Saudis to Crack Down on Harassment

 

A few days ago,the  Saudi government has granted  permission for young, single males to enter shopping malls. Previously, they had been banned because they caused too much disruption and discomfort by harassing women and girls trying to shop. Banning them did not really resolve the problem of harassment, though, as the men would just hang around the entrances to the malls and do their harassing there.Single men were only allowed to enter a shopping mall in the company of family members (sister, mother etc) or during lunch time hours on weekdays.
To get at the issue, there’s going to be more attention paid to the bad behavior, rather than just assuming that all youths will act badly. Saudi Gazette reports that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice will be heightening their patrols and intercede when they see the lads acting up.The new laws, based on the severity of the infraction, will offer a range of penalties from fine and floggings to jail terms.

Eve teasers in malls to be referred to court
RIYADH – Single men have been granted permission to enter malls and shopping centers but anyone found harassing women shoppers will be referred to the Shariah Court, according to a recent directive issued by Dr. Abdullatif Aal Al-Sheikh, General President of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a).
“I gave instructions to the field members of the Hai’a to closely monitor markets and not to be lenient with anyone who harasses families and women. I instructed them to hand those guilty of harassment over to the Shariah Court immediately,” Dr. Aal Al-Sheikh was quoted as saying in a section of the Arabic press Thursday.

Source:

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20120323120211

Where are the religious police when you really need them?????

Yesterday morning Mom and I decided to make our way to Haraj bin Qassem Princess Souk. I heard through word of mouth that the Souk bursts with gorgeous clothing especially evening gowns and other items like antique furniture and kitchenware. There are many stores that sell second hand clothing, but there are also stores that sell clothes that have not been worn and still have the tag on them. I have been told that many of the clothes were likely cast offs from members of the Royal family. The clothes span from items for children, western dress for men such as business suits, dress shorts, casual clothes, jeans to traditional dress such as thobes, bischts, shemaghs, farwas and for the women, what an incredible selection! Here is where one will even find a large selection of wedding dresses as well as haute couture gowns in addition to skirts, day dresses, jeans, blouses and traditional Saudi abayas and jalabiyyas for women as well. The maximum price one would typically pay for an outfit such as a man’s western business suit or a woman’s haute couture gown is SR30 (less than US$10).

I also wish to point out to you  that with  regards to clothes, we are not talking about junk or out of fashion rejects. Many of these items are designer clothes, very well made and still in the height of fashion and many of them are brand new with the tag still on.Sadly a lot of Saudis when hearing of this souk have a stigma at the mere thought of going somewhere and looking at “second hand goods.” Well, then that is their loss and everyone elses gain! I have no qualms going to the second hand souk where I may find an Oscar de la Rente or Chanel gown in excellent immaculate condition or even brand new and IN MY SIZE for SR30 as compared to SR7,000 from an exclusive boutique.My Saudi friends however warned me from frequenting the Souk alone and insisted that if I do go to that area of town I should go in a group and its better if a male accompanied us. I didn't take their warning too seriously as I thought we would be visiting the Souk during the day in broad daylight so nothing could possibly go wrong....When we arrived at the Souk it was bursting with activities..

There were hundreds of people shopping,bargaining and there was a huge cacophony of sound coming from the hooting cars trying to make their way through the narrow streets.Mom I and started making our way through the various clothing stalls. Not even fifteen minutes had elapsed and the harassment started despite us being covered in an Abaya and Niqaab. I noticed groups of men trying to brush up against us in the narrow aisles.. One man went as far as trying to drop his mobile number

that he had written on a piece of paper inside my handbag. Naturally I shouted at him. Then we noticed a group of Filipino women being harassed as well. They were also screaming and shouting at the top of their voices and the one woman clobbered a man with her hand bag as he had apparently 

groped her

.

The shocking part is that almost all of the men loitering around the souk were displaying such disgusting and ridiculous behaviour.Some of them were Saudi Arabs whilst others were from African, Asian as well as Middle Eastern origins.Not being able to endure the harassment any further, I called my driver and we simply left. Its quite a shame as the Souk had some pretty interesting items and we really wanted to explore the area.Mom said that she never expected men in a Muslim country to behave in such a despicable manner.She has traveled throughout the world but today was the first time that she had experienced such disgusting behaviour from 'so called' Muslim men. Islam has always upheld the respect and the dignity of a woman but its a shame that the Muslim men we encountered at the Souk today did not have respect for women at all.How can these same men who probably have wives, sisters and mothers treat other women in a degrading manner?
 The strange part about the whole episode is that whilst I have seen the religious police frequenting the upper class areas of town,I was unable to see one religious police member frequenting the Souk. Perhaps that's the reason that the men prowling the Souk with roving eyes are given Carte Blanche to do as they please.I honestly think that the authorities that be need to put some system in place so that the women frequenting the area can feel safe whilst shopping at the Souk without experiencing any feeling of discomfort, fear or intimidation.

Saudis Look to Drop Individual Sponsorship----Good news for sure!!!

As reported by Saudi Gazette,under the current laws of Saudi Arabia, an individual or company wishing to hire a foreign worker recruits that worker, usually through a recruitment agency. It then sets its own rules, often through contract, about the terms of work, conditions, and responsibilities. The result is a mess of rules so complicated that no one really knows what’s going on. For instance, employers are not permitted by law to hold onto their employees contracts, yet many do because they feel it offers them some sort of insurance against employee misbehavior. Employers, at present, make many decisions about how, where, or if their employees travel, both within and outside the country. They also decide whether they’ll sponsor a worker’s family.
This is going to change, Arab News reports. The Ministry of Labor has finished its study of sponsorship procedures and is about to do away with individual sponsorship. In the future, all foreign workers will be recruited, hired, and managed by a handful of companies. These companies will handle all the procedures concerning foreign workers, mostly through uniform contracts. Interestingly, the new procedures will include an insurance component to provide financial coverage of both employer and employee conduct. How much the cost of insurance will add to the cost of foreign workers is not discussed.
It’s interesting, too, that the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) will be on the board of governors for the new employment companies.

 
Ministry completes study on replacing sponsorship system
JEDDAH: GALAL FAKKAR
The Labor Ministry has completed a study on prospects of canceling the individual kafala (sponsorship) system replacing it with recruitment companies. The move may lead to the nullification of sponsorship system all together at a later stage.
The study, which took five years to complete, included the rules and regulations for the new recruitment companies. “The study will be presented to the Council of Ministers shortly for approval,” an informed source told Arab News.
The study proposed the formation of a commission under the Labor Ministry to look into foreign labor issues and put end to the traditional sponsorship system. The commission will be based in Riyadh and will have branches in major cities.
The study advised the government not to hold passports of foreign workers and cancel the condition of obtaining sponsor’s approval for a worker to bring his family to the Kingdom.
According to the new system, an employer would not be responsible for the wrong actions of a foreign worker outside his work. “The new system is designed to protect the rights of both foreign workers and employers,” the source said.

Saudi Arabia: Divorced by Loudspeaker

 

Saudi Man Divorces Wife Over Mall Loudspeaker

According to Emirates 24/7 news, a Saudi husband used a loudspeaker to divorce his wife at a busy shopping mall after seeing her take a note from another man bearing his phone number.

This, according to the Saudi Arabic language quotidian, Kabar.

The husband was with his wife and three children at the mall when he went his own way into a men’s clothes shop.

“When he left that shop, he saw a man giving his wife a note bearing his phone number…she accepted the paper and put it inside her bag,”

The newspaper did not mention where the mall is located.

“He then used the mall’s loudspeaker to shout divorce words against his wife although she was with her three children.”

Source:

http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/man-divorces-wife-over-loudspeaker-at-mall-2012-03-21-1.449702