Saudi Women Rise in Defense of the Veil

[iceyspots 0]

So how many of you ladies here were brought up Muslim and how many women here are Arab?

That would make for a good ME.NA poll lol

[sarah and hicham 3]

So how many of you ladies here were brought up Muslim and how many women here are Arab?

That would make for a good ME.NA poll lol

I don't know how to make a poll I'm that lame.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

So how many of you ladies here were brought up Muslim and how many women here are Arab?

That would make for a good ME.NA poll lol

I don't know how to make a poll I'm that lame.

Let me see what I can whip up...

[Bosco 1]

Unfortunately, this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1874471.stm is still a reality in a rich and developped country.

Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress, according to Saudi newspapers.

In a rare criticism of the kingdom's powerful "mutaween" police, the Saudi media has accused them of hindering attempts to save 15 girls who died in the fire on Monday.

About 800 pupils were inside the school in the holy city of Mecca when the tragedy occurred.

15 girls died in the blaze and more than 50 others were injured

According to the al-Eqtisadiah daily, firemen confronted police after they tried to keep the girls inside because they were not wearing the headscarves and abayas (black robes) required by the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam.

One witness said he saw three policemen "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya".

The Saudi Gazette quoted witnesses as saying that the police - known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice - had stopped men who tried to help the girls and warned "it is a sinful to approach them".

The father of one of the dead girls said that the school watchman even refused to open the gates to let the girls out.

"Lives could have been saved had they not been stopped by members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," the newspaper concluded.

Relatives' anger

Families of the victims have been incensed over the deaths.

Most of the victims were crushed in a stampede as they tried to flee the blaze.

The school was locked at the time of the fire - a usual practice to ensure full segregation of the sexes.

The religious police are widely feared in Saudi Arabia. They roam the streets enforcing dress codes and sex segregation, and ensuring prayers are performed on time.

Those who refuse to obey their orders are often beaten and sometimes put in jail.

Things along these lines but on a much smaller scale are still common in Saudi Arabia. My Aunt recently came back to the US after living in Saudi for more than 20 years. It is common to see locks on the outside of houses (yes, with the women of the house locked in). Working in a hospital, she has seen women who were unable to get urgent medical care for themselves or their children because they were locked up. Husbands regularly refuse medical treatment for their wives if a female doctor is not on hand, even urgent care.

Women need permission to move about, even in their own neighborhood. Women only recently were able to get their own ID cards, and that is only with a male's permission. They cannot drive, cannot vote.

Don't get me started on how they treat migrant workers or the destruction of the Islamic holy places, but those are entirely different subjects.

Rebecca

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Can't say I'm a fan of the Magic Kingdom either I'll be goin for Hajj and Umrah inshaAllah ta'alla, and then high taling out of there.

Edited June 7, 2006 by rahma

[iceyspots 0]

yeah... it is really sad that this kind of thinking still exists.. but they are so closed off to the rest of the world ... there are so many women there in Saudi that arent even aware that they have rights because they are refused a good education... bleh

[Veiled Princess 1]

When you say that you "reverted" to Islam, do you mean that you were raised Muslim or had been Muslim at some point, left the faith, and then returned? Or do you mean that you converted?

We use that term because we believe that every baby is born a muslim and it is his/her parents who make him/her a jew/christian/pagan. So we have "reverted" back to our natural state of Islam.

Thank you for your question. Insha'allah, I can answer such a complex inquiry with some satisfaction, albeit it simplistic as a matter of time and space.

Jazak Allah khayr for your response sister. You are so eloquent in your explaination, mashallah.