Archive for the ‘Saudi Arabia’ Category
(London) – The participation of two Saudi female athletes in the London Olympics is an important first step but does not go far enough in addressing entrenched problems of gender discrimination in the kingdom, Human Rights Watch said today.
(New York) – Saudi Arabia‘s National Olympic Committee’s decision to send two women athletes to the London Olympic Games is a breakthrough for Saudi women’s sports. However, there are still no signs of any advance in ending an effective ban on women and girls practicing sports inside the kingdom.
(London) – Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it would not send any female athletes to compete in the London Olympics despite its recent pledge to do so highlights the need to overturn the fundamental barriers to women playing sports in the kingdom, Human Rights Watch said today.
(London) – The announcement by Saudi Arabia that it will allow women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time is an important step forward, but fails to address the fundamental barriers to women playing sports in the kingdom.
By Ann Harrison, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme
I must admit that I had to blink and look away for a moment when I saw the Iranian news agency headline: ‘Execution of Iranian citizens in Saudi Arabia was a medieval act’.
As Amnesty International has documented for many years, it [...]
(London) – As the clock ticks down to the July opening ceremony, all nations except Saudi Arabia have confirmed that women athletes will participate in the London 2012 Olympics
The Saudi justice minister Dr Muhammad al-'Issa was in London in late April. But, at the last minute, he cancelled a meeting with interested organisations and academics that I was to attend because – we were told – he preferred to meet only with the British government.
(Beirut) – Saudi Arabia should abolish the Specialized Criminal Court, set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases, but increasingly used to try peaceful dissidents and rights activists on politicized charges and in proceedings that violate the right to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said today.
(Beirut) – The Saudi Labor Ministry’s proposal to abolish the employer-based “sponsorship” system is a positive step for migrant workers, Human Rights Watch said today. The system fuels human rights abuses against migrants by tying their legal residency in the country to one employer.
(Beirut) – The Saudi sports minister and head of the Saudi National Olympic Committee confirmed on April 4, 2012, that Saudi Arabia will not support women in practicing sports. Prince Nawwaf al-Faisal said: “Female sports activity has not existed [in the kingdom] and there is no move thereto in this regard.”
(Sanaa) – Saudi Arabia should end the arbitrary detention and travel bans inflicted on those who peacefully exercise their freedom of speech or assembly, Human Rights Watch said today.
(New York) – Announcements that Saudi Arabia is likely to send women to participate in the 2012 London Olympics for the first time are a positive step toward ending the country’s pervasive discrimination against women in sport, Human Rights Watch said today.
1. Why is HRW focusing on discrimination against women in sports?
(Los Angeles) – As the world prepares for the 2012 Olympics, the Saudi government is systematically discriminating against women in sports and physical education, and has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics, with no penalty from the international Olympic authorities, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.