A LOCAL SAUDI newspaper reported a few years ago that more than 3,100 cases of sexual harassment against women were recorded. Saudi nationals were involved in 60 percent of the cases, while foreigners, mostly foreign workers, were responsible for the rest of the crimes.
The report did not give details of what is considered harassment, and whether rape was included in these statistics.
“Most cases involved stalking and blackmail,” Eman Al-Nafijan, a female blogger, told the newspaper. Nafijan said: “Saudi Arabia is so conservative that if you even have a photo of women, you can use it blackmail her for money or even sex.”
According to Saudi law, all women, regardless of age, must have a male guardian. Only about 21 percent of Saudi women are in the workforce, and only 50 percent of Saudi women over the age 25 have finished their secondary school education, according to a United Nations Human Development Report.
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz’s announcement that women are theoretically to be given the same opportunities for political participation as men is potentially one of the most important advances for Saudi women’s rights in decades, and underscores the king’s reformist statute.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques once said: “Women’s participation in the Shoura council would begin in the next session, and because we refuse to marginalize women in society in all roles that comply with Shariah, we have decided, to involve women in the Shoura Council as members.”
God bless the King, bless the K.S.A. and bless the nation!
— Dr. Mohsin Shaikh Al-Hassan is a Saudi writer
— [email protected]
