The internet is abuzz with talk of Khamisa Sawadi, a 75-year-old Syrian widow living in Saudi Arabia who was sentenced to 40 lashes and 4 months in jail for the crime of khalwa, being alone with a man who is not her relative. The verdict, issued on March 3rd, also demands that Sawadi be deported after […]

There is an interesting new public service announcement campaign being produced in Saudi Arabia and shown across the Middle East, drawing attention to the abuse that many migrant domestic workers face, and emphasising Islamic traditions of mercy in calling for a change of attitude. (Okay, it’s not that new anymore, but we haven’t covered it […]

The internet is abuzz with talk about an all new rock band, The Accolade. Nothing special, you would think, until you realize that not only are the members all women, but all Saudi women. On the day the band made the front page of The New York Times (NYT), their ‘friends’ on their MySpace page […]

A U.A.E.-based newspaper, The National, published a story yesterday about increasing numbers of Saudi women entering the workplace (read here). While this isn’t the first story written about Saudi women in the workforce, it is one of the best written ones I’ve seen. There is no presumption of Western superiority in regards to women in […]

So this is old. 2005 old. But I just saw it so I’m writing. I’m not the biggest fan of animated cartoon series like South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad. Mainly because I believe that there are so many underlying messages that you don’t notice you’re exposed to because they’re packaged in […]