The participation of Saudi men and women in the 2011 Arab Spring protests placed significant pressure on the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia to make social, political, and economic reforms. In particular, women’s rights activists leveraged the influence of social media on the Arab Spring to bring attention to the lack of women’s rights granted by the[…]
02
Jul
Jul
When the Arab Spring made its way to Bahrain on 14 February 2011, Bahraini authorities acted quickly to suppress the peaceful protests with violence. They detained, tortured, and killed protesters for exercising their rights to free speech and assembly. The Sunni al-Khalifa government specifically targeted leaders of the political opposition, which mainly consisted of Bahrain’s[…]
18
Jun
Jun
In Bahrain, some of the most active human rights defenders and sufferers of torture are women. One of these political dissidents is Zainab al-Khawaja. Bahraini authorities imprisoned her after she exhausted her appeals process fighting charges related solely to her free expression. Security authorities held her in detention with her infant son for over three[…]
06
May
May
Since 2013, Physical Education (PE) classes for girls in Saudi Arabia have only been open to those who attend private school. In these classes, the female students must abide by a “decent dress code” that complies with the rules of Sharia, as interpreted by the Government of Saudi Arabia. However, with the recent campaign, girls[…]
13
Apr
Apr
Although Bahraini authorities often boast about empowering women, the government has not taken any serious steps to change the laws that prohibit Bahraini women from passing on citizenship to their families. Even though Bahrain has acceded to the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) since 2002, women in Bahrain do[…]
