Abeer Mishkhas, who writes for Arab News, has a commentary in today’s issue of The Guardian. She notes how Saudis are beginning to find their public voices through new media, particularly the Internet. Interesting piece, definitely worth reading.

Vox pop in Saudi Arabia
Long fearful of expressing their opinions, ordinary Saudi citizens are beginning to find a voice – thanks to the internet
Abeer Mishkhas

Voicing an opinion publicly can seem a simple, even normal practice for people in the western world. But in a country like Saudi Arabia, it is not exactly the simplest thing to do. In a country that does not believe in the voice of the individual, where women – who account for half of the population – are voiceless, expressing an opinion can be become a privilege. A privilege that is given only to the people who know how to stay within the system.

In newspapers, on TV, in educational organisations, people are expected to keep clear from the thorny issues. They can express all the opinions in the world but they have to know in what areas to voice them; they can talk endlessly about football, or they can vent their energy in religious discussions, but they know that there are limits to what they can say. They can only say the acceptable, and if someone dares to cross the unseen but glaring red lines, he (more rarely, she) will be pushed not too gently back behind those lines. There can be a very high price to pay.

In such an atmosphere, political dissent is not tolerated; criticism of the way the government is running things is out of the question. The prohibited areas start from the top heads in government, and never end really, because in every organisation there is always a top person who does not like criticism. Even in schools, children are taught to obey, and not to argue.

This system worked for many years. People learned how to live with it, and those who did not wish to live according to the rules had to face severe consequences. But things do change, and there is nothing more interesting than observing that change taking place.

In the past 10 years, this whole habit of “self-censorship” has been shaken to its core. Slowly the internet has crept into the lives of people, accompanied by a wide variety of satellite channels.
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