Minister sees 'softer' Saudi Arabia in reforms

Discussion in 'Middle East' started by Space_Time, Jan 21, 2017.

  1. Space_Time

    Space_Time Well-Known Member

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    I'm reminded of George HW Bush's 'kinder, gentler nation'. But in Saudi Arabia I think any change will come very slowly. What do you think?

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/minister-sees-softer-saudi-arabia-reforms-142706515.html

    Minister sees 'softer' Saudi Arabia in reforms

    AFP AFPJanuary 19, 2017

    A handout picture released by the Lebanese photo agency Dalati and Nohra shows Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (L) greeting Lebanese President Michel Aoun in Riyadh on January 10, 2017 (AFP Photo/HO)
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    Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) - Saudi Arabia will become a "softer", more tolerant place as it reforms its oil-dependent economy, a leading government figure said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.

    "We're going to turn Saudi Arabia into a softer place, a more pleasant place to live," said Khaled al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources.

    The changes will come under a plan launched last year to shift the economy of the world's biggest oil exporter into one led by the private sector.

    While the plan calls for development of non-oil industries, small and medium enterprises, and a broader investment base, it also has what Falih called "soft" factors.

    "We're going to strive to make people happy within the kingdom, and we've taken many steps to do that," he told a panel discussion with two other Saudi ministers.

    The Islamic kingdom bans alcohol, public cinemas and theatres, and normally segregates men and women in public.

    But a new entertainment authority has already brought in some foreign shows, seen by limited audiences.

    Saudi's Vision 2030 plan calls for more sporting and cultural activities, as well as a greater economic role for women.

    Saudi Arabia is founded on ultra-conservative Wahhabi thought, which has been accused by foreign critics of inspiring extremists, and the kingdom's minority Shiite community complains of marginalisation.

    "We're going to promote tolerance in our society, which exists today, but make sure it is universal within Saudi Arabia," Falih told the discussion in the Swiss resort of Davos, where 3,000 members of the political and business elite have gathered for annual talks.

    He said the kingdom will ensure it is "a model" for other Muslim societies in terms of tolerance.
     
  2. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Nice article... Change has always been slow in Arabia, but these days there is momentum.. and there have been lots of changes since 2011..

    They have seriously clipped the wings of the Mutaween for one thing.
     
  3. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

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    DREAN ON...
    Women will always be second oe even third grade in Muslim society.
     
  4. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    You have never set foot in Arabia..
     
  5. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

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    MMMmmmm... You are wrong.
    I visited Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Bedouin area near Ramallah.
    Those areas belong to Muslim Arabia .. No ?
    Poor women... sad.
     
  6. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    No where near Saudi Arabia.
     
  7. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

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    Arabs are Arabs.
    Same Sh!...t
     
  8. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Its a good thing all Jews aren't as hateful as you.
     
  9. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

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    Many many Europians whom are anti Arab Muslim are not Jews.
    Radical Islam is the World's biggest problem since WWII.
    And they are from your Damaakk
     
  10. RiaRaeb

    RiaRaeb Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And Jews are Jews, gotta point?
     
  11. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

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    Yes.
    Arabs can be Muslim or Christians.
    Arab is not a religion.
    Do you know that ?
     
  12. RiaRaeb

    RiaRaeb Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes and neither is a Jew, what is your point?
     
  13. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

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    As far as i know, and you can learn it in any Arab school, to be Jewish is very religion, same as to be Muslim or Christian.
    Those who do not believe that can join ISIS or El - Shabab
     
  14. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    What???????
     
  15. RiaRaeb

    RiaRaeb Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Never been to an Arab school, but you do not have to believe in Jewdaism to be a Jew! How odd that you should think so!
     
  16. Space_Time

    Space_Time Well-Known Member

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    Most welcome:

    http://www.gulf-insider.com/saudi-k...rmission-travel-study-make-police-complaints/

    Saudi king orders that women no longer need a man’s permission to travel, study or make police complaints
    May 6, 2017
    Saudi Arabia to give women more control over their life choices by relaxing male guardian system is welcomed as another small step for women in the kingdom.

    Saudi Arabia is well known to be one of the world’s most gender-segregated nations, where women live under the supervision of a male guardian, cannot drive, and must wear head-to-toe black garments in public.

    Women need approval from a man to travel, study and get some health treatments.

    But local media reported this week that King Salman has issued an order allowing women to benefit from government services such as education and healthcare without the consent of a male guardian.

    This means women could, in some circumstances, study and access hospital treatment, work in the public and private sector and represent themselves in court without a guardian’s consent, according to Maha Akeel, a women’s rights campaigner and a director at the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

    He said: ‘Now at least it opens the door for discussion on the guardian system.

    The order made by King Salman, pictured, is the latest in a series of steps to include more women in the workforce to help diversify the country’s economy and reduce its reliance on oil

    The trend started in 2011 when the late King Abdullah allowed women onto the government advisory Shura Council. Women can now vote in municipal elections, work in some retail and hospitality jobs and were allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time in 2012.

    But Saudi Arabia was still ranked 141 of 144 countries in the 2016 Global Gender Gap, a World Economic Forum study on how women fare in economic and political participation, health and education.

    The system of male guardianship, which requires women to obtain permission from a father, husband, or son to travel, study or marry is an impediment to realising women’s rights, say rights groups.

    Mr Akeel said: ‘Male guardianship is un-Islamic and humiliating for women.

    ‘Some (men) take advantage of this male guardianship for their own benefit and abuse it.’

    (Source credit – Mail Online)


    https://www.rt.com/news/388154-saudi-arabia-woman-drives/

    Young Saudi woman saves man’s life by defying driving ban – media
    Published time: 12 May, 2017 17:48
    Get short URL
    Young Saudi woman saves man’s life by defying driving ban – media
    FILE PHOTO © Susan Baaghil / Reuters
    1.4K
    A female college student in Saudi Arabia took the wheel of a minibus after its male driver suffered a stroke. The young woman's actions, which violated a controversial ban in the country, helped save the man's life, local media report.
    Ashwaq Al-Shammari was being driven from university together with four other female students to their homes near the city of Hail in northwest Saudi Arabia earlier this week, the Saudi Gazette reported.

    Read more
    © Faisal Al NasserProgressive prince says women driving ban hurts Saudi economy
    In the middle of their journey, the driver told the passengers he was feeling dizzy and pulled over. He then fell unconscious.

    Stranded in the middle of the road, some of the girls tried to resuscitate the driver, while Ashwaq decided it was time to remember the driving skills she had learned on her father's farm.

    She got behind the wheel of the minibus, driving to a nearby shop to get some water for the unwell driver. When that didn't help, she proceeded to drive to his house.

    From there, the driver's family took charge, taking him to a government hospital about 50km (30 miles) away. He was diagnosed with a brain stroke, but was saved due to the girls’ quick intervention, the newspaper said.

    Ashwaq's father, Zahir Al-Shammari, who works in education, praised his daughter's actions. "I’m extremely proud of my daughter, whom I taught driving at my farm when she was young. Her voluntary work was part of her social responsibility," the Saudi Gazette quoted him as saying.

    READ MORE: Saudi Arabia 'not ready' to let women drive because of culture, not religion – prince

    The Saudi kingdom appears to be the only country in the world where women's driving is banned. Most Saudi religious authorities and scholars pronounce it forbidden, while driving licenses are not officially issued to women.

    However, there are reports that enforcement of the ban varies by region. It’s said to be especially strict in Riyadh and the surrounding areas, but female driving is somewhat tolerated in rural areas.
     
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  17. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Excellent....... I knew Salman would do this when the time was right.
     
  18. Space_Time

    Space_Time Well-Known Member

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    Here's more:

    http://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabi...g-women-drivers-have-quarter-brain-men-669571

    D
    SAUDI ARABIA: PREACHER BANNED FOR SAYING WOMEN DRIVERS HAVE QUARTER THE BRAIN OF MEN
    BY JACK MOORE ON 9/22/17 AT 12:35 PM
    A Saudi preacher has been banned from all religious activities after saying that women should not be allowed to drive because they have a quarter the brain of men.

    The cleric, Sheikh Saad al-Hijri, was banned for a statement that was “diminishing human value,” Saudi state television reported on Friday, citing a spokesman for the governor of Asir province.

    In a video, Hijri is seen asking what the local traffic department would do it if it came across a man with only half a brain.

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    “Would it give him a license or not? It would not. So how can it give it to a woman when she has only half?” he asked in the video seen by Reuters.

    “If she goes to the market she loses another half. What is left? A quarter... We demand the traffic department check because she is not suitable to drive and she has only a quarter.”

    Saudi Arabia conforms to a strict, ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam and imposes a draconian system of guardianship on women, whereby they must receive a man’s permission before doing certain basic activities like leaving the house.

    Views toward women driving in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world that prohibits them from doing so, may be changing. In May, Saudi Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah said in an interview that he had “no doubt” women would one day drive in the oil-rich country.

    "Let me tell you about our leadership's view on women," he said. "Never mind driving a car, which is coming, no doubt.... I want her to drive society."

    He continued: "Maybe some people are afraid of change, but it is inevitable.”

    In September 2016, thousands of Saudis signed an online petition that called on Riyadh to end the male guardianship system by which a father or husband gives his consent for a woman to do things such as open a bank account.

    Saudi Arabia has long faced Western criticism over the lack of opportunity and equality in society for women and the repressive policies toward them. Now, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pushing a modernization project, Vision 2030, which aims to give women more opportunities, as well as wean the country off its oil dependence and diversify its economy.

    The Gulf kingdom's ruling monarchy also is taking steps to at least address the number of women in the workforce, permitting them to train as air traffic controllers for the first time, Saudi Press Agency, the country’s state news agency, reported last week.

    The presence of women in the wider Saudi workforce is already increasing. New figures from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development show that the number of women in private-sector roles has increased 130 percent between 2012 and 2016.
     

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