Gulf News from the Emirates carries this AFP story of a success that only took three years to come about. Finally, Saudi lingerie shops are to be staffed exclusively by women. There never were any good arguments about why they should not be permitted to do so, though a lot of spurious arguments were floated. But soon, only women will be found behind the counters in shops selling intimate apparel.
The new royal decree will help to reduce female unemployment in the Kingdom, but it’s going to be a blow to the foreign workers who now man the counters.
I’d count this as a double win for Saudi Arabia: unemployment goes down a bit and dependence on foreign workers is reduced.
Saudi king restricts lingerie shop work to women
King Abdullah also made employment at certain industrial facilities exclusive to Saudi womenJeddah — AFP: Saudi King Abdullah has issued a decree limiting work in lingerie shops to Saudi women only in a bid to reduce high female unemployment in the conservative kingdom, state media reported on Monday.
SPA news agency said the king also made employment at certain industrial facilities, including drug manufacturers, exclusive to Saudi women, and backed a programme to encourage production by families.
The issue of Saudi women working in lingerie shops was at the centre of a row three years ago between the labour ministry and the powerful religious authority which issued a fatwa banning such jobs.
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Ifta Ya Simsim (Open Sesame) is the Arabic rendition of ‘Sesame Street’, the effort of the Children’s Television Workshop designed to entertain and educate preschoolers. The Arabic program was the product of a GCC-wide educational effort, started in 1977, and ran to 130 episodes, all made in 1979. Since then, it’s been a matter of repeats, though some non-GCC countries have their own, localized versions.
Now, Arab News reports, the program is to be revitalized and re-thought to keep up with the changing political and social circumstances of the Gulf States, the world at large, and of course the changes in pre-school-age children’s abilities and cognition skills.
20 years on, ‘Iftah Ya Simsim’ coming back to educate Gulf
WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWSRIYADH: “Iftah Ya Simsim,” the Arabic version of the global educational and entertainment brand “Sesame Street” is to be reintroduced in the Gulf region after 20 years.
Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEGS) in partnership with an educational media company opened the Content Seminar for “Iftah Ya Simsim” for GCC states.
Robert Kenzevic, regional director of International Partnership of Sesame Workshop, said: “We recognize the deep love for the program. Education needs are understood by local educators and that’s why the GCC has welcomed the program’s return.”
Kenzevic said the program has evolved keeping in mind the new generation and the new abilities of preschoolers.
“The key question is ‘what are the children’s needs?’ And now we can refer to the 40 years during which the program evolved as ‘experimental years,’” Kenzevic said, adding that children are living in a more diverse and complicated world now and therefore there is a greater need for creativity.
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Here’s a link to Sesame Opens!, Saudi ARAMCO World magazine’s write-up of the original program, and a video of the first episode of the program:
Due to the vagaries of history—largely, the fact that Americans were the principal early developers of Saudi Arabia—Saudi homes often have both 110-volt (technically, ’127-volt’) and 220-volt appliances and the electrical outlets to run them. That has led to some confusion and fire hazard. Now, Arab News reports, the government is banning the importation of the lower voltage appliances as a safety measure.
The US—North America, actually–runs a 110/120-volt system for most electric appliances. Some, like home electric clothes driers and air conditioning, run on 220/240-volt power. Excepting parts of Latin America, Japan, and parts of China though, the rest of the world uses 220/240-volt power as standard for all appliances. It wasn’t always this way, though. Following WWII, many European houses and apartments had both voltages available. This, too, was due to the availability of American-made goods. You can still find these dual-voltage homes, but they have been being replaced over the years. Now, it’s Saudi Arabia’s turn to standardize.
Import of 127-volt appliances to end mid-2012
MUHAMMAD AL-SULAMI | ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: Six months after a grace period that starts in December, Saudi authorities will begin a process of banning the import of electrical products that run on voltages less than the European 220-volt standard.
Spokesman of Saudi Customs Abdullah Al-Kharboush said on Saturday that beginning in June 2012, any electrical appliances of less than 127-volts will be banned. Five years after that all electrical appliances that run on less than 220-volts will be banned from the market.
Parts for electrical appliances of 127 volts would continue to be permitted in the market for 15 years, he added.
The issue is related to the use of both major international standards — the 110-volt and the 220-volt — in the construction industry. Plugging in an electrical appliance of less than 220 volts into a 220-volt socket can be a fire hazard. Plugging a 220-volt appliance into a 110-volt socket is not dangerous.
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Arab News runs this piece on why apartments are losing their popularity among Saudis. It claims that the lack of laws to identify who—the owner of the building or the occupant of the apartment—is responsible for utilities and maintenance is the principal cause. I find that easy to believe. In the West, apartments, whether rented, owned through a condominium or co-operative arrangement, come with extensive contracts that specify exactly who is responsible for what. The contracts are enforceable by law and most people do not try to skirt their responsibilities.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, of course. Particularly in tough economic times, building owners may try to put off repairs and maintenance, may delay paying their bills and thus put the occupants or apartment owners into legal jeopardy themselves. Tenants of rented apartments or owners of individual apartments can also try to push off expenses onto someone else or fail to do what they have contracted to do in terms of maintenance and payment of bills.
Saudi Arabia, though, is a country that usually enforces contract law fairly. It seems that there’s not sufficient, codified law to be enforced here.
The article notes that there are also problems with quality control over the construction of buildings. Poor quality construction leads to higher maintenance costs. That’s pretty much a universal truism. It’s also not unheard of for building owners to try to build as cheaply as possible in order to maximize their profits. Basic standards, established through, if not by law are necessary here, as well.
The article doesn’t address a social reluctance to live in apartments by some sectors of Saudi society. Saudis seem to prefer a good deal of ‘elbow room’ in their living accommodations. Small rooms are not attractive. Living on top of and beneath your neighbors is not compelling either. But given the high price of land and construction, apartments are acceptable, lacking anything better available.
Why apartments are not popular among nationals
ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: To have houses of their own, many Saudis have, in recent years, purchased apartments in buildings, something that was initially very popular, but — with the absence of a law specifying who is responsible for the buildings’ overall maintenance and utility charges — the popularity of such houses has dropped considerably.
According to a survey carried out by Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper, about 75 percent of the owners of such homes — which also include certain types of villas — expressed regret over purchasing them. On the other hand, 25 percent of people said they were happy with their homes and appreciate the opportunity to become homeowners.
The survey was carried out among some 50 owners of residential apartments and villas who share their utility services for periods ranging from two to five years. Around 85 percent of those interviewed supported the idea of a law that identifies who is responsible for what. This, they say, would enable them to safeguard their interests as well as give them a longer period of access to utility services at nominal rates.
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The Saudi media are reporting that actress Wajnat Rahbini was caught driving in Jeddah and detained by the police. Unlike Manal Al-Sharif in the Eastern Province, though, Rahbini was released soon after being detained. After she signed a representation that she would not re-offend, of course…
This Saudi Gazette article is interesting in that it has Rahbini admitting that she had driven many times in Jeddah, without incident, mostly to assist her ailing husband get to medical treatment. It seems that whether a woman drives without police interference is literally a matter of ‘catch as catch can’.
Actress caught driving in Jeddah
AREF AL-SHEHRIJEDDAH: Jeddah Police stopped actress Wajnat Rahbini Saturday while she drove her car on Al-Jawazat Street, officials said.
A Traffic Department patrol stopped her after receiving a report from a Saudi national near her car and immediately asked police officials to look into the case as it comes under their jurisdiction.
The actress was held and remained at the location, watched by the patrolmen, until the arrival of the security police, one of whom drove her in her car to Al-Kandarah Police Station.
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Arab News addresses the story as well:
No, I don’t think so…
Beleaguered Yemeni President Ali Saleh, injured in a rocket attack a few days ago, has gone to Saudi Arabia for ‘medical treatment’. Arab News runs this summary of international wire stories. While Saleh was wounded, I suspect that this move provides him with the face-saving cover he needed to leave the country without been seen to be fleeing.
This, though, is not the end of the matter. His regime remains, led by his sons and nephews. What happens now is pretty much up in the air as the ‘new’ government, headed by Saleh’s acting president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, tries its hand at controlling a mess in a country that practically defines ‘mess’.
Saleh’s departure celebrated as violence continues in Yemen
SANAA: Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard in the Yemeni capital on Sunday, witnesses said, just a day after a Saudi-brokered truce.
Ten people were injured in a grenade attack on a facility affiliated with a military group that broke away from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Al Jazeera television reported.
Gunfire was centerd on the Hasaba district, a focal point of fighting in recent weeks between Saleh’s forces and members of the powerful Hashed tribe led by Sadeq Al-Ahmar.
Saudi Arabia had brokered a truce between the Hashed tribe and Saleh forces on Saturday, hours before wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh flew to the kingdom for medical treatment.
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Back in April, I wrote about a new press law that seemed intended to stifle the media. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who saw this law as fraught with danger. Saudi Gazette reports that the Minister of Culture & Information, Abdul Aziz Khoja, has been making the rounds of editorial offices and getting an earful for his pains.
The Ministry will be ‘clarifying’ the law with a series of by-laws later this year, he says. That’s useful. But the law itself is seriously flawed at a most basic level. As the article quotes him, the Minister says that the law forbids “injurious’ attacks on anyone.” Who is to decide what’s ‘injurious’ or not? Well, ‘specialized committees’ are supposed to do that, he says. Who will be on the committees? What’s their agenda? How will they be appointed? Will the committees include journalists? If so, which journalists?
Will the committees be able to say, ‘No,’ to high level figures with political or religious clout? The Minister says that the law, if read correctly, levels the playing field, ‘…making no difference between the ordinary citizen and officials…’ That would be nice, but frankly, I don’t believe it. Officials and the well-connected often get the benefit of the doubt, deserved or not, that ordinary citizens do not. Nor is this an exclusively Saudi or Arab media problem. In the US, former Senator and Presidential Candidate John Edwards—now charged with several crimes—certainly got special media treatment, if only (but not) through the media’s choice of what not to report on. The new law has no obvious bar to this abuse of media.
To be fair, I should give the Minister and his new law a chance to be amended. Perhaps there will be amendments that pull its teeth. Khoja says that these by-laws will be coming after Ramadan. I’m willing to wait and see, but I don’t think they’ll fix the problem. Rescinding this law would fix the problem.
Khoja allays fears over press law amendments
Saeed Al-suraihiJEDDAH: Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, has said he is to hold a “wide-ranging” meeting after Ramadan with figures from the country’s various cultural fields to review topics of concern.
Speaking in an interview with Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Khoja gave his views on a range of issues, notably the recent amendments to the Press and Publications Law, which have resulted in a degree of anxiety among journalists and writers given that the changes and additions were announced within a wider context of a discourse calling for greater freedom and transparency.
The minister said he was “surprised at some persons’ interpretations and fear of the amendments”.
“A discerning read of the amendments shows that they in fact give greater room for freedom and transparency and constructive criticism,” Khoja said. “They don’t give anyone immunity, and if there are some restraints and reservations that is only to be expected as it is normal the world over.”
He said the amendments forbid “injurious or misrepresentative attacks on anyone”.
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In this article, the Minister also displays some uncomfortable power issues. He accepts that those seeking a print newspaper license to publish have a harder time than those seeking on-line publication permits. This, he says, is in order to protect print newspapers. I’m sorry, but it is not the government’s job to decide which media flourish and which fail. That is up to the consumers of information. The Saudi government already has the Saudi Press Agency to carry its own news with its own spin. It should not have the power to manipulate licensure of a supposedly free press. If print media fail, then they no longer meet the demands of consumers. If they get swept aside in a current of new media, that may be very unfortunate on several fronts. It is not something the government should concern itself with. Again, this is not just a Saudi issue… there are print media in the US now looking for a ‘government bailout’ to keep them afloat. It is simply bad policy to do it.
Just a reminder that not all Saudis are rich, driving Rolls Royces and jetting to London, Los Angeles, or Marella…
This photo and caption appear in today’s Saudi Gazette:
Homeless children play at an abandoned site near the Al-Khuzam Palace in south Jeddah, Thursday. They are two of 10 children who live with their father and pregnant mother in gardens at the palace. (Okaz photo)
What is it about red mercury that makes it so seductive? For at least the last 25 years, the mythical substance has been floating around the Middle East, attracting attention—and money. For some, it’s a super-element that can be used to create super explosions, an alternative to or supplement for nuclear weapons. For others, it seems more like the Philosopher’s Stone, able to transmute mundane materials into valuable ones. In Saudi Arabia, it seems to have become some sort of money multiplier, magically increasing the number of Riyals mysteriously treated with it.
As such, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has taken interest in it as a practice of magic, forbidden under Islamic law. Never mind that there is no ‘magic’, attempt to practice it are illegal.
A couple of years ago, in 2009, there was a ‘red mercury’ outbreak in the Kingdom. Then, it was supposedly hidden in some models of Singer sewing machines. The prices of Singer machines rose like the prices of bulbs during the 17th C. Tulip Mania. Now, according to this Saudi Gazette/Okaz piece, it’s a red liquid with supernatural powers.
One thing is for certain, though, a fool and his money are soon parted.
‘Red mercury’ African held in Khamis Mushayt
AL-HASSAN AAL SAYYIDKHAMIS MUSHAYT: The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) has detained an African man who was reportedly prolific in convincing people to part with money in exchange for his “supernatural” services. The man was reported to the Hai’a by a member of the public who informed them of a deal involving the use of “red mercury” — a substance which international authorities insist does not exist but which popular belief claims can be used for supernatural purposes — and officials moved in at a block of furnished apartments to make the arrest.
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It’s pretty well known that Saudi Arabia has an absolute ban on the consumption of alcoholic beverages. It’s also well known that people behave as people, not necessarily as law would have them behave. Arab News reports that 243 people have had their drivers licenses suspended—in the city of Jeddah alone—for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The roads of Saudi Arabia are dangerous under any circumstance. These DUI drivers cannot be the sole or even ‘main’ source of traffic hazards in the Kingdom, as the Jeddah Traffic Director alleges. They only make it more hazardous. I’m actually surprised that the punishment meted out to them is so light, both for the problems they represent on the road and for the blatant violation of Islamic laws prohibiting intoxication.
Drunk driving: 243 licenses seized this year
MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: Since the beginning of the current Hijri year, 243 drivers in Jeddah have had their driving licenses withdrawn after they were caught drunk-driving or operating vehicles when under the influence of drugs, traffic police announced on Thursday. They were each sentenced to 80 lashes and fined SR500.
The police said the Jeddah summary court, which the violators were sent to, issued the verdicts. They added that under the law, the drivers would also be sentenced to various jail terms.
“The DUI drivers are a real threat to other road users and sober car drivers. They are a main cause of traffic congestion as they are not focused,” said Brig. Muhammad Al-Qahtani, director of traffic in Jeddah.
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The issue of women’s driving is the ball that is in the Shoura Council court. The question now is whether the Council will see it as a tennis ball, waiting for the Council to take action upon it, or a dodge ball, from which the Council will do its best to flee.
This isn’t the first time that women’s driving has come to the Council. In the past, though, the issue was always put aside as ‘untimely’ or simply forgotten. While some members were on public record supporting women’s driving, others were loudly adamant that it just could not be. Now, Arab News reports, the Council is being pressed by a large number of petitioners to decide, one way or the other, on the question. It’s not a question of law—the King says there’s no law prohibiting women from driving. It’s not a question of religion—religious leaders say there’s no religious reason for it to be banned. So, the question is political, something within the remit of the Shoura Council to address.
Whether it will, or whether it will again shirk its responsibilities is now the question.
Shoura ready to discuss women driving if requested
ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: Speaker of the Shoura Council Abdullah Al-Asheikh said on Thursday the council was ready to discuss the issue of women driving if it was asked to.
“The issue has not so far been tabled with the council for discussion,” he said, adding that not every issue in the public domain was discussed by the council.
Explaining the mechanism of tabling issues for discussion at the council, Al-Asheikh said a motion must either come from the government, at least one member of the council or when the council itself expressed a desire to deliberate a certain issue, reported local Arabic daily Al-Jazirah.
Saudi writer and columnist Abdullah Abdul Sattar Al-Alami said he and a group of other people formally asked the council to discuss the issue of women driving.
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Here’s a link to an interesting analysis from Al-Wasat of how media used by various jihadist organizations is shifting over time. It appears to be becoming less controlled and more inchoate as social media become more prominent. While I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate, I think it’s worth a look…