Saudi: Women Lead Protest; Activists Plan Hunger Strike

Saudi: Women Lead Protest; Activists Plan Hunger Strike
12 March, 2012 – POMED

Female students at King Khaled University in Saudi Arabia broke out in protest because the university decided to stop all cleaning services, and to rally against perceived corruption, and failed leadership, of the university president, Abdullah Al-Rashid,. In response, the university called in the Haia religious police to quell protests that had grown to around 1,000 women. Some of the girls threw shoes at the Haia – to which they responded with batons – resulting in the death of one girl from an epileptic fit; another is reported to have suffered a miscarriage as a result of the violence. Another 50 girls received injuries during the scuffle. Two days later, about 500 male students rallied in the university courtyard demanding the resignation of Al-Rashid. “No one paid attention to the women’s complaints, but when the guys protested the administration and the authorities reacted immediately,” said one of the male students. Days later, when a large group of female students decided to boycott class there were a notably high number of absences.

In other news, dozens of Saudis signed up to join a two-day hunger strike this week to protest against the detention of a prominent rights activist Mohamad al-Bajadi. Al-Bajadi was detained in March 2011, activists said, for supporting families demonstrating, and calling for the release of detained relatives, outside the Interior Ministry in Riyadh. Al-Bajadi’s trial, which includes the charge of tarnishing the reputation of the state, has been suspended for his refusal to recognize the court.

Elham Fakhro argues in his piece “The Kingdom Divided,” that Saudi Arabia faces somewhere between 10-20 percent unemployment, with an estimated 670,000 families living in poverty. He says, “While sustained opposition movements continue to battle for their own Saudi Spring, their success hinges on their ability to unite around a common and national set of political demands—and lay to rest the demons of tribalism and sectarianism.” Fakhro writes, however, that part of the reason the regime has successfully quelled protest attempts is its strong religious connection. Madawi Al-Rasheed agrees that the Saudi regime first turned to Wahhabi religious officials, who “warned from the minarets that the wrath of God would be inflicted on demonstrators… [and] reminded the believers of the need for ijma, consensus around the pious rulers of the country, and warned that protests would lead to fragmentation and bloody civil war.” However, Christoph Wilcke argues in Foreign Policy that the Saudi “Spring” has left its mark. “The government has to publicly defend its actions,” he says, “and increasingly, members of the public are doubting its reasoning that portrays peaceful, often nationalistic and religious-based reform activism as dangerous subversion.” …more