tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74170665415688908612011-11-27T16:47:02.068-08:00Out of the Box is a collection of Jeddah- based journalist Sabria Jawhar's opinion pieces and reports. It also contains other articles that she believes should be shared with others.The blogger,http://www.blogger.com/profile/11163304506071490922noreply@blogger.comBlogger841100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7417066541568890861.post-49266272867906330062007-07-31T06:58:00.000-07:002007-07-31T07:39:37.216-07:00

Tuesday, 31 July 2007 By Sabria S. Jawhar Yesterday, while I was perusing the local Arabic newspapers, I was shocked to see so many pictures of apparently grief-stricken Saudis staring out at me. At first, I assumed that during my two-day emergency vacation from the Saudi Gazette some crisis had seized the Kingdom and my compatriots had been moved to tears because of it. I quickly learned,

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Monday, 30 July 2007 Ministry recommends citizenship for foreign mothers of Saudi children By Sabria S. Jawhar OFFICIALS at the Ministry of Social Affairs have submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Interior that, if passed, guarantees citizenship or at least permanent residency to foreign mothers of Saudi children, an official said. "We have submitted the proposal. We are waiting for the

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Monday, 30 July 2007 Ministry recommends citizenship for foreign mothers of Saudi children By Sabria S. Jawhar OFFICIALS at the Ministry of Social Affairs have submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Interior that, if passed, guarantees citizenship or at least permanent residency to foreign mothers of Saudi children, an official said. "We have submitted the proposal. We are waiting for the

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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 By Khozaima Al-Attas JEDDAH Mayor Adel Fakeeh was taken off-guard Monday when about 150 women, both students and workers, asked him to approve a special driving club for women where they can learn driving to deal with emergencies. They also sought his support for reactivating the Labor Ministry decision to limit the jobs in lingerie shops to saleswomen. Fakeeh expressed his

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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 Saudi Gazette THE Cabinet in Jeddah Monday approved the establishment of two agencies to protect the rights of consumers. The first one, called Deputy Ministry for Consumer Affairs, will be part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It will supervise services offered to consumers by various administrations of the Ministry. The second one, called the Consumer Protection

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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 Saudi Gazette THE number of beggars in the Kingdom has ballooned in the last two years, according to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Social Affairs published in Al-Madina Arabic language newspaper Sunday. Some 81 percent of the beggars are expatriates. Their number grew to 24,771 from 15,015 in two years. Saudi beggars in different regions also rose 40 percent from

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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 Agencies AUTHORITIES have arrested 9,000 people during anti-terror operations over the past four years, Interior Minister Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz said in comments published, Monday. Except for 3,106, most of these arrested people have been released, Arabic language daily quoted him as saying. "The security forces have foiled 180 terrorist operations," Prince Naif said.

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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 By Sabria S Jawhar THE United Nations, from the outset, has always endeavored to address the conflict in the Middle East in a manner that saves lives and improves security. However, all its efforts have failed to bring about peace in the region. Today, the situation is at its worst because of the US policy of aggression in the region and the continuation of its blatant

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Tuesday, 12 June 2007 By Sabria S Jawhar THE Ministry of Interior's efforts to combat terrorists have been recognized locally and internationally. These efforts are not limited to the military level where they recently proved they have the required capability to foil attempts to target the country's economic and security establishments. As for those few cases in which the terrorists could strike

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Tuesday, 19 June 2007 By Sabria S Jawhar DO you feel like gritting your teeth and clenching your fists? Do you have a desire to raise your voice and yell? When you talk to an official anywhere do you have thoughts like "Who the hell does he think he is?" Don't worry, it's only typical of the advent of summer. However, don't let anger get the better of you otherwise you might land in trouble or

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Sabria S. Jawhar ALLEGED violations and abuse of authority by some members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice are making headlines in Saudi Arabia these days. Even as readers drew their breath on learning about the death of a young man in the Commission’s center in Riyadh came news of another such death in Tabuk and pictures of a student who, according to his

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IT’S not news to say that Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country that bases its constitution on the Islamic Shariah. It governs every single aspect of daily life in Saudi Arabia. It also sets out the system of government and rights of citizens. Shariah has always guaranteed integration of human rights in every time and place. However, people in Saudi Arabia still cannot understand the idea that Islam

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Friday, 04 May 2007 2-day forum takes up issues of gender bias, rights By Suzan ZawawiSaudi Gazette RIGHTS of journalists, obstacles facing female journalists, ethics of Arab journalism and the limited training were some of the issues touched upon by Saudi female journalists in Riyadh Wednesday night. The two-day forum on "Saudi Women in the Media" was organized and sponsored by writer and

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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi Gazette KIDNEY failure continues to increase as a phenomenon all over the world, and Saudi Arabia is no different. Almost 3,000 people in the Kingdom alone need a transplant of a healthy kidney in order to live. However, a health official says a Fatwa (verdict) is needed that would allow doctors to use the body parts of dead patient or a brain

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Wednesday, 25 April 2007 By Arjuwan LakkadawalaThe Saudi Gaazette SAUDI women who find themselves troubled, stressed out or at wit's end, now have a place to turn. Al-Shaka'ik, an organization dedicated to helping women and girls, has created a hotline women can call for guidance and advice. Women and girls can call 6917799 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Since the hotline

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Wednesday, 25 April 2007 By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteJeddahSome people say “You don’t know what you want until you see it”. It seems, however, that this is not the situation with Saudi women, especially when it comes to the type of man they are looking for. What does a Saudi woman want in a man?To answer this question, the Saudi Gazette interviewed a number of Saudi women whose ages

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Tuesday. April 10.The Saudi GazetteSabria S. JawharSchools should be a safe and secure place not only for students but also for teachers, and staff members. Without the feeling of security, teachers wouldn’t be able to carry out their mission of teaching and shaping their students’ personalities.However, recently, a series of cases of student violence against teachers have been reported by the

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Thusday. April,17.The Saudi GazetteJeddahLast Sunday, was not just a normal day in the Shoura Council where members meet to discuss governmental systems, statues and performance. It was the annual day when the King reviews about country’s internal and external strategies for the coming year.King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz’s speech this year was concise and comprehensive. It covered all areas of

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Khamis Girl Pardoned Friday, 13 April 2007 The Saudi Gazette KHAMIS MUSHAYTThe eight-year saga of a woman who had been jailed for murder in Khamis Mushayt came to a happy ending on Thursday when the family of the victim agreed to spare her life after vigorous mediation efforts. Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz and Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the Emir of Asir Region, were at the forefront

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Monday, 16 April 2007 By Suzan ZawawiThe Saudi Gazette ALTHOUGH yet to attain the heights of Western divorce rates, Saudi Arabia has seen a divorce rate of some 20 percent in the last couple of years. Translated into real numbers, this means that 33 Saudi women get divorced daily. "This frightening rise in the divorce rate," said Nora Al-Shamlan, head of the Research Center at King Saud Girls

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Monday, 16 April 2007 By Suzan ZawawiThe Saudi Gazette SOME 33 Saudi women are getting divorced every day in the Kingdom, resulting in nearly 1,000 new divorcees monthly, studies show. The skyrocketing divorce rate shocked Nora Al-Shamlan, head of the Reserarch Center at King Saud Girls college, so much that she organized a three-day seminar in Riyadh recently to address the state of Saudi

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Tuesday, 03 April 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette IN the absence of scientific data to gauge public opinion, such as from surveys and polls, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice utilizes a new approach to evaluate its members' field performance. Al-Madina newspaper this week published a report that aroused my admiration for the commission's new strategy

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Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteON Thursday King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz announced that the Saudi Cabinet would be retained unchanged. He also extended the tenures of various advisers and heads of government departments.The announcement came as a surprise for local and international media especially following much speculation of major changes. Some people misread the speculation as a sign of

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Friday, 23 March 2007 By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHFAILURES of previous Arab summits appear to have dimmed the expectations from the Riyadh gathering of 22 Arab heads of state next week. Despite their general optimism, many Saudi political analysts are not expecting much from the March 28-29 Arab League summit. Hussein Shobokshi, a writer and a political analyst, said people are

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Monday, 19 March 2007 By Sabri S JawharThe Saudi Gazette THE other day Abdullah Juma, president of Saudi Aramco, launched the opening of a traffic show to mark the 23rd annual GCC Traffic Week. The idea is to promote traffic safety. Juma said that motorists and road conditions are the primary factors behind traffic accidents, and pointed to speeding as especially troublesome. Well, excuse me if

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Tuesday, 13 March 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHALL commercial shops in Jeddah will close at 10 p.m. in summer and at 11 p.m. in winter, if a draft law endorsed by the Shoura Council on Sunday is approved by the Cabinet. Businessmen strongly opposed the move, saying they will incur an yearly SR10 billion loss. At present there is no regulation governing the shop timings. So

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Thursday, 08 March 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHSaudi authorities have warned foreign embassies that a group blamed for last month’s killing of four French nationals could strike again. According to General Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, the warning was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The warning was sent to all diplomatic envoys in

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Wednesday, 28 February 2007 Shooting of French Nationals could Affect Tourism By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHTHE slaying of four French nationals near Madina shared similar characteristics of an Al-Qaeda attack, a security source said Tuesday. But Ministry of Interior officials said it’s too early to determine whether the attacks were terror-related. “I noticed Al-Qaeda-covered

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Monday, 12 March 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette Picture 1: Hanadi is flying. She is enjoying the view of her beloved country from the sky. Flying is not new to Hanadi because she’s been doing it for so long. The only difference this time is that she’s sitting in the cockpit, flying the plane. Hanadi safely lands. She picks up her stuff and rushes to the airport gate. OOPS! She can’t

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Monday, 05 March 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette THIS was the first question the receptionist in a private hospital in Jeddah asked me when I brought my sick mother to his hospital. At that time, I could not figure out the reason behind his question. I thought he was assuming that all Saudis have health insurance. The receptionist showed respect and care. He also wore a wide smile that

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Tuesday, 27 February 2007 By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHTHE issue of forced divorce, an unlikely topic to be discussed at the Jeddah Economic Forum, became an unexpected hot-button topic during a panel session Monday that erupted into a brief confrontation between some audience members and Riyadh’s human rights representative. During a question-and-answer period in the afternoon

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Wednesday, 28 February 2007 Shooting of French Nationals could Affect Tourism By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHTHE slaying of four French nationals near Madina shared similar characteristics of an Al-Qaeda attack, a security source said Tuesday. But Ministry of Interior officials said it’s too early to determine whether the attacks were terror-related. “I noticed Al-Qaeda-covered

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Tuesday, 27 February 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette MONDAY, the second day of the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF), witnessed a quite good number of attendees, though humble compared to the first day where some were forced to stand at the back of the hall to follow the sessions. Both the organizers and attendees seemed to be less confused and more relaxed than on the opening day. The

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Monday, 26 February 2007 By Sabri S JawharThe Saudi Gazette Sunday’s Jeddah Economic Forum probably saw the largest number of participants and guests since its founding eight years ago. The international community’s greatest minds meet here to discuss the economic future of the Middle East. But to what end? Do we accomplish the present goals of such a great event? Some how, I’m not so sure.

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Monday, 19 February 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette Conservative politicians in the United States are apparently worrying that too many Saudi students are being admitted to colleges on student visas. They seem to think that all or some of them may be potential terrorists because 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudis. Recent statistics show that nearly 10,000 Saudis are in the United

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Monday, 12 February 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette Recently I met a friend of mine who works as a nurse at a government hospital. She looked upset and unmotivated. She told me that she feels there is a sort of ethnic-based discrimination in the organization where she works. She also said that she feels inferior when she compares her salary to that of her colleague who gets more than

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Monday, 05 February 2007 By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette The call of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque, for the leaders of Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, to meet at Makkah Tuesday has come at a very critical time. It’s a sincere call from a country that has always proved its support to the Arab and Palestinian issues. At the same time, it’s directed at

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Tuesday, 06 February 2007 The Saudi Gazette DAMMAMFOLLOWING a request by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Civil Services is planing to offer jobs to women in the women’s sections of the main Shariah Courts in all regions. The Al-Watan Arabic-language daily learnt about the development from an informed source Sunday. The source said the ministry would strive to count the required

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Editorial from the Saudi GazetteA Saudi not long ago was being driven by his brother along the Corniche in Jeddah while the brother had his 4-year-old son in his lap playing with the steering wheel.The Saudi complained to his brother that the boy was not safe and should be restrained in the backseat. The driver snapped back that his brother shouldn’t be so concerned with modern Western concepts

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Monday, 29 January 2007By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHFatima Al-Timani, 34-year-old Saudi woman who has spent seven months in prison protesting against her forced divorce by her half-brothers, has lost her battle and her husband.An appeals court in Riyadh endorsed a lower court ruling which granted divorce to Fatima from her husband Mansour Al-Timani, 37, in absentia and against her

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Monday, 22 January 2007By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteAfter a long struggle women in Morocco have won the right to pass citizenship on to their children from non-national husbands by birth. With the passing of that law, Morocco has put an end to the suffering of thousands of children of non-Moroccan fathers and joined most of the Arab countries, including Egypt, that have already passed

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Friday, 19 January 2007Speakers call for Greater Women Participation Based on Islamic Model By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHTHE implementation of women empowerment becomes a distant dream when the very mention of the term itself evokes strong reaction from women themselves.It happened at a seminar held at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday night. Speakers, despite

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Friday, 19 January 2007By Maha Sami AboulolaThe Saudi Gazette JEDDAHSAUDIS have adopted traditions during the first day of the Hijra New Year that keep them optimistic about the year ahead.“The tradition we focus on is having white and green in our food or in our drinks during the first day of the year,” said Jameelah Sheikh, a homemaker in Jeddah. The colors are symbols of purity and fertile

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Monday, 15 January 2007By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteToday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Saudi Arabia to talk to King Abdullah about George Bush’s “surge” strategy in Iraq and beat the dead horse known as the Israeli-Palestinian disaster. She will have no fresh proposals for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and nothing new under the sun for Iraq. Just more

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Tuesday, 16 January 2007The Saudi GazetteJEDDAH/DAMMAMTHE Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah has closed down a private hospital after the death of a 20-year-old lady teacher hours after delivery by Caesarian section, reported the Arabic language daily Okaz Monday.The teacher’s family had filed a complaint to the Directorate of Health Affairs, blaming the hospital for the death. A medical

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Tuesday, 16 January 2007Saudis Stop Recruiting Filipina Maids After Manila Imposes New Conditions The Saudi Gazette RIYADHSAUDI sponsors have stopped the recruitment of Filipina housemaids after new conditions imposed by the Philippines government came into force this January, reported Arabic language newspapers Okaz and Al-Hayat Monday. The conditions include raising the salaries of domestic

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Monday, 08 January 2007By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette Up until the moment when I saw the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki signing documents for Saddam Hussein’s execution, I was optimistic about the man’s ability to deal with the continuing sectarian violence. But following his description of Saddam Hussein’s execution as a “domestic affair” and his warning of reviewing relations with

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Monday, 08 January 2007By Shahid Ali KhanThe Saudi GazetteRIYADHTHE number of HIV positive cases in Saudi Arabia is on the rise despite the Kingdom’s efforts to contain the spread of the deadly disease. The number of HIV positive case reported in 2005 was 1,201, with 311 of them being Saudis and 890 non-Saudis. This brings the total number of HIV/AIDS patients in the Kingdom to 10,181. Saudis

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EditorialSunday, 07 January 2007The Saudi GazetteWell, well. What a surprise. Saddam Hussein is a martyr. The former dictator who sent thousands of men, women and children to their deaths.The man, who wasn’t so much as an afterthought following his capture from a spider hole and then put on trial for crimes against humanity, has emerged as a new Arab and Muslim hero. The Iraq government wants to

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EditorialTuesday, 02 January 2007 The saudi Gazette It now appears, given the release of new video of Saddam Hussein’s execution, that the hanging of the former president was an act of revenge rather than of justice.Interestingly, the United States played a hands-off role in Saddam’s execution, urging caution and restraint to the Iraq government.But Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal Al-Maliki

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by Sabria S. jawharThe saudi GazetteJeddahOn Thanksgiving Day, among the rest of the things on his list, an American friend of mine sent me an e-mail to congratulate me on the occasion. He told me as a joke that President George W. Bush has forgiven his turkey this year. I laughed but deep inside I wished the same idea was carried out in Iraq and everywhere else. I wish that people would learn

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By Sabri S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteJEDDAHFardous Omar is the daughter of Malian immigrants but knows nothing of her homeland except its name. She is 27-years-old and was born and raised in Saudi Arabia.I never felt any loyalty to any country except Saudi Arabia, she says, It is the only country I know because I have never been abroad, even to Mali.Even though Fardous parents lived in Saudi Arabia

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By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteJEDDAH This is a good news, bad news kind of story. Think of it as yes, it s yours, BUTA Saudi company recently received government permission to establish six cinema halls in the Eastern Province. That s the good news for people who like to watch movies. But government approval doesn t necessarily mean that cinemas will suddenly pop up throughout the Kingdom.A

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By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteABHA - Her complexion is as white as snow. When she smiles there is innocence, but when shetalks there is self-confidence and determination.She is called Amal, although that is not the real name of this 26-year-old Saudi convicted of the murdering of Khalid Muhammad. Although marked for execution, she is with faith and hope.I have unlimited faith in Allah s

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A story from Abha’s prisonBy Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi gazetteABHAFROM generation to generation, women inherit the difficulties of just being a woman. However, sometimes, society and circumstances combine to compound the difficulties to lethal effect.L. Aseeri, a 40-year-old Saudi woman, perhaps personifies such a plight.She is behind bars in Abha women s prison, convicted of deliberately killing

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Tuesday, 06 June 2006 By Sabria s. JawharThe Saudi GazetteJEDDAHSOFIA’S story (not her real name) is a sad one, and offers an alarming example and insight into how criminal gangs lure thousands of young women from poor countries into the underground sex trade - a trade that is a problem worldwide, including in countries where the constitution and laws are based largely on religious teachings

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Monday, 14 August 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteJEDDAHWHEN the Saudi government modified its criminal justice system two years ago, it emphasized its continuing eagerness to carry out justice in a way that resolves criminal cases with absolute certainty in the light of evidence presented. It also emphasized its commitment to comply with the laws and regulations that protect human rights

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Monday, 25 December 2006By Sabria S JawaharThe Saudi GazetteLast Monday Saudi Arabia released its national budget for 2007. It’s the largest in the Kingdom’s history, with projected revenues at SR400 billion ($106 billion) and expenditures at SR380 billion ($101 billion). A closer look, though, at the budget reveals that it was focused on the following areas; reducing the public debt, development

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By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteSHE is a Saudi citizen. Her papers are proper and perfectly legal. Every body, including the prison administration, knows for sure that she is innocent. And yet, she cannot leave prison.Let's call her Dina (not her real name), a two-year-old Saudi girl who is in prison for no reason other than the fact that her parents were not legally allowed to get married

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Monday, 18 December 2006By Sabria S JawaharThe Saudi Gazette Saudi officials say that the government has intensified its efforts to increase public awareness and encourage individual and group initiatives to protect the environment. However, what strikes me almost daily is the extreme carelessness in protecting our environment along our shores and in big cities.It has taken the government

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Monday, 04 December 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi Gazette Last week another round of the national dialogue concluded with a list of general recommendations that were of no difference from those that came out of the previous forums. It added little value to the event, especially with the absence of implementing authorities. However, two things about this dialogue stood out. First, the

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Monday, 27 November 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteWhen people gave up using the media as a tool because business or government controlled it, they shifted to the Internet that is free from such constraints. Since then, the Internet has become a loudspeaker for people to express their opinions without any fear or hesitation. It reaches more people than any other medium and has become a

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Tuesday, 07 November 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteWHAT is happening in the Saudi stock market these days is a real crisis that should have attracted the full attention of all authorities concerned. But unfortunately, we have witnessed nothing but an absolute killing silence. I am not an economist and I have never been interested in the economy. However, I am confused whether we are

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Monday, 30 October 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteWHEN officials at the Ministry of Health announced their strategic plans to increase the percentage of Saudization in the health sector in general and nursing in particular, I was among those who were excited over the whole idea. Actually, I was carried away by the notion that we have finally come to a solution for the poor communication

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Monday, 16 October 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteSometimes officials overlook certain practices in Saudi society, not because they are “trivial or individual cases” as they claim, but because they cannot or do not want to look at the bigger picture. They fail to see what local customs and practices affecting women have on society and the Kingdom’s economy.Yesterday, for instance, Okaz,

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Monday, 09 October 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteONCE again and not long after Pope Benedict XVI aroused Islamic anger with some ill-advised comments about Prophet Muhammed (pbuh), which strengthens the argument of those who say that the West is hostile to Muslims, we have come across another inflammatory statement. This time we hear it from the United Kingdom, home to more than 1.65

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Monday, 14 August 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteAN overwhelming majority of peace lovers – both in the Muslim and non-Muslim world – has strongly criticized US President George W. Bush’s remarks, linking Islam to fascism. Bush said that a foiled plot to blow up US-bound passenger planes from Britain showed that Washington was “at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to

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Monday, 07 August 2006By Sabria S JawaharThe Saudi GazetteEACH time an Arab or an Islamic country is targeted, the rest of the Ummah explodes, condemns and curses both American and Israeli foreign policies. However, during such critical times, business flourishes at coffee shops all over the Arab world simply because people like to discuss politics over a cup of coffee and a puff of Shisha. For

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Monday, 31 July 2006By Sabria S JawaharThe Saudi GazetteSINCE US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that the time has come for a new Mideast, political analysts have been competing in an attempt to draw a picture of what it might look like. Yet, there were few differences in the conclusions that analysts from both the West and East have reached. It seems that there is an agreement on

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Tuesday, 18 July 2006By Sabria S JawaharThe Saudi GazetteTHERE is nothing on earth more difficult than being in a hospital waiting area among people who are in pain while following the news of a furious war. The people’s reactions to the scenes of the Israeli war against Lebanon on televisions across the waiting area in a private hospital confused me. It was not clear whether those tearful eyes

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Monday, 10 July 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteTO err is human, so goes the saying. But when these errors affect people’s lives, this calls for a serious rethinking. We all agree that doctors and nurses are human beings who may commit mistakes. But the rising number of the reported medical error cases raises several questions. Questions about our health care system and the regulations

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Monday, 19 June 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteUNLIKE any other country, more than one-third of the population in Saudi Arabia are foreign residents, who hold jobs that range from maids and drivers to doctors and engineers. Yet despite efforts by the government to have better work environments for them, few expatriates go home with good memories about their stay in the Kingdom.Some go so

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Monday, 12 June 2006By Sabria S.JawharThe Saudi GazetteSAUDI ARABIA has always been proud of both its sovereignty and Islamic values, upon which the Kingdom built its constitution. It has never allowed outside pressure to influence its stand on internal or external matters. But that changed on September 11. Religious institutions in the Kingdom have come under scrutiny from the international

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Monday, 29 May 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteTHE concepts of reform and democracy are gradually being introduced to the people of Saudi Arabia, who are in two minds about accepting what they see as coming about from foreign meddling, and the belief that American or European ideas are not suited to Arab and Islamic culture. Saudis have been hesitant as was evident in last year’s

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Monday, 22 May 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteTHE power of extremist groups over Saudi society extends far beyond what many people know. They act invisibly in a way that makes one believe that they form the majority and represent the mainstream’s point of view, when in fact they are only an outspoken but influential minority. Recent events have shown me how influential they are in

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Monday, 15 May 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteDURING the past five years Saudi Arabia witnessed some shocking developments, which called for an immediate need for strategic planning. The Kingdom has an edge over most of the developed countries on two counts: its huge oil and natural gas reserves and its young population (60 percent of its citizens are below 20 years of age).The Saudis

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Monday, 08 May 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteEVERY morning the Saudi media surprise us with horrifying stories of child abuse. Yet the authorities concerned are either reluctant to take action or too indifferent to the sufferings of the innocent.Despite the growing number of child abuse cases, we still find officials trying to convince the public that these are individual incidents.

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Monday, 01 May 2006By Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteLATE last year, Saudis were all shocked and frustrated when the US Department of States report for the year 2005 classified Saudi Arabia, among other GCC countries like Kuwait, UAE and Qatar, at “rank 3,” indicating their failure to meet the international standard of human rights.Regardless of my reservation about the credibility of the

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Sabria S. JawharThe Saudi GazetteMonday, 24 April 2006Small kids, oh sorry, I mean small investors in the Saudi stock market were relieved following the appearance of ‘Big Mummy.’Finally the head of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), Jamaz Al-Suhaimi, finds time to be on the "the much-watched Saudi TV Channel One," at a time when people started to believe that Big Mummy was nothing more than an

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Thursday, 05 October 2006By Sabria S JawharThe Saudi GazetteShoura Council members always surprise me with their reactions whenever women’s issues are brought to the table of discussion. They always take a confusing defensive position that makes it difficult to know which school of thought or even social group does this or that Shoura Council member belong. Sometimes when it comes to women’s

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Tuesday, 07 November 2006By Sabria S JawaharThe Saudi GazetteWHAT is happening in the Saudi stock market these days is a real crisis that should have attracted the full attention of all authorities concerned. But unfortunately, we have witnessed nothing but an absolute killing silence. I am not an economist and I have never been interested in the economy. However, I am confused whether we are

The blogger,http://www.blogger.com/profile/11163304506071490922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7417066541568890861.post-1417076667812385912006-12-14T00:24:00.000-08:002006-12-14T00:27:01.832-08:00

THE Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice – the mutawwa always very eager to make sure Muslims lead moral lives – has taken the extraordinary initiative of training its staff in religious tolerance, communication skills and how to behave when faced with a tourist.About 80 high-level mutawwa are joining the Supreme Commission for Tourism in a campaign known as “Ya Hala!”

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Saudi Women Take Their Shots Thursday, 14 December 2006The Saudi GazetteJeddahAN estimated half of Saudi blogs are written by females; as a result, more women’s issues are being addressed by bloggers. Blogs are quickly becoming a place of refuge for Saudi women – a place from which they can call for social and cultural change in their country. While the first few of Saudi bloggers were males,

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