Writing
Selected clips from my recent work:
Al-Monitor
Saudi Conservative Women Feel Marginalized by Shura Council Snub
Saudi Arabia was recently hailed for appointing 30 women to its Shura Council, but leading conservative women have expressed disappointment at not being included in the royal list. These women reject the label “feminists,” and they see their role as defenders of Islam against what they consider the Western-inspired notion of women empowerment promoted by many activists in this field.
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Foreign Policy
Party in the KSA
There are places in Saudi Arabia where the conservative country’s rules don’t seem to apply. It’s one of Saudi Arabia’s many paradoxes: The government builds gated, liberal communities, and promotes them as an attempt to change the culture of a conservative society. But at the same time, it punishes those who attempt to replicate these communities’ values outside of their walls. It’s a prime example of the kingdom’s scattershot, and usually ineffective, approach to reform.
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Foreign Policy
Covering Up
Norah al-Faiz is supposed to be a symbol of progress in Saudi Arabia. She was appointed deputy minister of education by King Abdullah in February 2009, making her the kingdom’s highest-ranking female official. At the time, many observers hailed the move as a sign of reform. But controversy has dogged Faiz since the beginning of her tenure…
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Riyadh Bureau
Deaths Fuel Protest Movement in Restive Qatif
Inspired by the uprisings that swept the Arab world since the end of 2010, protesters in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia first took to street in March 2011 to demand the release of prisoners who have been detained since the late 1990’s on suspicion of involvement in the Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 United States Air Force personnel in the summer of 1996.
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Riyadh Bureau
Burning Young Bridges
Words like debate, diversity and tolerance are relatively new items in the Saudi lexicon. Thanks to the Internet, the conservative country that has been for long dominated by a strict interpretation of Islam is slowly opening up to new ideas embraced by the new generation in the Kingdom. Sixty percent of the country’s population are under 30. In the lack of a true civil society and under heavy restrictions on free speech, this young generation of Saudis are struggling to find their voices as the world changes around them.
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NPR: The Two-way blog
Syria’s Death Toll Rises, As International Pressure Mounts
Up to 90 people have been killed by government security forces across Syria since yesterday, activists said, making the past 24 hours some of the bloodiest since the uprising began eight months ago. The Local Coordination Committees, which organize protests on the ground, said that 11 people were reportedly killed today, including two children. We spoke to one protester in the northeastern province of Idlib, who said he marched in a protest until it was dispersed when security forces opened fire on another protest in a neighboring village.
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NPR: The Two-way blog
‘Surprise And Excitement’: Saudi Women React To Voting Rights Decision
Back in June, we talked to women in Saudi Arabia who were defying a nation-wide ban that keeps them from driving. At the time that seemed like a small step needed toward the goal of greater equality for women. But this past Sunday something surprising happened. King Abdullah addressed the consultative Shoura Council and said women will be allowed for the first time to join the unelected parliament, vote and run for municipal councils. The announcement represents the biggest change for women in the conservative Kingdom since the introduction of girls education in 1960.
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NPR: The Two-way blog
When Is Eid? Muslims Can’t Seem To Agree
Today is Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Except that it isn’t. Today, many Muslims in the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan are celebrating Eid. Meanwhile, many Muslims in Indonesia, South Africa, India and Oman are not celebrating Eid until Wednesday. Why?
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NPR: The Two-way blog
Saudi Women Participate In First Athletic Exchange
Earlier this month, six young female athletes from Saudi Arabia visited Washington D.C. The players trained with high schools teams in Virginia and Maryland, and they met with WNBA players. The visit is the first-ever international sports exchange with Saudi Arabia, the State Department said, and it’s part of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” using sports and technology as tools for foreign policy. “It was a great program,” said Lina al-Maeena, founder of Jeddah United team. “It was one of of its kind.”
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NPR: The Two-way blog
‘A Historical Moment’: The Saudi Women Challenging A Government By Driving
Women have been mounting pressure on the Saudi government to allow them to drive since Manal al-Sharif was arrested last month. Al-Sharif, who has been compared by some activists to Rosa Parks, has inspired more women to defy the ban on driving. June 17 was chosen as a day when women all over Saudi Arabia were encouraged to start driving. More than 50 women drove their cars, starting at the wee hours of the morning. As the day went by, more photos and videos of the female driving kept popping up on social media sites.
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Not Just for Laughs – Video
My master’s project at Columbia Journalism School, looking into the rise of Arab American standup comedy after 9/11, and how Arab American comedians managed to export standup to the Middle East, where standup was not a well-known performance art before.
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thenewyorkworld.com
Kids will be kids, even in Islamic school
The cellphone on Meesam Razvi’s desk kept ringing, but he was not available to pick it up. As the vice principal of Al-Iman School in Queens, Mr. Razvi is constantly busy, moving from one classroom to another, talking with teachers and students, and making sure things are moving smoothly. “It’s always so hectic at the school,” he says. There are only 200 students, ranging from kindergarten to grade twelve, studying at Al-Iman, making it one of the smaller schools in New York City. Why so hectic then?
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thenewyorkworld.com
Preserving the Garment District, one stitch at a time – Audio Slideshow
Walking down 7th Avenue, it is hard to miss the giant needle threading a button at the corner of the 39th Street. A few steps away you will see a life-sized bronze statue of an old man, hunched over a sewing machine and wearing a yarmulke. These two landmarks are the most visible reminders of what used to be one of America’s largest manufacturing hubs: The Garment District, a less than one square mile area in Manhattan that used to be the source for most clothes worn in the United States until the middle of the last century.
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thenewyorkworld.com
Women question Saudi seat with UN agency
Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive or make major decisions such as going to college or going under elective surgery without the permission of a male relative. Yet despite the objection of major international rights groups, Saudi Arabia was voted in as a board member of the new United Nations super agency for women last week. The country secured a seat as one of six “contributing countries” on the 41-membered board. UN Women was established to focus exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.