Saudi Women: Between the Passport and Sports: New Age Islam's Selection, 06 August 2016
New Age Islam Edit Bureau
06 August 2016
• Saudi Women: Between the Passport and Sports
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
• Egyptians: Knowing Much and Doing Little
By Mohammed Nosseir
• Unravelling Turkey’s Pivot to the East
By Dr. Theodore Karasik
• Will Iran Attack Israel?
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
• Lebanon’s Army Is above Sycophants, Political Climbers
By Nayla Tueni
Compiled By New Age Islam Edit Bureau
----
Saudi Women: Between the Passport and Sports
Abdulrahman al-Rashed
4 August 2016
Saudi Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan has been appointed to head a new department for women under the kingdom’s general authority for sports, which has always been exclusive to men. This is a positive step that brings optimism in terms of correcting women’s situation in the country, which is the most difficult and complicated affair on all popular and official levels.
Women’s situation has been a problem since the state was established around a century ago. Old traditions still dominate at home, on the street, at school and in the workplace. For example, women only recently attained the right to an ID card. Before that, they were included in the father’s or husband’s card. Three years ago, IDs became a must for Saudi women completing 15 years of age - some objected, but in the end it all became normal.
More recently, Saudi divorcees and widows got greater legal powers as they can be issued family IDs to register children at schools and authorize medical procedures. Healthcare institutions that refuse to treat women if they do not have their guardian’s consent are now punished.
In the past three years, many regulations have been developed and corrected. Women became allowed to perform jobs that they were previously prohibited from performing, such as working as a lawyer in courts.
Following a long controversy and objections, women’s wishes finally came true as they were given the right to plead in courts in different cases, not just those about women. In three years, the number of female lawyers reached around 100, and there are more than 600 qualified females training as lawyers.
Women became allowed to participate in municipal elections by either running for a municipal seat or voting. It was a huge occasion, as more than 100,000 Saudi women voted. Unfortunately, female winners have been deprived of their rights as they were isolated from the councils. This is due to an internal decision, and is not implemented in other state councils.
Executing decisions may by authoritarian and not based on regulations. For example, some oblige females applying for a Masters or PhD to attain their guardian’s approval. Such requirements are imposed by people who implement their own rules, which they must be held accountable for.
Since enabling women to attain their own IDs, a series of discriminatory measures against them has been cancelled, such as ending the condition imposed on hotels to not allow females to occupy a hotel room unless they have a male’s approval.
An issue that continues to stir controversy is women’s right to attain a passport - from what I understand, it is not true that a guardian’s approval is needed. However, she must attain her guardian’s approval when she travels.
I asked a female legislator why the Shura Council or government are not urged to amend this decision, especially since correcting it harmonizes with the previous series of measures. She said many controversial cases are not related to complicated laws and rules, but to how regulations are executed, and this can be amended by the relevant authority.
Outdated Thinking
These issues show us the old philosophy of the government’s role. This philosophy no longer suits modern society. It is based on the idea that the state performs the role of the father and husband alongside household members, and acts on behalf of an employer toward his employees and protects the former’s rights. There are many cases in courts that show husbands’ and fathers’ abuse against their dependents.
The situation of Saudi women today is better. However, there is more that can be improved, such as their right to drive cars and the expansion of employment opportunities
We have a long way to go in correcting laws and regulations in favor of women. It is even longer in terms of refining social traditions that sometimes deny women their legal rights. Society is still characterized by contradictions, as it encourages women’s education yet prevents them from working.
The number of female students in public education and universities is very high, more than the number of males. According to the global gender-gap report by the International Economic Forum in 2015, Saudi Arabia’s ranking improved a lot in terms of providing women with educational opportunities (82 out of 145 countries). However, it ranked 138 in terms of providing women with economic opportunities such as employment.
The situation of Saudi women today is better in terms of their right to inheritance, own land, have abortions for medical reasons, divorce and maternity leave, as well as preventing female circumcision, criminalizing physical attacks and specifying a minimum age for marriage. However, there is more that can be improved, such as their right to drive cars and the expansion of employment opportunities.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug. 4, 2016.
Abdulrahman al-Rashed is the former General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel. A veteran and internationally acclaimed journalist, he is a former editor-in-chief of the London-based leading Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, where he still regularly writes a political column. He has also served as the editor of Asharq al-Awsat’s sister publication, al-Majalla. Throughout his career, Rashed has interviewed several world leaders, with his articles garnering worldwide recognition, and he has successfully led Al Arabiya to the highly regarded, thriving and influential position it is in today.
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/08/04/Saudi-women-Between-the-passport-and-sports.html
----
Egyptians: Knowing Much and Doing Little
By Mohammed Nosseir
5 August 2016
Millions of Egyptians claim to have an abundance of information on almost every topic, yet their ability to implement this knowledge is extremely limited. This should suggest to Egyptians that our claim to knowledge is not quite authentic; an essential component of knowledge is the ability to apply it effortlessly and speedily. Our habit of voicing our opinions and arguing about every single issue in life, without taking any action, reflects ignorance rather than boundless knowledge.
Our imports are roughly three times the size of our exports, which should make it clear to us that the ratio of our contribution to our consumption is 1:3. If we were really sufficiently knowledgeable in various industries, our expertise would have helped us to be self-sufficient at least.
The inability to move Egypt forward has always been a two-sided accusation. Egyptians often accuse their rulers of not doing their best for the country, while our consecutive rulers blame our lack of progress on our society’s illiteracy and rapid population growth. We have been unable to genuinely change the ruling mechanism, and the ruler either lacks the competence or will to move society forward. We are content to state our opinions, but refuse to assume responsibility for our actions and behaviour.
Reality Check
Not recognizing the limitations of our knowledge has prevented us from noticing the deficiencies in our society, which include altering facts to better serve our ignorance, an inability to assess issues impartially, and a tendency to hasten the implementation of ventures that lack fundamental validation.
We are content to state our opinions, but refuse to assume responsibility for our actions and behaviour.
To be able to move forward, we must acknowledge where we stand in this world regarding innovation, information, university rankings and the number of hours we spend reading. Our rankings are very low in all of the above, so the very foundation of knowledge in Egypt is completely inadequate.
Under former President Hosni Mubarak, the government exerted substantial efforts to expand the number of public libraries in an attempt to get Egyptians to read more. Current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently launched the world’s largest digital library, which will enable Egyptians to access a magnificent amount of knowledge in all fields.
However, Egyptian decision-makers do not make use of these channels of knowledge; decisions made by rulers and their executives tend, instead, to be based on their cravings. These knowledge hubs are only meant to be tangible manifestations of the ruler’s achievements, not obligatory paths toward the articulation of decisions or policies.
Egypt has a spectacular history that is recognized worldwide, making Egyptians extremely proud of themselves. A tiny segment of our society does possess a high degree of knowledge, of which we should be proud.
However, the government often deliberately marginalizes this segment, making sure that it is not in a position to make decisions. Sadly, also, these knowledgeable persons are sometimes reluctant to engage in efforts to elevate an ignorant society. We must work on placing truly knowledgeable citizens in positions where Egypt could better capitalize on their expertise.
All nations have their ups and downs, but Egypt has been on the decline for the last few decades. Our strength in society should not be derived from our ability to argue continuously (which does not move us forward one inch).
We need to be more open to truly learning how the world functions, and willing to assume our responsibilities. Acknowledging that we know less might give us the desire to know more. Claiming to know all will always keep us locked in behind others, with no real knowledge and no chance to progress.
Mohammed Nosseir is an Egyptian liberal politician who advocates for advancing liberalism, political participation, and economic freedom. Mohammed was member of the higher committee at the Democratic Front Party from 2007 to 2012, and then member of the political bureau of the Free Egyptian Party till mid 2013. Mohammed advocates for his work through providing the Egyptian government with a number of schemes to better reform its government institutes, as well as he is a regular contributor to various Egyptian newspapers. Mohammed also has extensive experience in the private sector, working with a number of international companies assisting them in expanding their businesses in the Middle East. Mohammed graduated from Faculty of Commerce, Ain Shams University, Cairo (1986); he participated at Aspen Seminar on Leadership, Values and Good Society (2011), Eisenhower Fellow, Multi-National Program (2009) and Stanford Fellow for Democracy, Development & Rule of Law (2008).
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2016/08/05/Egyptians-Knowing-much-and-doing-little.html
----
Unravelling Turkey’s Pivot to the East
By Dr. Theodore Karasik
5 August 2016
In a few days, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. The timing is critical and the implications extraordinary, because Turkey may well be shifting to the East out of geopolitical necessity. There are a number of key reasons for this.
Firstly, Turkey is entering a period of self-discovery that is resulting in a recalibration of its relationships with NATO and Russia. This is brought on by a number of factors, such as Kurdish activity in Syria, Iraq and Iran, and by a major restructuring of Turkey’s military.
The country’s core competence in participating in NATO has just been routed by Erdogan. Turkish military officers now without job or rank were considered to be Atlanticists seeking closer ties with the United States, Europe and NATO. Some may argue that Turkey’s military is more Eurasian in outlook, and perhaps just lost its NATO-enhanced edge.
If true, the future of Incirlik air base - where the United States and allies run air operations against extremists in the Levant - is up for question, potentially damaging U.S.-Turkish relations and thereby making Moscow very happy.
Second, Putin can take advantage of Turkey’s waking up to its historical destiny in Eurasia. Russia’s own past with Atlanticists and Eurasianists goes back hundreds of years, so there is a certain irony in today’s Turkish outlook between West and East. Putin’s foreign policy is Eurasian in outlook, and so is constantly driving a policy of integration with the Middle East. We may see Moscow and Ankara merge their views on the Levant and Iran.
Thus, the Turkish-Russian meeting may be telling. Ankara knows that Moscow and Tehran do not see eye to eye on Syria’s future. A Russian scholar told me that his country sees Iran wanting to establish Islamist jurisprudence in Syria. Turkey’s trajectory as an Islamist state modeled on Erdoganism is to challenge Iran’s Khomeinism, so we may see Russian-Turkish alignment on Iranian intentions in the Levant.
Turkey’s relationship with Russia is set to grow after the hostility of the past few months, including Moscow’s accusations of Ankara’s collusion with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and its shoot down of a Russian warplane in Nov. 2015.
According to a senior Russian reporter visiting Washington, “Russia only wants Turkey to close its border to stem the flow of money and fighters,” and “to move on to more important matters.” Meanwhile, “Turkey wants Russia to stop supporting Syrian Kurds who have overlapping ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK].” Closure here may be difficult between the two sides.
Economics
However, a more important matter than geopolitics is geo-economics. Russia now sees the perfect opportunity to anchor Turkey more in the Eurasian camp through a reset based on necessary bilateral economic relations.
The two sides are nearing a deal on TurkStream, an alternative to the cancelled South Stream project to bring natural gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine. TurkStream is an alternative to the Brussels-supported Southern Gas corridor to transport gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to European markets by 2020. Moscow recognizes that Turkey still plays a key role in the future of European energy requirements, and is thus seizing the moment to capture future market share.
Meanwhile, Ankara’s on-again-off-again flirtation with China may start anew. Erdogan’s meeting with Putin will be followed very closely by Beijing, which notes that Moscow’s influence in Central Asia helped Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from following Erdogan’s call to clean out his Turkic enemies.
Nevertheless, Turkey and China are now cooperating more closely than ever before. They recently concluded a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in nuclear technology. This development gives Chinese industry an influential edge in Turkey’s future, which may be played against Moscow’s ambitious civilian nuclear energy program.
Turkey sees an opportunity in the East that it cannot get in the West
Such moves by Ankara should be seen in light of its ties with Moscow. What Turkey cannot get from Moscow it can get from China. This notion will be tested in St Petersburg.
Ankara and Beijing are also cooperating in counter-terrorism, especially given the Uighur extremist threat from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) over anti-Chinese grievances. Turkey may use China as a card against Russia if Moscow does not give in to Ankara’s interests. This game is likely to be played out in Central Asia.
Erdogan’s meeting with Putin will illustrate short-term advantages for Moscow. Turkey sees an opportunity in the East that it cannot get in the West, and we should not forget that.
Dr. Theodore Karasik is a Gulf-based analyst of regional geo-political affairs. He received his Ph.D in History from UCLA in Los Angeles, California in four fields: Middle East, Russia, Caucasus, and a specialized sub-field in Cultural Anthropology focusing on tribes and clans.
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2016/08/05/Unravelling-Turkey-s-pivot-to-the-East.html
----
Will Iran Attack Israel?
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
5 August 2016
Tehran appears to be heightening tensions with Israel. Hossein Salami, deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), recently said: “Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles that are ready to hit Israel to liberate the occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionist regime repeats its past mistakes.”
He added: “Today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime are [present] more than ever.” Salami warned that if Israel made the “wrong move,” it would come under attack.
A few weeks ago, a senior adviser to the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, Ahmad Karimpour, said Iran could destroy Israel “in less than eight minutes” if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave the order.
Rhetoric
There are several reasons why Iran’s repeated anti-Israel statements may be pure rhetoric. They are most likely meant as a type of psychological warfare, because Iran cannot afford direct conflict with Israel. Although Iran is larger geographically and in terms of population, its military capacity is inferior. Even regarding missile capabilities, which Iranian generals boast about, Israel’s are greater in range and number.
What fundamentally changes the balance of power is Israel’s nuclear capacity. It is widely believed to have some 200 nuclear warheads that can be used with intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear-armed submarines.
Iran’s policy toward Israel is to not strike first, as doing so would be suicidal for the ruling political establishment, whose main objective is to maintain power.
As such, Iran’s policy toward Israel is to not strike first, as doing so would be suicidal for the ruling political establishment, whose main objective is to maintain power. It would be more effective to fight Israel via its Lebanese Shiite proxy Hezbollah.
Tehran’s repeated boasting about IRGC capabilities is aimed at invoking nationalist sentiment among the public, because Iranian leaders know that the overwhelming majority of Iranians are dissatisfied with the hardliners and the political establishment.
This method has been successful, as polls have repeatedly shown that many Iranians who oppose the political establishment still favor their country becoming a nuclear power or being more powerful than any other country in the region.
Khamenei and IRGC generals are recalibrating the domestic balance of power, making it clear that they are the final decision-makers. They are appealing to their hard-line social base by showing it that they continue to prioritize the values of the 1979 revolution over other issues, including national interests.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an Iranian-American scholar, author and U.S. foreign policy specialist. Rafizadeh is the president of the International American Council. He serves on the board of Harvard International Review at Harvard University and Harvard International Relations Council. He is a member of the Gulf 2000 Project at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs. Previously he served as ambassador to the National Iranian-American Council based in Washington DC
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2016/08/05/Will-Iran-attack-Israel-.html
----
Lebanon’s Army Is above Sycophants, Political Climbers
By Nayla Tueni
5 August 2016
Recent days have witnessed a social media campaign concerning Lebanon’s army. At the very least, the campaign is silly and underestimates what the army and country are confronting. We reject turning the army into a promotional commodity that restaurants and hotels run ads for, thus exploiting the institution and the glory surrounding it.
However, we also reject sycophants and political climbers exploiting Army Day - which was on Aug. 1 - to hog the limelight and criticize the military, an institution that is the most steadfast and protective over what is left of the state structure.
Challenges
The army is facing the most complicated challenge in its history - not a foreign army against which it can win or lose a battle, but terrorism that has targeted the Arab world and the West. The army faces this challenge amid the presence of more than 2 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, among whom fighters and agents with different affiliations hide.
The army is facing the most complicated challenge in its history - not a foreign army against which it can win or lose a battle, but terrorism that has targeted the Arab world and the West.
The latter pose a security threat, as they are tantamount to a ticking time bomb. The army is working hard to control the situation in Palestinian camps, which for a while now have obstructed the state’s capabilities regarding security.
Army members are sacrificing their lives on security missions that are not part of its assigned role. It has found itself at the heart of these developments because other institutions have failed to perform their duties.
This is our army, and it does not matter if someone produces a silly video clip to glorify it. The army command has said all these ads celebrating Army Day have been produced by individuals, companies or organizations, and have nothing to do with the military.
Maintaining its unity, discipline and performance comes before all other calculations of individuals, parties and movements. Harming its stability is a crime, and those who do so must be held accountable.
Nayla Tueni is one of the few elected female politicians in Lebanon and of the two youngest. She became a member of parliament in 2009 and following the assassination of her father, Gebran, she is currently a member of the board and Deputy General Manager of Lebanon’s leading daily, Annahar. Prior to her political career, Nayla had trained, written in and managed various sections of Annahar, where she currently has a regular column.
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2016/08/05/Lebanon-s-army-is-above-sycophants-political-climbers.html
URL: https://newageislam.com/middle-east-press/saudi-women-between-passport-sports/d/108194