Rakan Is Back With His Mother After Court Ruling - Saudi Arabia/Womens Rights/Childrens Rights/Various & “the Commission”
16/3/08
Rakan, the six-year-old boy from Makkah who was allegedly abused by his mother, went back to his mother after a judge, giving his verdict in the custody case last Wednesday, ruled in the favor of the mother. Sheikh Saleh Al-Twalah based the decision on a medical report indicating that there were no signs of abuse on the boy, contrary to claims put forth by the boy’s paternal uncle. The mother received Rakan yesterday from the boy’s paternal uncle in an emotional scene, said the woman’s lawyer, Ibrahim Al-Zamazami. In his verdict, the judge also urged both parents to consider Rakan’s emotional state.
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=107902&d=16&m=3&y=2008
Girl to the Rescue, No Thanks to Men
16/3/08; http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=107913&d=16&m=3&y=2008&pix= kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
A seven-year-old boy fell into a swimming pool here recently during a private social function and the men in attendance were helpless to do anything about it. According to a report in Al-Riyadh newspaper, none of the men knew how to swim and were otherwise almost clueless about what to do as the child flailed about in panic. One man grabbed the pool ladder and tried to ease it over to the boy to no avail. Others tried to tie a couple of shumaqs (the Saudi headdress for men) to make a lifeline, but it wasn’t long enough. Finally — wouldn’t you know it — a teenage girl shot past the fumbling men and dove into the pool to rescue the boy like some Japanese manga-girl superhero. The father expressed his gratitude to the young lady, and covered her with his mashlah (the Saudi outer gown for men).
Woman Found to Have Traffic Tickets!
16/3/08
Abdurrahman Abdullah Al-Tuaileay was surprised when he found out that his wife had been charged with three traffic violations, according to a local newspaper yesterday. He complained to the Madinah traffic office by pointing out the incredibly obvious: it’s kind of difficult for a woman to be issued a traffic ticket when she isn’t allowed by social customs to drive a car. The officials reportedly replied to the man that this was “probably” a mistake. “Probably” is probably not the best choice of words.
Commission Needs to Prioritize
Abdullah Al-Fowzan;16/3/08
Which is more important and which is more damaging to the nation? What is unacceptable behavior? Let us go deeper and say which is more of a violation of virtue: for a woman to walk into an all-women shopping center with her face and hair uncovered, or to sit with her husband in the non-family section of a coffee shop or restaurant, or to go out with her fiancé and sit in the family section of an eatery? I do not consider any of these to be acts of vice, but I am asking which is worse: Doing any of the above-mentioned or for someone to illegally earn cash by creating a shortage crisis in a staple diet like flour? Which is more dangerous and threatening to the nation: a woman willingly accompanying an unrelated man or a group of people kidnapping and molesting a child, depriving him of his innocence and psychologically damaging him forever? What truly resembles nobility in Islam: monitoring women’s movements at shopping centers and then arresting them for a vice, or checking on corruption in the way food is distributed and arresting those responsible?
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=107896&d=16&m=3&y=2008