The irony of the West’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia would be laughable, if it weren’t so troubling. When King Abdullah, of the ruling al-Saud family, died in January 2015, tributes gushed forth from world leaders. Prince Charles, David Cameron and Barack Obama, among others, flew to Riyadh to pay their respects to a man…
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Saudi Arabia has long been veiled in mystery. The cultural gulf between the Islamic Kingdom and the West has fuelled speculation and criticism; Australians are at ends to understand a monarchical nation which limits citizens’ equality and individual rights. Saudi Arabia’s unequal treatment of women has become a focus of this criticism; Saudi women are…
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Somayya Jabarti has made Saudi Arabian history as the nation’s first female newspaper editor, after being appointed to the top job at the national daily Saudi Gazette. English language broadsheet’s departing editor, Khaled Almaeena chose Jabarti for her strong work ethic. ‘It was not a question of gender but of merit that decided and earned…
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Saudi Arabia’s first female licensed attorney, Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran, has established an all-women law firm seeking to give women fair representation under the legal system. The firm is the first of its kind, coming just shortly after Saudi Arabia allowed women to serve in court at all. Al-Zahran’s vision for the firm is to explicitly fight for…
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A Kuwaiti woman was arrested in Saudi Arabia earlier this week for driving her diabetic father to a hospital. The latest incident comes just days after more than 60 women filmed themselves driving and posted the videos online in protest against the country’s ban against women driving without being accompanied by a male companion. Although…
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Saudi Arabia is a country of many unique virtues, one of which, unfortunately, is being the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. No law officially bans women from driving, but nonetheless they can’t. Under Islamic Shari’ah law, which is not just their religious law but also the political law, Saudi women…
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UN report finds girls in developing countries give birth too young. A new report from the UN has found that, in developing countries, one in five girls (19 per cent) give birth before they turn 18. Significantly, the report also found that of the 7.3 million girls who give birth every year, 2 million of…
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Even More Defence Force Sexism The Australian Defence Force has seemed to appear in this column more weeks than not. Yet another disappointing example of the sexism rife in the Defence Force was brought to light this week. In this case, the ABC has been given access to a private facebook group of over 1000 former and serving members…
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This new column will summarise events that have happened in the last week relevant to women, feminism, and sexuality and link you to related articles. It will also offer a brief analysis on some stories. This column is still finding its feet, so please feel free to give us feedback, as well as any news…
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