My Attempt to Break the Driving Ban in Saudi Arabia

Tags

Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia culture, Saudi Women, Women2drive

After I was inspired by Manal Al Shirf campaign I asked my brother to teach me how to drive. Back then I was living in Riyadh city. Our teaching sessions have always started on Friday or Thursday mornings that’s when the streets are less busy. After making a good progress my brother started letting me drive to my hometown, the Eastern province, which is about 450 kms away. After we pass the check points we would swap the seats and I would sit behind the wheels and drive. I traveled to China but I came back to Saudi to visit my family 5 weeks ago and I wanted to continue learning.

Every time I drive my brother would sit next to me to give me instructions. I have been driving in the streets of Al Khobar for the last 5 weeks and I never had a problem. I even once went to a drive through coffee shop next to crowded oil station on half moon beach and ordered some coffee and then went to the beach. Some people would give me the V sign and others would just start taking pictures and videos of me while I’m driving!

2 days ago I went out for another training session but this time I wasn’t very lucky, As I was driving in the streets of Al Khobar city  I lost my way and went to the wrong direction, I ended up driving next to the police station! There were few police cars outside driving on the same highway, So I kept slowing down and driving on the right side of the road but my heart was racing. 3 police cars passed and none of them noticed me; there was even one of the police cars on the opposite direction, taking a U turn, the police car was less than 2 meters away but luckily didn’t notice me too.  Suddenly, a speedy police car was driving on the left side of the highway started to slow down dramatically. Apparently, someone has just told the police that there is a woman in the back driving a grand marquis 2007.  The police officer took the right track, slowed down, opened his car window and started looking at us, that’s when I decided to turn on the headlights of the car so the officer won’t see me, and then I started driving on the left track of the highway where most speedy cars go. Obviously, it wasn’t a good idea; they became more suspicious and started chasing after me! They kept asking me to pull over..

I pulled over safely like a pro driver, 2 police officers came to me and one of them said, Mashallah , you clearly can drive! But women are not allowed to drive here, it’s against the law, there is a law from the ministry of interior affairs to punish women who drive ”. I can tell from their accent, one of the police officers is from Najad and the other is southern Saudi. The Najedi officer started asking me questions like what’s your name? where are you from?  Where do you live? Are you Shiite or Sunni? So I answered all his questions but I never said I’m Shiite.

In the beginning the two officers were very cooperative ,they  Said” don’t worry, we will let you go this time,  but since the department of traffic police has been informed  that there is a woman driving on the highway and  they know we stopped you too, so we cannot let you go or lie to them  but when our boss comes we will tell him that you were caught driving inside the nearby neighborhood, we don’t want him to know you were caught driving on the highway, because if we tell him you were caught driving on the highway you will be facing serious punishments, such as confiscation of your vehicle, 10 days behind bars and 5000 SR fee. So my brother and I swapped the seats, he followed the police to a nearby neighborhood and stopped the car there, we made the  scene perfect before the arrival of their boss.

As we are waiting for the other police cars to come, the Najdi police officer took my ID card to see my full name. Al Najjar is either a western Saudi name or eastern Saudi name and I had an eastern accent.  Knowing that the majority of people who are from eastern province are Shiite, the police became suspicious, so he asked me again ”are you Shiite?” But I refused to answer him, so he took my brother outside the car and asked him if he was Shiite and my brother said yes. We just knew the Najedi officer was up to no good.

An Hour later, another 2 police car and 4 police officers came. One of the police officer looked older than the others with a higher rank, he was clearly the boss, he came to me and asked me if I I was driving on the highway and I sticked to the plan and said’ No, I was driving inside the neighborhood’. However, The Najadi Officer started shouting at us calling us liars and that I was caught driving on the highway. His mate kept silent, I can tell he was shocked too.

Now saying I was driving in the neighborhood was not my plan at all, it was actually the police officers plan. but, The Najadi officer turned against us after he knew we were Shiite.

He drove the police car behind us inside a nearby neighborhood to make the scene perfect before the arrival of his boss. He also made us lie to his boss and then he started shouting at us calling us liars!! What’s even worse is that the Najdi officer told his boss that his mate was trying to help us and let us get away with it.

After about 2 hours of questioning, the 2 police cars left, They told us wait with the police. We kept waiting for another 30 minutes inside the car, they 2 police officers who stopped us kept waiting for us too. But then after a while the southern police officer gave me back my ID card he said it’s okay you can go now.

My brother and I went home, this time my brother was driving. The southern police officer later called me on the phone telling me was punished because his mate who turned against us told his boss that his mate was trying to help up!

I am not afraid of breaking the driving ban again; I will get a driving license first and will drive again.

Islamic preacher gets away with murder

The Famous Saudi preacher Fayhan Al Ghamdi who appears on various preaching TV channels tortured his 5 years old daughter to death because he was suspicious of her virginity.

According to the medical report, Fayhan Al ghamdi has tortured his daughter Lama with whips, electrical shocks, removed her nails,  and burnt her with an iron. Lama died in the after spending almost a year in the hospital suffering from broken arms, skull fracture,  and head bruises.

The well known preacher grew up with his grandmother after the divorce of his parents.. He quit school at the age of 9 and has been suffering from a drug and alcohol addiction.

Al Ghamdi’s ex-wife said on an interview ” before we get married the neighbors described him as very religious and god-fearing person, one week after our marriage he changed, he was doing drugs, drinking alcohol and flirting with other women, he was beating me up for no reason. I became pregnant with our daughter Lama. He was nice, he never abused her, I remember he took her away for 3 months and when they came back she was okay, there was nothing wrong with her. Until the last time, I don’t know what happened with him! But after our divorce he stopped paying child support. I remember I called him once and I asked him how would you  lecture people on religion while your acting this way, and not even paying a child support, don’t you fear god? He s use to chuckle and said my word is superior and yours is inferior ”

Al Ghamdi’s ex-wife recalls a phone call from the police persecutor asking her to come to the hospital. She said ” I went to the hospital to see my daughter, but when I saw her laying there I couldn’t even recognize her face she was brutally beaten and disfigured, she has broken bones almost everywhere in her right side of the body, broken arms and skull fracture  the doctors said she couldn’t defecate because he was beating her in the anus area and he use to close the open wounds (cuts) by burning her anus, every visit to the hospital doctors will give me more reports about injures that have been found, . She was unconscious, doctors said she will not survive but I was crying and praying for god every day”

According to the Inpatient death report from Shemiasi Hospital in Riyadh city Lama was admitted in the hospital on the 26^th of December 2011 and died on October 22 2012 in the ICU.

Fayhan Al Ghamdi was held for few months in jail waiting for his trail. Al Ghamdi then was released from prison few days ago.  The court ordered him to pay ( Diyah) which is blood money paid for the family of the victim. Ironically, according to the law the Murderer will share the money he is paying since he is the father; he is part of the family.

According to the discriminatory sharia law the Diyah ( the blood money ) must be 400.000 SR if the victim is a male and half of the money which equals 200.000 SR if the victim is a female.

This unfair outrageous verdict was not a surprise. Unfortunately, Saudi Sharia law gives the man full authority over women, a husband for instance has a full authority over his wives and the father has full authority over his daughters. They also have the right to discipline their wives, or children, beat them if they have to.

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Please check related links

The interview of Lama’s mother in arabic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSlbgV5aAjk

A pervious post on woman rights in saudi arabia

http://omaimanajjar.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/whats-like-to-be-a-saudi-woman-2/

The fatwa of Binbaz about the Diay –in Arabic

http://www.binbaz.org.sa/mat/11939

Banning Hijab will discourage Saudi women from participating in the Olympics

Tags

culture, female, heavyweight, Hijab, Judo, London 2012, Muslim women, olympics, religion, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Women, Sport Hijab

Saudi Arabia has been under pressure from the International Olympic Committee and human-rights groups to include women athletes. It took months of negotiations with the Saudi Gov to finally approve the participation of women, under certain conditions, one is they have to obey the dress code of Islamic law. Later on, the International Judo Federation ruled that Shaherkani “will fight according to the principle and spirit of judo, so without a hijab.” This cultural and religious clash might pressure Saudi Arabia to pull out Wojdan Shaherkani, who is to compete in the +78kg judo category from the Olympics and this eventually will also discourage Saudi women from participating in the Olympics in the future. Shaherkani is due to compete in the women’s heavyweight tournament next Friday, but her participation could now be in doubt. The contraversiary is not only over wearing Hijab but also the fact the Wojdan is not a certified black belt, a stature required by Olympic regulations. The Saudi ladies have been called prostitutes of the Olympics / whores of the Olympics in a hashtag on twitter and most Islamic clerics and Shaikhs has stated that they are against Saudi women participation in the Olympics. I can tell that Saudi men are apparently not ready yet to welcome women in Sports as the two women marched behind the men, instead of walking side by side. Nevertheless, the two Saudi athletes appeared happy, smiling and waving to the crowd. a

Saudi Woman Converts to Christianity

Tags

Punishment, religion christianity Islam, Religious, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi men, Saudi Women, Social

A 28 year-old Saudi woman has decided to become Christian after she was convinced by Lebanese coworker to join the Christian religion. Saudi woman who is named Mariam left Saudi Arabia. The Lebanese Coworker along with Saudi man Helped Mariam to go to Bahrain then to Lebanon. The family of the girl is now suing the 2 guys in Saudi Arabia accusing them of misleading and deceiving their daughter.

Mariam appeared in video on youtube religious channel called jesussetmefreet  talking about how god showed her that Christianity is the right religion in her dreams. She says” I have asked god to show me the truth in my dreams and within a week  god showed me that Jesus is his son , if you are uncertain about your religion, if you feel lost, ask god to guide you and he will”

The above video shows Mariam talking to guy who was also Muslim and converted to Christianity. The video is in Arabic with no English subtitles.

Saudi twitter users have created 2 hashtags to talk about it  ‎‫#لبناني_ينصر_فتاة_سعودية‬‏ ‎‫#مريم_السعودية‬‏

Saudi people seems to be very angry and blaming that mix working environment, meaning both men and women working at the same place was the reason why she became christian and some has blamed it on her parents for not rising her well. Other people have accused her of being Shiite.  Some Saudis wrote in twitter that they want the Saudi gov to drag her back to Saudi Arabia and charge her with crime of apostasy. Yes, choosing a different religion that is not Islam is considered a crime in Saudi Arabia, and if a person proven that  she or he has left Islam, she/ or he will be facing death plenty after giving three chances to return back to Islam.

If Mariam brought back by the Saudi government, she will be charged for apostasy, and she will be given 3 chances to return to Islam, if she didn’t she will face death plenty,  in other term ” beheading”.

Mariam is not the first Saudi woman who converted to Christianity, Fatima Al Mutairi is believed to be murdered by her religious Muslim brother. It is believed that her brother has burnt her alive. I personally has read some of what she wrote back in 2008 in religious christian website, Fatima has never left Saudi Arabia. She was murdered by her brother. The Lebanese christian channels and website are the only one who reacted when they found out she was murdered. Very few Saudis know about Fatima Al Mutairi.  The website where Fatimah use to write is blocked. Unfortunately I lost the link but you can google the story of Fatimah.

Saudi online newspaper http://www.news-sa.com/snews/4780-2012-07-25-07-21-40.html

I am very sure now after I publish this post Saudis will accuse me of encouraging people to convert to Christianity or would say I’m not a muslim. Just so you know I’m Muslim, but I don’t hate other people just because they read from different book.

”My choice is what i chose to do;
and if I’m causin no harm,
it shouldn’t bother you.
Your choice is who you chose to be;
and if your causin to harm, then your alright with me.”

Ben Harper

Saudi Activist Samar Badawi Wins Woman of Courage Award

Tags

Samar Badawi, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Women, W2D, Women rights in Saudi Arabia

Samar Badawi is a Saudi woman who won a lawsuit against her abusive father who has been abusing her for over 15 years. She fought against the male guardianship system which implies that women should respect their male guardian no matter what he does even if he was abusive. Unfortunately, Samar was charged of disobeying her father and was sentenced to jail, even though she had all the evidences needed to prove that her father is abusing her. Despite the injustice she went through she kept on fighting along with Waleed Abulkhair who was her lawyer at that time and now they are happily married couple. After spending about 6 months in jail Samar was released. She finally won the case against her abusive father  in 2010 but  unfortunatily, not against the male guardian system. Her uncle on her father side became her male guardian as per the court order. Samar became an activist and has been participating in activities to promote women rights in Saudi Arabia. You can read more about the story here.

So what control freak sick Saudi men think about Samar winning the prize?

When I read the comments on Samarprize twitter account I found a lot of hateful, sick comments accusing Samar Badawi of disobedience and for not following Islam laws. It’s No surprise that a lot of Saudi men are pissed off and feel threatened by Samar Badwai because she became an inspiration to Saudi women who are going through what she’ve been through with her father. Samar represents a huge number of Saudi women who are being abused by their male guardians.  Women in Saudi Arabia don’t usually speak about it because male guardians are legally protected by the government using fake human-made Islamic laws, made to control women using religion. You can read more about the guardianship system in Saudi Arabia here.

I Believe Samar is a worrier, courageous and bold for taking such a step. I take my hat-off to her, Wajiha Al Huwaider, Manal Al Sharif , Eman Al Nafjan and Many others who contributed in women to drive campaign through driving, blogging and twitting.

How I felt when I wore an Abaya for the first time

Wearing a long black Abaya can be fashionable sometimes yet very restrictive. In Saudi Arabia, women wear either Shoulder Abaya or head Abaya. Shoulder Abaya looks pretty much like a black long shirt. Head Abaya on the other hand is placed on top of the head as it’s shown in the picture. Women in Saudi wear Abaya at very young age. Girl’s public schools for instance forces both teachers and students to wear head Abaya with head cover that covers up their face at 4th or 5th grade. It has been a tradition for so long for girls put on Abaya way before they hit puppetry. It is so sad because Abaya not only restrict movement but also give you a feeling of being ” grown up” when you are still a kid. Because of that, wearing an Abaya takes at least 5 years off every Saudi woman’s childhood.

I recall the first time I had to wear an Abaya and head cover; I was only 9 years old and I was a 4th grader. It is known here where I live that 4th grade students must wear an Abaya and a head cover.

I never understood why, I just hated it so much. I use to vomit when it’s around 50 degrees and I’m covering, it just made me sick. I also had difficulty seeing the world clearly. I was jealous that my brothers didn’t have to put up with all this when they go to school.

I believe I am not the only one who have experienced this, I am very sure that many Saudi women had experienced Abaya and head cover sickness after trying it for the first time.

Now I no longer cover my face when I go out. However, I cover up my face when it’s only unsafe not to do so, like going to areas where people might verbally attack me for not covering my face, I just do it to save the troubles.

Now that I live in China, I feel happy to be able to run, jump and ride my bike whenever I want to. With an Abaya  I would never be able to do so.

It made me feel so free, liberated and most importantly normal.

Men in Saudi Arabia has a restrictive traditional white thob, it also looks like a long shirt but for men its optional to wear a thob or not. So Saudi men can choose to wear or not wear thobes, Men also can choose different colors of thobs based on their preference. Unlike women, wearing an abaya is a must and it must be black Abaya too.

Men in Saudi Arabia has a restrictive traditional white thob, it also looks like a long shirt but for men its optional to wear a thob or not. So Saudi men can choose to wear or not wear thobes, Men also can choose different colors of thobs based on their preference. Unlike women, wearing an abaya is a must and it must be black Abaya too

P.S girls wear Abaya only on their way to school or home, but inside classes they put on Maryoul.

Saudi Women are being arrested by The Religous Police

I am writing you now while many Saudi women are being arrested by the Saudi Intelligence Police with the help of the religious Police. They broke into Alrajhi Mosque (where Saudis gathered to protest earlier this year) It is happening now. Riyadh Exit 15. Women who are being arrested are peacefully asking to free their husband’s and son’s who were imprisoned with no criminal charges. It is believed that Saudi government have imprisoned a lot of people who express their opinion about the corruption in Saudi Arabia.  We all remember the famous case of Khalid Al Johani, who was protesting this year and right after the release of his statement on the media he was taken by the intelligence police. His family has not heard from him till this moment.

Please share this to the world to help to free both the women who are being arrested now and the uncharged Criminals in Saudi Arabia.

There is a long list of many Saudis who spent decades in prison with no charges. Its time to set them free.

If you know the names of girls who were  arrested please write it down here – we don’t want them to be forgten behind bars.  Free (Sarah Al Zamil  and Taghrid Al Aqid  ) – ساره الزامل و تغريد العقيد..

Traveling to China tips

Tags

china, great wall, tips, travel

 

Planning to go to China to study, work or do a business? If yes then you must read traveling to china tips.I have tried to write about essential  and most important things you need to know before coming to China to stay for a year or more.   So here are my tips…

 

1-Learn Chinese for basic communication before coming to China.

If your Chinese is nil, I suggest you learn basic Chinese, words enough to get you to and to ask people in the airport about gates and terminals and get to the hotel etc. Most Chinese people don’t speak English, and when you ask a person if he/she speaks English they will say a little, but in fact its a lot less than ” a little”. Younger generations though has just started learning English as a second language, they often can help more than the information personals who works at the airport.

If you are using iphone you will find many applications that can help you learn Chinese, download them.

 

2-Bring some of your favorite food from your home country.

I meant your favorite tea bags, coffee, creamy cheese, rice  or even your favorite cereals. Although there are many international supermarkets in China yet some products are very difficult to find here. If you prefer a certain type of cereal, rice or pasta then bring it along with you, because you might not find here. The availability of famous international supermarket depends on where you’re staying, if you are staying in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou it’s going to be a lot easier.

 

3-Open Bank account in Chinese Bank.

In China, if you are holding Bank of China card and you used bank of Communication ATM  to take out some money, you will be charged small fee for every single transaction. Therefore, I suggest you  open at least two different bank accounts. Let’s say Bank of Communication ATM is closest ATM to your place then open an account in Bank of Communication, so when you do any transaction you will not be charged. Fore major transactions I suggest using Bank of China.

 

4-Be careful when making a deal with a Chinese person.

If you are buying a car or renting a house from a Chinese man or doing any deal, be careful. Chinese can be very wicked, liar and greedy specially when dealing with foreigners. They know you don’t speak their language and that makes them happy because they can steal your money easily.  I suggest you get help from someone who speaks Chinese, write everything in contract and make sure that you have deadlines and punishments in case one of the parties has done what he/she suppose to do within the time frame.

In case you are buying a products examine each and every single thing you buy carefully and ask for warranty.

This is what I did with the help of friends who speaks Chinese and also a Chinese man who read and understand Chinese characters.

 

 

5-Renew your visa and do the accommodation registration as soon as possible.

Once you move in to your new apartment you must go to the nearest police station to do the accommodation registration. Accommodation registration form will be given to you upon your arrival in china by the university or the company your working at.

You will need many 4*6 photos and you must use black pen when filling the form.

You must renew your visa as soon as possible as well, because if you don’t you will be charged with 500 Yuan every single day.  So lets say you are 5 days week, that means you will pay 2500 Yuan.

 

 

 

6-Remember the golden rule; if it barks don’t eat it.

In China dog’s meat is legal and it’s socially acceptable because Chinese believe that dog’s meat and liver has special pharmaceutical properties. Be careful when eating outdoors specially when eating in fancy restaurants. Dog meat is quite expensive. Therefore, it is uncommon to be served in small cheap restaurant but mainly its served in big and more expensive ones.

 

Note for Muslims: Muslim Halal food is easy to find in almost anywhere in china. But be careful, Muslim restaurants are not so halal. Some restaurants might hang pictures of Quran verses or Arabic welcome phrases on their wall but they still sell pork and alcoholic drinks. I suggest you go to restaurants that are famous, popular among Muslims who are living in your area. It’s much safer.

 

             7-Always bargain.

 Chinese people believe that foreigners are rich and for that reason they will always  charge you a lot more than the actual price of almost everything. Therefore, I recommend bargaining before buying anything, and trust me you will be able to decrease up to 50%.

Oh and by the way, just because you see that everything has a price tag in the shop it does not mean its fixed price unless you are shopping in a supermarket.

 

8-Find out about buses near your home, workplace and shopping areas.

There is a lot of buses with different numbers, find which one goes to your work, college or shopping areas write it down and find which one take you back to your home. Its easy to find out because there are always signs next to bus stations telling you which bus is heading where. If you couldn’t understand, ask a local Chinese person. If you want to use a taxi then you must have your address written in Chinese characters. If you know your way to work, college of home very well you can just buy a bike.

 

 

That’s it for now.  If you have any questions please contact me or write your question down here. I will try to answer you as soon as possible.

 

Omaima is in China

Hello everyone,

I have stopped blogging for a while and the reason why I stopped writing is that because I have been busy as hell. I am studying Medicine while I’m still doing my Nursing Internship. I know its complicated but I am taking it like a woman.

I am studying Medicine in China, Jilin. I have been in China for 2 weeks now and I’m trying to settle down here.

I am going to share my experience on my blog and I will also upload some photos   once I settle down first.

unbelievable things happened to me from the moment I arrived in Beijing, China. it was a very eventful trip.

I will also give you advises about what to perpare and what to expect when coming to China mainland =)

Saudi men are embarrassed of their mother’s name

Tags

Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi men

Saudi men believe that their mother’s name is scandalous and shameful and shouldn’t be mentioned in public. Reaction is a Saudi show views how saudi men reacted when they were asked about their mother’s name. Some refused to say their mother’s name on TV saysing ” I’m not crazy to do so” and others chose to say a nickname such as ” Mother of Mohammad, Mother of Abdullah.. etc..”.  Very few men were okay with it.

The video is in Arabic. I couldn’t find a version with English subtitles but you will be hearing mostly

Wish issm Ommk? Or  Whish issm Al Walda? = Whats your mother’s name?