Category Archives: Uncategorized

Last week Manal Al Sharif won the Vaclav Havel prize for Creative Dissent and gave a 17 minute speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum. She talked about her personal struggle and transition from extremism to becoming her own woman. She … Continue reading →

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In the years just before the 9/11 attacks, I spent two semesters at a public school in Riyadh for my training as a teacher. I was stationed each day at the campus gates, instructed to inspect … Continue reading →

Last Friday Sheikh Al Fowzan, ironically a member of the Saudi human rights commission, stated that the thought that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) might be implemented in Saudi Arabia makes him … Continue reading →

The first school I went to in Riyadh was, of course, an all-girls school. I was very happy to see it had a swimming pool. It was drained and fenced up and, because it was autumn, I thought nothing more … Continue reading →

I normally write about Saudi but the situation is getting dire in an area that’s increasingly becoming a blind spot for the rest of the world. In Syria the death toll is 8,000 and growing and the refugee count has … Continue reading →

Eleven women give their thoughts on achievements where they live in an interactive map. Click on Saudi Arabia to read what I wrote on the occasion. CLICK HERE

If you have a spare 15 minutes, you can listen to my chat with Waleed Aly and  Anthony Bubalo about life in Saudi Arabia for women on the Australian radio channel RN. Listen HERE

Prison, lashings and Interior Ministry phone threats, fines and pledges drove the women driving movement underground again.  This time around though, unlike in 1990, it was only for a few months before Saudi rights activists geared up again to call … Continue reading →

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz addressed the 150 members of the all-appointed advisory council (Shura) in September to announce that he rejects the marginalization of Saudi women. He said that after seeking advice from religious scholars within the country’s highest Islamic council … Continue reading →

The ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia is a topic that has become tedious due to the uncountable times it has been written about since the 1980s. Saudi Arabia is infamous for its gender discrimination when it comes to … Continue reading →