In 2011, Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah officially granted women the right to vote and run in elections starting in 2015. Now, that decree is taking effect and voter registration is beginning across the kingdom. On August 30, candidates will also begin to register; it’s estimated that around 70 women will do so. There is already […]
Saudi Women
NEWSFLASH: Gym Classes Opened to Saudi Girls
For the first time, schools in Saudi Arabia will offer gym classes to girls. As the country’s obesity rate for women and young people climbs, many welcome the change. “I think it’s a big deal because this is a way of acknowledging publicly that women need to get the same treatment or care that males […]
No Woman, No Drive
It’s not news to most that Saudi Arabia is notorious for taking basic human rights away from its female population. It currently forbids them from traveling abroad, opening a bank account and even from working without permission from a male relative. Another way the Saudi government attempts to keep women locked in the Stone Age […]
A Groundbreaking Women’s Film from Saudi Arabia
Haifaa Al-Mansour is Saudi Arabia’s first woman filmmaker. Her mesmerising new film Wadjda is the first film to be shot entirely within Saudi Arabia. A beautiful and heartwarming story, Wadjda has graced film festivals across the world, from the Venice Film Festival 2012 to the Los Angeles Film Festival 2013. The film tells the story of a young […]
First Anti-Domestic Violence Campaigns From Saudi Arabia
“Treat her like a queen, not a punching bag.” “He who hits a woman is a coward.” These are some of the tweets featured in a recent social media campaign from Saudi Arabia. In an effort to call attention to the country’s alarming rates of domestic violence, young people of Saudi Arabia have been asked to […]
Baby Steps Toward Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia
Women are now allowed to ride bikes in Saudi Arabia —with a few tiny restrictions. They’re only allowed to bike if they are: in a restricted area, with a man, have covered their bodies completely under the rules of Islamic abaya, biking strictly for entertainment (not transportation) and staying away from places where groups of […]
Where’s the Line Between Sexism and Sensitivity?
It was recently revealed that in a Saudi Arabian version of the IKEA catalog, all of the women were erased. Here are the similar pages from the U.S. and Saudi Arabian catalogs side-by-side: After an outcry over this revelation began, IKEA responded by called the removal of women a “mistake” “in conflict with the IKEA […]
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: A Feminist Look at the Olympics, Part 2
Thumbs Up for Kayla Harrison, who won the first women’s gold medal for the U.S. in judo on August 2 and who overcame great personal challenges to triumph at these London Games. Even though American Rusty Kanokogi, who fought for years to make women’s judo an Olympic sport, didn’t live to see Harrison make history […]
Soccer Overturns Headscarf Ban
FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, has agreed to overturn its controversial ban on the wearing of hijabs during games. The organization instituted the regulation in 2007, as the formal rules of the sport prohibit equipment that make a religious statement or pose a danger to players. Referring to the garb as “headscarves” rather than “hijabs” in […]
Saudi Women Athletes Are Going to the Games!
After back-and-forth, will-she-won’t-she news reports about Saudi Arabia sending its first women to compete in the Olympics, the word has now come down that two Saudi women–800-meter track runner Sarah Attar and judoist Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani–have made the team. Attar, who trains in the U.S., said, “It’s such a huge honor and I […]