Women in Bikinis Allowed At Saudi Red Sea Resorts, Says Executive Loredana Pettinati
New Age Islam News Bureau
19 January 2023
• "I Always Say My First Protest Was In the
Womb," Actress Nazanin Boniadi on Women's Rights in Iran
• 211 Female Recruits Graduate from Saudi Prisons
General Directorate
• Women's Campaign In Yemen Protests Houthi Dress Code
Rules
• Top Cop Orders Posting Of One Female SHO in Every
District of Punjab, Pakistan
• Saudi Women's Inclusion in Technology Higher Than
EU, G20, Silicon Valley
• Columbia University Names Egypt-Born Nemat Shafik as
First Woman President
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bikinis-saudi-red-sea-resorts/d/128914
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Women in Bikinis Allowed At Saudi Red Sea Resorts,
Says Executive Loredana Pettinati
Loredana Pettinati, Senior
Travel Trade Director at Red Sea Global
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19 Jan 2023
Saudi Arabia’s giga-project, Red Sea Destination is
set to welcome visitors in 2023, ahead of their opening RSG’s senior travel
trade director Loredana Pettinati announced that women will be allowed to wear
bikinis at the destination, reported Arabian Business‘ sister publication
Hotelier Middle East.
Pettinati when asked about the current regulations in
the kingdom, said at a press conference in Dubai that no restrictions will be
imposed on women and there will be no specific gender rules in place at the
destination.
Pettinati also explained that as a European expat, she
feels comfortable and said that “across Saudi Arabia, we do not have to wear an
abaya, women are allowed to drive. There will be no distinction between women
and men entering any facility, anywhere.”
She also explained that a man and woman booking a
hotel will not be asked if they are married or not.
Red Sea luxury tourism
Earlier this month, Arabian Business reported that Red
Sea Global (RSG) announced the joining of an exclusive network of luxury travel
and hospitality organisations, Serandipians. The destination becomes one of the
first Saudi tourism spots to join Serandipians.
Only a select number of luxury destinations have
joined the network before even opening to guests. RSG is set to welcome
visitors to the newly announced international hotel brands to open on the four
islands this year.
The first batch of 73 prefabricated villas was also
delivered at the Red Sea project site, John Pagano, CEO of Red Sea Global
revealed, last week. The Sheybarah Resort is a ‘hyper-luxury’ hotel located in
Sheybarah Island, designed by Dubai-based architectural firm Killa Design.
Source: Arabian Business
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"I Always Say My First Protest Was In the
Womb," Actress Nazanin Boniadi on Women's Rights in Iran
Actress Nazanin Boniadi
spoke out about women's rights in Iran.
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Jan 18, 2023
"I always say my first protest was in the
womb," Nazanin Boniadi tells the World Economic Forum.
The Iranian-British actress and activist is in Davos
for her first time to speak out about the oppression of women in Iran and the
protests that have been taking place since September, sparked by the death of
22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Amini was arrested for not properly wearing her
compulsory hijab and died in custody.
Boniadi dedicated her role as single mother Bronwyn in
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to Iranian women just weeks before the
protests erupted.
More than 300 protesters have been killed, including
44 children, according to Amnesty International. Thousands more have been
jailed.
Boniadi joined a panel session Women's Rights in Iran
- What Next?, and spoke to Radio Davos about her Iranian roots and hopes for
the country's future.
Here's an edited text of what she said.
On her passion for human rights
"I was born in May '79, and my mother was 19 when
she had me. And while she was still pregnant with me, she was one of the
anti-revolution protesters. So she and my father were very much opposed to any
kind of Islamic republic or theocratic rule or Khomeini coming into power. They
saw the backsliding of rights and they realized that they couldn't have a child
in a social, legal, political climate that was growing increasingly oppressive,
particularly towards women and girls.
"So I always say my first protest was in the
womb. I was in my mother's womb when she was 19, and she is what they call a
'shirzan' or a lioness. And that word is being used a lot more these days
because we are seeing women on the front lines.
"Women have been on the front line since '79,
standing up against the compulsory hijab. It's just this moment that we're
seeing that's getting more media coverage and that they're coming out in force,
really. My passion for human rights and particularly women's rights in Iran
came from my parents and being in my mother's womb when she was fighting
against the oppression."
Nazanin Boniadi on the female-led revolution
"Since the Arab Spring to Sudan in 2019, the
spark of those revolutions were men being killed. The spark for this was a
young woman being killed. And the engine of it was women, because women first
took to the streets, took off their head scarfs in peaceful protest, set them
ablaze, cut their hair, despite the risk.
"That courage was contagious, and what is unique
about this and why many of us have been calling it a female-led revolution, is
because Iranian women have managed to galvanize Iranian society at large to
understand the intersectionality of gender equality and any other basic human
right."
"Mahsa being a Kurdish Iranian woman, there is an
ethnic component there. Now we have a broad-based, large middle-class component
and Iranian men and women, and all Iranians banding together, standing
together, for democracy. Understanding that LGBTQ rights, gender equality,
ethnic minority rights, religious rights, all of them are interconnected, and
it has become a pro-democracy movement.
"The hijab has become an outward symbol of the
oppression of Iranian women, who have basically lost agency in the past four
decades, over almost every aspect of their lives. And yet, in the fields that
they can study, they are more educated than the men, both a testament to their
tenacity and a driving force for this precise moment.
"If you look at history, Argentina to Chile, to
the Philippines, when women are at the centre of a movement, the likelihood of
it succeeding and democracy prevailing increases. Because we have access to
levers of power in society that men frankly don't have access to."
On giving women a voice
"I want to applaud the World Economic Forum for
giving this platform to us, which is quite unprecedented, but these things
matter. Because our voices inside Iran would be targeted persecuted and shut
down. So please, the world has to amplify and give voice to the voices inside
Iran, and the only way that is going to happen is we are in touch with them. We
are in touch on the ground. So allow us to convey what they are saying."
On hopes for the future
"We have to be unequivocal, are we supporting the
people of Iran or are we still appeasing the Islamic Republic? My hope is that
it's the former, and I think we just have to be very clear in our
policies."
The Women's Rights in Iran - What Next? session also
featured Tirana Hassan, Acting Executive Director, Human Rights Watch; Masih
Alinejad, Journalist and Activist, US Agency for Global Media and was moderated
by Rima Maktabi, UK Bureau Chief, Al Arabiya.
Source: WE Forum
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/davos-2023-actress-nazanin-boniadi-on-womens-right-in-iran/
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211 Female Recruits Graduate from Saudi Prisons
General Directorate
January 18, 2023
RIYADH — Under the patronage of the Interior Minister
Prince Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif, 211 female recruits have graduated
from the General Directorate of Prisons.
The graduation ceremony of the 211 female recruits was
witnessed by the Director General of Prisons Maj. Gen. Majid Bin Bandar
Al-Dawish.
They had completed the third basic individual course
in the Women’s Capacity Training and Development Center at the General
Directorate of Prisons.
The graduates received field skills and studied security
sciences, which qualifies them to work with efficiency in the fields of
security and field work.
The ceremony was also in the presence of
representatives from government sectors and families of graduates.
The female recruits performed a military display that
included the military hypotheses and skills acquired during the training
period.
Source: Saudi Gazette
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Women's campaign in Yemen protests Houthi dress code
rules
January 17, 2023
Yemeni women are taking to Twitter to defy the Houthi
rebels' strict dress code.
What happened: Yemenis have been posting on the social
media site using the Arabic-language “Yemeni identity” hashtag. The posts
consist of pictures of Yemeni women in colorful traditional clothing and are in
response to the strict dress code imposed on parts of Yemen controlled by the
Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The Iran-backed Houthis took power in 2014 and have
recently tightened dress code rules for women in Yemen, Al-Araby and Arab News
reported.
Women in Houthi areas must wear a long, black,
loose-fitting “abaya” that covers them from head to toe.
Few users addressed the restriction of the colored
abaya directly. Twitter user @tasabihalh0rimy wrote on Saturday, “This is our
identity. Black is a lonely color.”
Some of the photos also showed Yemeni men in
traditional and colorful clothing alongside women.
Why it matters: The dress code is strictly enforced in
Houthi parts of Yemen. In 2021, Yemeni model Intisar al-Hammad was imprisoned
by Houthi authorities for “indecency.” She had also worn colorful clothing in
pictures.
Know more: The hijab is not compulsory in parts of
Yemen controlled by the rival Saudi-backed government, though most women wear
one for a variety of societal and religious reasons.
Yemen’s neighbor Saudi Arabia required women to wear a
black abaya for decades, but the kingdom removed the law in 2018.
The ongoing protests in Iran began when a Kurdish
woman was allegedly beaten to death by religious police in relation to how she
wore her head covering. Iranian authorities have been punishing women over the
hijab more harshly recently, Al-Monitor’s correspondent in Tehran reported last
week.
Source: Al Monitor
Iran’s dress code for women is less strict than the
one in Houthi territory.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/01/womens-campaign-yemen-protests-houthi-dress-code-rules
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Top Cop Orders Posting Of One Female SHO In Every
District Of Punjab, Pakistan
January 18, 2023
LAHORE: Punjab Inspector General of Police Aamir
Zulfiqar Khan Wednesday ordered the posting of at least one female SHO in every
district of the province within the next five days.
The IG Punjab directed Additional IG Training to
ensure the posting of women SHOs in all the districts of the province and
submit a report in due time.
“The posting of women officials at women help desks
established in all districts should be ensured at all costs so that women
police officers can help women citizens who are victims of crime and social
stigma.”
Punjab IG Police Aamir Zulfiqar Khan issued the
instructions while presiding over a high-level meeting at Safe City
Authorities, Head Office here in Qurban Lines. In the meeting, future agenda of
the Women Police Conference and the professional issues of women police
employees were discussed.
The IGP directed CCPO Lahore to utilize all available
resources to provide better environment and facilities in Ladies Police Hostel
in Qila Gujar Singh Police Lines. He directed that women police personnel in
all districts of the province should be included short refresher courses on
regular basis to increase their efficiency and capacity. The IG Police said
that encouragement of women police officials who performed diligently was the
need of the hour. In this regard, in the region I visit, women employees with
good performance should be nominated for appreciation certificates and awards.
In the meeting, decisions and suggestions made during the first women police
conference held at Al Hamra Hall in collaboration with Punjab Police, USIP and
Punjab Council for Human Rights were discussed. USIP Country Director, Imran
Khan, Amna Kayani, Punjab Council for Human Rights Executive Director Shafiq
Chaudhry, and women police officers also presented their suggestions. The IGP
directed that concrete steps should be taken to resolve problems of women
police employees across the province in the light of the suggestions of the
Women Police Conference.
Additional IG Training, DIG Welfare, AIG Admin and
Security, USIP Country Director Imran Khan, Punjab Council for Human Rights
Executive Director Shafiq Chaudhry and other officers were also present in the
meeting.
BRANCH OF ORGANIZED CRIME
Meanwhile, IG Police Aamir Zulfiqar Khan said
Wednesday that to further improve investigation and follow-up of serious crime
cases in the province, the branch of Organized Crime should be established and
the DIG Organized Crime should be appointed in the Additional IG Investigation
Office and a summary in this regard should also be sent to the government soon.
He said that DIG Organized Crime will not only collect crime data through
effective follow-up but will also give weekly reports about the progress of
investigation on serious crime cases in all districts. Aamir Zulfiqar Khan said
that the Organized Crime Branch will ensure close follow-up of the registered
cases across the province and will focus on arresting dangerous criminals
through effective investigation, timely completion of challan and strict
punishment to habitual and professional criminals. The IGP said that DIG
Organized Crime will maintain close coordination with the Regional Monitoring
Units of Investigation and after
registration of the case, he will
monitor all the stages of the investigation and bring the case to its
logical conclusion as soon as possible with effective follow-up.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Saudi women's inclusion in technology higher than EU,
G20, Silicon Valley
January 18, 2023
DAVOS — Minister of Communications and Information
Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha said women’s inclusion and empowerment in
technology in Saudi Arabia is higher than the EU, G20 and Silicon Valley
averages.
He described it as a “bold reform story.” We jumped
from 7 percent to 32 percent.
Speaking at panel titled Saudi Arabia’s Transformation
in a Changing Global Context in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on
Wednesday, he said Saudi Arabia is becoming “a force for global integration”.
He explained that Saudi Arabia stands as a bridge for
global divides, including digital divides. “The fragmented world needs a new
system for collaboration and cooperation.”
Al-Swaha called for improved global digital access for
all. “We must connect the unconnected world.”
He explored the impact that technological advances
will have on global labor markets in the next 5 years.
Source: Saudi Gazette
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/629015
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Columbia University names Egypt-born Nemat Shafik as
first woman president
18 January ,2023
Columbia University named former Bank of England
Deputy Governor and current London School of Economics President Nemat
“Minouche” Shafik as its president, marking the first time a woman has been
named to lead the renowned American educational institution.
Shafik, an economist whose career has focused on
public policy and academia, will become the twentieth president of Columbia
University on July 1, the institution said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shafik began her career at the World Bank, becoming
its youngest-ever vice president at the age of 36. She later also served as
deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund and as top official
in the UK’s Department for Development.
Shafik’s appointment comes after other educational
institutions have also recently appointed women to head top universities,
including Harvard University, which last month named Claudine Gay as its new president.
Gay became the first Black woman to hold the top job at Harvard.
Jonathan Lavine, chair of the Columbia Board of
Trustees, called Shafik, 60, “the perfect candidate.”
What set Shafik apart as a candidate “is her
unshakable confidence in the vital role institutions of higher education can
and must play in solving the world’s most complex problems,” Lavine added.
Shafik was born in Alexandria, Egypt, Columbia
University said in its statement on Wednesday.
Source: Al Arabiya
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