UPDATE: Where is Khaled?

Almost two years ago in the midst of the Arab Spring, I posted a video of a Saudi man named Khaled.  He had shown up for a planned protest on the streets of Riyadh - but he was the only one. Khaled spoke to a BBC News crew that was there waiting for anything to happen that day, amidst the muscle of an overwhelming police presence. CLICK HERE for my original post about what happened, along with the video of Khaled speaking.

Khaled Al-Johani disappeared shortly after he spoke on tape to the journalists. News reports labeled Khaled “the bravest man in Saudi Arabia.”  For almost one year he languished in a Saudi prison, deprived of access to legal representation, held without charges, and denied a speedy trial. In February 2012 in a court established to handle terrorism cases, he was finally charged with "support of demonstrations, presence at the location of a demonstration, and communications with the foreign media in a manner that harmed the reputation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

It appears as though Khaled was temporarily released from prison and was able to spend four months with his family – before he learned the verdict in his case and his fate: his sentence is eighteen months in prison.

Saudi human rights activist Abdullah al-Hamid, who himself has just been recently sentenced to a five year prison term for voicing his political opinions openly, tweeted: “The sentence on Khaled al-Johani to a year and a half in prison is an announcement to the whole world that the Saudi judiciary is a tool to suppress human rights. This is [the result of] secret trials.”

Sadly, Saudi Arabia continues its reputation as one of the worst abusers of human rights in the world.

Additional reading:

Susie's Big Adventure "The Bravest Man in Saudi Arabia"

Global Voices Online:  Lone Saudi protester sentenced to 18 months in prison

Khaled al-Johani (Wikipedia)

A Whole New Spin on "WALL-MART"

I really try my best to present a balanced view of Saudi Arabia, but there are certain times when some issues just drive me batty.  Gender segregation here is taken to such an extreme here that it tends to create many more problems than those they are trying to resolve - not to mention making Saudi Arabia look like an absurdly backward place where men are not held accountable for their actions, and the blame and punishment is usually aimed at women.  Weddings are segregated affairs, restaurants have separate entrances and dining areas for families and single men, even many private family gatherings I've attended have been segregated.

At a local mall event, notice how the men and women are mostly segregated, left and right.

The latest edict regarding gender segregation comes from the Minister of Labor Adel Faqieh, who has been seen in the past as a rather progressive guy because of his support of women in the workplace.  But now from the Saudi labor department there is a new order that requires the building of 1.6 meter high walls inside businesses to separate working men and women.  Yeah – you heard that right.  Now keep in mind that these working Saudi women are already completely draped in black cloaks, hair completely covered, and many also wear veils over their faces.  

Is this way of dress alone not enough of a barrier?

When I first moved to Saudi Arabia five years ago, there were no women working in sales positions in stores or malls - because they weren't allowed to.  In fact most women in the kingdom were restricted to working in female only educational facilities or in the medical field, where mostly foreign women have been permitted to work as nurses or lab techs side by side with men.   Saudi women in medicine generally are doctors or researchers.

Nowadays Saudi women work in lingerie shops.  Men can only enter these shops when accompanied by female family members.

It was bad enough – and downright creepy - that women here in Saudi Arabia were forced until recently to purchase their undies from men, when the women organized and demanded that women be put in these types of sales positions, including lingerie and cosmetics shops.   Their voices were heard and the King ordered that these salesmen be replaced with women.  It was a huge victory for women in Saudi Arabia.  This eventually led to women being employed in supermarkets, department stores, and women’s clothing shops. 

Saudi female cashiers in the supermarket chain HyperPanda here in Jeddah

Shopping here in Saudi Arabia - at grocery stores, malls, and even small shops - has always been mixed and has never been gender segregated.  As a friend of mine pointed out recently, this "problem" that exists now seems to stem from the fact that women are the ones earning the money instead of just spending it.   It was always okay here when men were the workers and women were the customers, but now that women are working in fields that were formerly dominated by men, the religious bigwigs are suddenly having tizzy fits.  

Why is it okay for this type of gender interaction, but not when the female is the one behind the counter?

In a group discussion about this new development to prevent gender mixing in the workplace, one participant said:  For a country with such high religiosity, it appears that the Saudi adult citizens cannot be trusted to behave with morals and manners in the most basic social and community settings.  I call this a RED FLAG ... Obviously something is desperately wrong. When people are raised with such strict religious laws, norms / values and the government's actions repeatedly imply that Saudi citizens lack basic self-control and are not capable of social interaction with the opposite sex for fear of combustible consensual sexual intercourse, molestation, or rape ... Where else in the world does such a problem exist? Seriously! What is taking place in Saudi society and its institutions that would cause the Saudi government to assume that its citizens' behaviors are so spiritually bankrupt?

Is it better for Saudi women to just beg instead of working a real job?

So exactly what has prompted this move from the Ministry of Labor?  Since women began working in other venues a few short years ago, I would ask - have there been incidents or problems with working women being harassed or complaints about men they work with?  None that I am aware of have been reported in the news, although one article I read vaguely hinted that there have been complaints, but nothing specific.  

Or does it perhaps have to do with the deadly threats from 200 members of the country’s religious police force causing a ruckus in late December 2012, whereby these “Men of God” told the Minister of Labor that if he didn’t do something to stop Saudi women from mixing with men in the workplace that they would pray that Faqieh gets cancer and dies?  Nice, huh?  Especially sweet coming from "Men of God."

 

I think I have a much better and easier solution.  Why not give the men in Saudi Arabia a chance to prove that they can behave themselves around women in the workplace?  And if they can’t manage to do that, then just FIRE THEIR ASSES!!!  

Child molester, torturer and murderer Sheikh Fayhan Al Ghamdi

I'm getting off topic here now, but what I really want to know is:  why aren’t these religious guys (who are so concerned with protecting morality and female virginity) focusing on more important things that pertain to women and children here?  For example, why aren’t they totally unhinged about the recent ruling in the case of the Islamic preacher, Sheikh Fayhan AlGhamdi?  Al Ghamdi brutally raped and tortured his own five year old daughter in December of 2011.  She remained in a coma in the hospital and finally succumbed to her horrendous injuries some 10 months later, in October 2012.  

The judge in the case has recently ruled that the few months Al Ghamdi spent in jail was enough and all he has to do now is pay the family of the victim “blood money.”  Here in Saudi Arabia, the so-called "justice system" in place is along the lines of “an eye for an eye” and provides for financial compensation paid to the heirs of the victim.  In this case, the girl’s family or heirs would include her own father who heinously killed her.  However, the paying of blood money should only apply when the killing was unintentional.  It was obvious that the injuries suffered by this poor girl were not an accident. 

So why isn’t the religious establishment here in Saudi Arabia demanding Al Ghamdi’s head on a platter instead of concerning themselves with such trivial matters as building barriers to separate men and women in the workplace?   I don’t get it.

For more reading on these subjects: 

From Al Arabiya News:  Saudi labor minister faces 'deadly prayers' from angry clerics

From Al Arabiya News:  "Wall-Mart?" Saudi shops to build sex segregation walls

From Sabria S. Jawhar:  A commentary on Saudi society and religious bullies

From Saudi Woman, Eman Al Nafjan:  Rest in peace, Lama

From Omaima Al Najjar:  Islamic preacher gets away with murder

Religious Bullies

Making the news this past week from Saudi Arabia was a report that some 200 Saudi religious clerics have united in a cause - applying pressure and threatening the Saudi Minister of Labor, Adel Fakieh.  Their beef with Mr. Fakieh lies in his promotion and support of Saudi women in the retail workplace, a new policy which was unheard of when I first moved to the Kingdom in 2007. 

It seems that these religious zealots fear that gender mixing will lead to unacceptable and sinful behavior between unmarried men and women.  It's one thing to be opposed to gender mixing.  It's quite another to threaten the Labor Minister with the wish for bodily harm to come to him - in the form of praying to Allah that he will be stricken with cancer and die, which is exactly what happened to Fakieh's predecessor.  To his credit, Mr. Fakieh defended his position and told his opponents to file a lawsuit and let the courts decide. 

I find this threat repulsive, disgusting, and totally against the ideologies that religion is supposed to stand for.  There is nothing in Islam that would prohibit women from working in retail jobs.  I personally have been thrilled to see more and more females working in lingerie, cosmetics, and dress shops and in grocery stores in the past couple of years.  I have gone out of my way to address these working women and their managers to express my unabashed delight in seeing females in these positions.  

Me with a female employee in one of my favorite shops

It was downright creepy, humiliating, and embarrassing for a woman in Saudi Arabia - who must be fully covered from head to toe when out in public - to go into a lingerie shop and have to deal with a salesman telling her that she should buy a B-cup instead of a C.  Yet this is exactly what Saudi women were forced to endure for many years in this country before they began a 3-year campaign against this practice, ending in a tumultuous victory when a law was passed and enforced - with the King's blessing - requiring saleswomen in these positions. 

Saudi female cashiers in grocery chain Hyper Panda

After all, what could be more confusing and contradictory than placing Saudi women in the uncomfortable position of having to purchase bras, panties, negligees, cosmetics, toiletries, and feminine hygiene products from men in a culture where gender mixing is banned?   I just don't see the difference between whether a woman is the customer dealing with a salesman, or a man is the customer dealing with a saleswoman.  Isn't there the same amount of "gender mixing" occurring either way? 

But what I would really love to know is: what kind of a hideous and sick interpretation of any religion would endorse praying for a person to be stricken with cancer?  This is such an offensive idea coming from so-called "religious" men.   I believe they are just bullies practicing religious voodoo who like to keep people in line through fear mongering. 

For more reading on this subject:

From Al Arabiya - Saudi Labor Minister faces "deadly prayers" from angry clerics

From Riyadh Bureau -Saudi Clerics To Labor Minister: Stop Women Employment Or You Will Get Cancer

From American Bedu - Saudi Arabia: They Do Not Deserve the Title of Cleric

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

What's going on in the Middle East right now with the protests in at least 17 different countries makes me so sad.  I'm with John Lennon...

IMAGINE - by JOHN LENNON

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one