They Gave Barbarity a Bad Name

The Washington-based Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia denounces the slaughter of two young Saudi women by their brother. The women, who were 19 and 21 years old, were shot while being escorted by their father out of a government shelter for women accused of talking to unrelated males, khalwa.

After the brother emptied his gun in his sisters’ bodies, his father thanked him for protecting the family’s honor. The son will not be punished for his heinous and savage crime because his father forgave him for defending the family’s honor.

This is the result of the Saudi government sanctioned male guardianship system, which gives men total control over every aspect of women's lives. Saudi Arabia is the only country in which women cannot drive. Saudi women are also forbidden to work, travel, buy property and even receive life saving medicine without their male guardian’s presence or written permission.

Take a look at the coverage from Hudson New York and Arabian Business.

Peaceful Demonstration at Saudi Embassy

CDHR invites you to join us in a peaceful demonstration in front of the Saudi embassy to support Saudi women’s struggle to obtain their rights, specifically the removal of the male guardian system which is designed to control every aspect of women’s lives.

As documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House and even by the US Department of State, Saudi women are among the most oppressed and marginalized citizens in Arab and Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia’s repressive policies that deny women their natural and human rights are not only immoral, but also have crippling political, social, educational and economic consequences on Saudi society and the Muslim world. Due to its centrality to Islam and position as the world’s largest petroleum exporter, many Muslims look to Saudi Arabia for religious guidance, money and employment.

Supporting and empowering Saudi women is not only morally correct, it will stabilize, moderate and help eradicate the root causes of religious extremism and its by-product, terrorism, in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Please join us and encourage others to show their support for Saudi women in a peaceful and orderly demonstration in front of the Saudi Embassy on Monday, July 27, 2009 from 11 AM to 1 PM.

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia is located at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037, between Virginia Avenue NW and F Street NW, near the Foggy Bottom – GWU Metro Station.

Contact Sarah Little at Sarah@cdhr.info or by telephone at 202-558-5552.

Check out this event on Facebook.

www.cdhr.info

Protecting Freedom of Speech

This article from The Washington Post calls for the United States Congress to stand up for Internet freedom.

Saudi Arabia and other countries (notably Iran, with the recent unrest) use severe government censorship of the Internet to prevent citizens from exercising freedom of speech. Yet people across the world are finding ways around government censorship.

As this editorial states, it is extremely important for the United States, a country that wants to be seen as a protector of democracy worldwide, to act against government censorship of the Internet.

The Spread of Wahhabi Ideology in Boston

This is a scary article.

This op-ed from The Boston Globe reports on the opening of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury. This center was funded by the Saudis.

In the guise of diversity and moderation, the center will allow the spread of Wahhabi extremism and the promotion of the values of the Muslim Brotherhood. Yet city officials and the public refuse to accept the reality of the backers of the center and their ominous motives. Check out this article for more facts and frightening evidence.