Saudi women have begun registering to vote for December’s municipal elections, a development that the international press has greeted with extensive, and mostly positive, coverage. Yet, while the Saudi government welcomes glowing descriptions of its slow yet steady progress in advancing women’s rights, its actual reforms remain superficial. Saudi authorities are doing everything within their[…]
14
Aug
Aug
On 7 August 2015, the State Department approved a sale of “F-16 follow-on support and associated equipment, parts and logistics for an estimated cost of $150 million,” to Bahrain, according to an announcement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). This sale follows the introduction of S.2009, the bipartisan Senate resolution seeking to limit certain[…]
24
Jun
Jun
Within its Country Report on Terrorism in Middle East and North Africa, the U.S. Department of State assesses the counterterror measures undertaken by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2014. Key among these measures is the implementation of anti-terrorism laws intended to better facilitate the prosecution of terror offenses. In both countries, these laws have given[…]
19
Jun
Jun
Once again, the Bahrain Office of the Ombudsman has released its Second Annual Report on the progress of their complaint program and the state of prisoner and detainee treatment. Like the first report, the statistics on the number of complaints, deaths, and investigations are inconsistent with independently documented numbers, and do not accurately portray the[…]
16
Jun
Jun
In a limited sign of progress for women’s rights, admittedly rare for patriarchal Saudi Arabia, the passport department within the Saudi Ministry of Interior is drafting regulations that would allow Saudi women greater freedoms to travel without the immediate consent of a male guardian. The new rules challenge current Saudi codes prohibiting women under the[…]
