commemorations of the May 17 International Day Against Homophobia; nevertheless, in 2014, eight men charged with “indecency” got sentenced to three years in jail for participating in a same-sex marriage (the sentence was later reduced to one year). That same year, TV host Mona Al Iraki helped orchestrate the raid of a local bathhouse; all 26 men arrested during the raid were later acquitted.

[RayThom]

The fact that Omar Jr. was born in Montreal and is a Jewish Canadian citizen probably helps his cause and allows him to speak with impunity. I bet a native born Muslim Egyptian would never get away with such openness.

[Scooter]

Female chief in Malawi breaks up 850 child marriages and sends girls back to school

by Marni Fogelson-Teel, 04/10/16

Theresa Kachindamoto, the senior chief in the Dedza District of Central Malawi, wields power over close to 900,000 people… and she’s not afraid to use her authority to help the women and girls in her district. In the past three years, she has annulled more than 850 child marriages, sent hundreds of young women back to school to continue their education, and made strides to abolish cleansing rituals that require girls as young as seven to go to sexual initiation camps. With more than half of Malawi’s girls married before the age of 18, according to a 2012 United Nations survey — and a consistently low ranking on the human development index, Kachindamoto’s no-nonsense attitude and effective measures have made her a vital ally in the fight for women’s and children’s rights.

[rubato]

As long as Islam is considered the source of all rights women will never have them. I appreciate the political nature of his reference and if an extra slice makes Saudi women forget the rest of the loaf withheld for a time then it is up to them if it is sufficient.

But I am concerned that it cannot be a stable peace. If the interpreters if Islam do not wish to give up the pleasure of subjugation they will not have to.


Human rights in the Christian world were only obtained with the abolition of religious authority.


Yrs,
Rubato

[rubato]

The fact that Omar Jr. was born in Montreal and is a Jewish Canadian citizen probably helps his cause and allows him to speak with impunity. I bet a native born Muslim Egyptian would never get away with such openness.

It seems unlikely that being Jewish in Egypt is protective.


Yrs,
Rubato

[Lord Jim]

I'm inclined to agree with rube on this...

I think it's his name that provides him with protection, not his religion...

Omar Sharif Sr.'s success as an internationally acclaimed film star was a big point of national pride for the Egyptian people...

Also, Egypt is one of the most secular of Arab countries...

When they elected a Muslim Brotherhood candidate just to get the military out of power, and that President then misinterpreted his election as a mandate to begin to "Islamicize" the country, and the overwhelming majority of the public quickly turned against him...