Continuing from my previous post...
Preventing sexual harassment
Saudi Gazette report
30 May 2014 - 01 Shaban 1435 H
Sexual harassment has forced a number of women to quit their jobs and stay away from public life. Commenting on the topic, a number of experts, scholars and women called for taking stringent legal action against men who resort to verbal or physical sexual harassment.
Muna Ahmad said she quit her job at a private company after she said a number of her male colleagues sexually harassed her.
“I couldn’t find a private driver who could take me from my house to my workplace and back. So I had no choice but to use taxis. Whenever I would wait in front of the company’s gate after work to hail a taxi, men who worked in the same company would approach me in their cars and try to pick me up,” she said.
Despite facing a financial crunch, Ahmad had to make the hard decision to quit her job and sit at home. She urged authorities to punish sexual offenders.
Echoing the same view, Hind Adel, who worked at a retail store, said she quit her job after male customers harassed her. She is currently looking for a job where she won’t face sexual harassment.
Azizah Abdul Qader, a businesswoman, said fear of Allah and holding fast to Islamic teachings was important for both men and women. She urged women to handle such situations bravely and wisely so they don’t fall victim to sexual offenders.
According to Abdul Qader, wearing Islamic dress and decent behavior will help women protect themselves from all forms of harassment.
“Even though I have to deal with a large number of men as part of my business, I manage the situation elegantly by holding fast to Islamic principles, especially in my behavior with unrelated men. If a woman follows Islamic principles and does not mingle with men freely, she can escape from all forms of harassment,” Abdul Qader said.
Muhammad Al-Badli, however, said such views put the blame on the victim. Instead, he said, it was segregation between men and women since childhood that was the main reason women face sexual harassment.
“When men and women are denied the basic freedom to interact with one another, some of these men grow up not knowing how to act around women and they tend to harass them whenever they get an opportunity. Parents give all freedom to boys while denying them to girls, and this creates a feeling among girls that they are being sidelined and their rights are being deprived,” he said.
Al-Badli noted that inculcating mutual feelings of respect among young men and women when they interact in public is one of the best ways to curb harassment. “At the same time, all men who try to exceed the proper bounds of the decency of behaving with woman, whom they should treat just like a sister, should be subjected to stringent penal action,” he stressed.
Agreeing with Al-Badli, Kuathar Ismail said decent, civilized and respectful behavior among men and women in society would decrease cases of harassment and added that complete segregation between men and women is counterproductive.
“Men and women should be allowed to enter public places as long as they adhere to the restrictions imposed by our religion and customs. Strict punitive measures should be taken against violators of regulations in this regard,” she said.
Well-known Saudi director and actor Fahd Ghazouli said he hopes the phenomenon of sexual harassment will one day disappear from Saudi society and urged parents to shoulder their responsibilities of monitoring their children’s activities and interactions with others.
“All this free time that young men and women have is one reason why women face so much sexual harassment. Young men and women find nothing to do in their free time and therefore they frequent commercial malls and public places, and this leads to incidents of harassment.”
While many people said segregation between the sexes is the main reason young men harass women, others insisted that segregation was effective and one woman even suggested that senior and juniors in high schools be segregated to curb the increasing number of harassment cases in girls-only schools.
“A lack of proper religious awareness is a contributing factor. Segregation works and senior and junior students should be segregated so as to prevent a further increase in the number of sexual harassment cases occurring between young adults,” said Nida Ali.
Shadia Jonabi, a community specialist at the reconciliation committee in Makkah, said that cases of verbal and physical sexual harassment do not only occur at places where men and women interact with one another but also in women-only places like schools and colleges.
“We receive complaints of harassment from girl victims and the offenders are also girls. There are several factors such as delays in getting married, unemployment and free time that leads to harassment,” she said while blaming satellite TV and the Internet for the rising cases of harassment.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mosleh, secretary-general of the International Organization for Scientific Wonders in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah, urged authorities to take strict legal action against men who harass women at malls and public places.
He suggested several methods women could use to avoid sexual harassment, and they included strengthening religious awareness, preventing women from mingling with men, educating children about Islamic principles with regard to mingling with unrelated people and conducting awareness programs by civil society organizations, the media and daawah (preaching) organizations.
“Preventing sexual harassment” (May 30)
7 June 2014 - 09 Shaban 1435 H
If you dress modestly and cover your body properly, it is Allah’s promise to protect you from all evil eyes. If you wear revealing dresses, tight jeans, tight abayas displaying the shape of your body, then do not complain about being harassed. You get what you display.
Abu Shahzada Mahmood
Brother, you really need to understand the concept! Nowadays, even women fully covered and wearing an abaya are subjected to such crimes. Just talking about the way they dress and not looking at the mistakes that men are making is really weird!
Yusra Khan
Most incidents occur with women who go to the wrong places.
Abraar Khan
It’s sad that women get blamed because men act inappropriately. This is exactly why the West looks at us as not doing enough to protect our girls. There’s no Islamic provision that says that men are excluded from acting in a pious way when faced with temptation, so that’s a bad argument even from a religious standpoint.
Mariana De Carli
How to fight sexual harassment
Siraj Abu Al-Saud
Al-Sharq
28 November 2014 - 06 Safar 1436 H
Sexual harassment is a crisis faced by most countries in the world. There are several organizations that fight the various forms of sexual harassment. Hollaback! is one such international movement that works to end street harassment and is led by a network of local activists around the world.
The organization carried out a social experiment that involved video recording a young woman who was walking along streets in New York for 10 hours. Over 100 sexual comments were recorded during those 10 hours. It is evident from this that this phenomenon is very common in the United States. It is also prevalent in Canada and China.
In the Arab world, sexual harassment is alarmingly high. According to figures released by Egypt’s Center for Human Rights, there are around 20,000 cases reported in Egypt each year. Last September, Alsharq newspaper published a report that police gave lashes to men who abused young women in Dhahran. I think such action is needed to deal with sexual harassment.
Those who fail to follow the law should be penalized. However, there is one important question that needs to be answered. How far will such penal action go in deterring this behavior and stamping it out in our society?
Perhaps, there is a logical connection between harassment and speeding on our roads. Saher has been instrumental in reducing speeding. However, some drivers slow down when they see a camera in the distance and then speed up once they have passed it. For a section of the community, it seems that Saher has not made a major difference. This, unfortunately, is also the case with sexual harassment. Lack of proper awareness about what harassment is and how it should be dealt with and the absence of a monitoring system are the main reasons why this problem persists.
These problems only come to light when members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) detain perpetrators. Haia staff cannot monitor all the malls and commercial centers in the Kingdom. When perpetrators see that there is no one to keep an eye on them, they do what they want in broad daylight. This could, however, be dealt with via cameras in malls and souks. People would then realize that they are being watched and that their actions are being recorded.
Most shopping areas usually have a sign at the door saying entry is only for families. Security guards at these places are also diligent in preventing single young men from entering. I do not think this is an ideal way to resolve this problem. This only places further restrictions on young people who should have some freedom in their lives. Similarly, most commercial centers are open to both men and women. Preventing a section of society from entering is counterproductive.
Therefore, the best way to deal with this issue is by intensifying surveillance and taking penal action against harassers. This is the best way to prevent sexual harassment and minimize its occurrence within Saudi society.
How best to avoid harassment?
July 19, 2014
Women of all ages and walks of life in the Kingdom are subjected to abuse and sexual harassment. There are seldom any campaigns or workshops that teach women how to protect themselves or how to react to harassment. Whether physical or verbal, harassment is a neglected cause in Saudi society and with women unable to protect themselves, harassers have an incentive to continue targeting women, Al-Riyadh daily reported.
Most women never talk about their experiences with harassment because they fear the reaction of their family and society. Strict and clear rules and laws must be implemented and promoted to protect women and ensure their social acceptance. Among other things, women must take part in sports to develop athletic bodies so they can protect themselves and also attend self-defense classes and workshops.
‘I was saved by my screams’
Asrar Jassim said she does not know what to do when she finds someone chasing her or even approaching her in public. “I am too shy to act aggressively in public and that makes harassers target me the most. There is no place I can go or number I can call. Even the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia), the most concerned committee in this matter, is not easy to reach if you are a woman,” she said.
Jassim recalled an incident when a harasser went too far and her only method of defense was to scream until he ran away. “Passersby frowned and chided for being a woman and raising my voice in public,” she said.
Throwing stones
Hibatullah said her method of self-defense is slightly primitive but very effective. With no self-defense classes available where she lives, Hibatullah throws stones or even her shoes at harassers. She has been criticized by family members and other women for her actions but she insists she has no other way to repel harassers.
“Once, I was approached by two guys in a car. I threw a rock at their car, broke their window and they sped off and left me alone. When you’re in this situation you just have to do whatever you have to do to protect yourself. I was never taught how to defend myself, this is one way that works,” said Hibatullah.
Member of the National Society of Human’s Rights’ executive board Suhaila Zain Al-Abideen said if harassment is merely verbal, then the best thing any woman can do is to ignore it. If the perpetrator resorts to physical harassment, women should act to defend themselves.
“If the woman was touched by a harasser, this is where we can interfere. Women should learn self-defense sports such as karate and female gyms and sport facilities should be available for them to use. The responsibility does not rest on women alone. There should be laws that will hold harassers accountable for their actions. There should also be surveillance cameras in shopping centers and on the streets,” she said.
Al-Abideen also accused the Shoura Council of dragging its feet when it comes to endorsing laws against harassment.
“We should not be waiting for enough victims to go through harassment before we pass laws against harassment. Moreover, when the law is implemented it should be implemented on all without exemption. We can ask girls to learn self-defense but that is not a solution. There is a great need to have a law governing this matter,” she added.
The circle of shame
Manal Al-Somali, social specialist at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, said Saudis face many problems due to the culture of shame that exists in society.
“There are certain body parts that we are unable to discuss with females. Molestation exists in all societies and is a result of several social, psychological and economic reasons. Having a legal system encompassing this issue is what is needed. Women face difficulty expressing harassment as many fear the social and familial reactions and some even believe it is their fault that they were molested,” she said.
Al-Somali urged schools to raise awareness among students regarding the issue.
“Girls need to be educated on how to defend themselves, who to go to for help and on their rights in the matter. In addition, there should be a social media campaign regarding harassment so everyone, from children to adults, has at least some knowledge on the subject and there is a sense of communal security,” she added. — SG
Saudi Gazette report
30 May 2014 - 01 Shaban 1435 H
Sexual harassment has forced a number of women to quit their jobs and stay away from public life. Commenting on the topic, a number of experts, scholars and women called for taking stringent legal action against men who resort to verbal or physical sexual harassment.
Muna Ahmad said she quit her job at a private company after she said a number of her male colleagues sexually harassed her.
“I couldn’t find a private driver who could take me from my house to my workplace and back. So I had no choice but to use taxis. Whenever I would wait in front of the company’s gate after work to hail a taxi, men who worked in the same company would approach me in their cars and try to pick me up,” she said.
Despite facing a financial crunch, Ahmad had to make the hard decision to quit her job and sit at home. She urged authorities to punish sexual offenders.
Echoing the same view, Hind Adel, who worked at a retail store, said she quit her job after male customers harassed her. She is currently looking for a job where she won’t face sexual harassment.
Azizah Abdul Qader, a businesswoman, said fear of Allah and holding fast to Islamic teachings was important for both men and women. She urged women to handle such situations bravely and wisely so they don’t fall victim to sexual offenders.
According to Abdul Qader, wearing Islamic dress and decent behavior will help women protect themselves from all forms of harassment.
“Even though I have to deal with a large number of men as part of my business, I manage the situation elegantly by holding fast to Islamic principles, especially in my behavior with unrelated men. If a woman follows Islamic principles and does not mingle with men freely, she can escape from all forms of harassment,” Abdul Qader said.
Muhammad Al-Badli, however, said such views put the blame on the victim. Instead, he said, it was segregation between men and women since childhood that was the main reason women face sexual harassment.
“When men and women are denied the basic freedom to interact with one another, some of these men grow up not knowing how to act around women and they tend to harass them whenever they get an opportunity. Parents give all freedom to boys while denying them to girls, and this creates a feeling among girls that they are being sidelined and their rights are being deprived,” he said.
Al-Badli noted that inculcating mutual feelings of respect among young men and women when they interact in public is one of the best ways to curb harassment. “At the same time, all men who try to exceed the proper bounds of the decency of behaving with woman, whom they should treat just like a sister, should be subjected to stringent penal action,” he stressed.
Agreeing with Al-Badli, Kuathar Ismail said decent, civilized and respectful behavior among men and women in society would decrease cases of harassment and added that complete segregation between men and women is counterproductive.
“Men and women should be allowed to enter public places as long as they adhere to the restrictions imposed by our religion and customs. Strict punitive measures should be taken against violators of regulations in this regard,” she said.
Well-known Saudi director and actor Fahd Ghazouli said he hopes the phenomenon of sexual harassment will one day disappear from Saudi society and urged parents to shoulder their responsibilities of monitoring their children’s activities and interactions with others.
“All this free time that young men and women have is one reason why women face so much sexual harassment. Young men and women find nothing to do in their free time and therefore they frequent commercial malls and public places, and this leads to incidents of harassment.”
While many people said segregation between the sexes is the main reason young men harass women, others insisted that segregation was effective and one woman even suggested that senior and juniors in high schools be segregated to curb the increasing number of harassment cases in girls-only schools.
“A lack of proper religious awareness is a contributing factor. Segregation works and senior and junior students should be segregated so as to prevent a further increase in the number of sexual harassment cases occurring between young adults,” said Nida Ali.
Shadia Jonabi, a community specialist at the reconciliation committee in Makkah, said that cases of verbal and physical sexual harassment do not only occur at places where men and women interact with one another but also in women-only places like schools and colleges.
“We receive complaints of harassment from girl victims and the offenders are also girls. There are several factors such as delays in getting married, unemployment and free time that leads to harassment,” she said while blaming satellite TV and the Internet for the rising cases of harassment.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mosleh, secretary-general of the International Organization for Scientific Wonders in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah, urged authorities to take strict legal action against men who harass women at malls and public places.
He suggested several methods women could use to avoid sexual harassment, and they included strengthening religious awareness, preventing women from mingling with men, educating children about Islamic principles with regard to mingling with unrelated people and conducting awareness programs by civil society organizations, the media and daawah (preaching) organizations.
“Preventing sexual harassment” (May 30)
7 June 2014 - 09 Shaban 1435 H
If you dress modestly and cover your body properly, it is Allah’s promise to protect you from all evil eyes. If you wear revealing dresses, tight jeans, tight abayas displaying the shape of your body, then do not complain about being harassed. You get what you display.
Abu Shahzada Mahmood
Brother, you really need to understand the concept! Nowadays, even women fully covered and wearing an abaya are subjected to such crimes. Just talking about the way they dress and not looking at the mistakes that men are making is really weird!
Yusra Khan
Most incidents occur with women who go to the wrong places.
Abraar Khan
It’s sad that women get blamed because men act inappropriately. This is exactly why the West looks at us as not doing enough to protect our girls. There’s no Islamic provision that says that men are excluded from acting in a pious way when faced with temptation, so that’s a bad argument even from a religious standpoint.
Mariana De Carli
How to fight sexual harassment
Siraj Abu Al-Saud
Al-Sharq
28 November 2014 - 06 Safar 1436 H
Sexual harassment is a crisis faced by most countries in the world. There are several organizations that fight the various forms of sexual harassment. Hollaback! is one such international movement that works to end street harassment and is led by a network of local activists around the world.
The organization carried out a social experiment that involved video recording a young woman who was walking along streets in New York for 10 hours. Over 100 sexual comments were recorded during those 10 hours. It is evident from this that this phenomenon is very common in the United States. It is also prevalent in Canada and China.
In the Arab world, sexual harassment is alarmingly high. According to figures released by Egypt’s Center for Human Rights, there are around 20,000 cases reported in Egypt each year. Last September, Alsharq newspaper published a report that police gave lashes to men who abused young women in Dhahran. I think such action is needed to deal with sexual harassment.
Those who fail to follow the law should be penalized. However, there is one important question that needs to be answered. How far will such penal action go in deterring this behavior and stamping it out in our society?
Perhaps, there is a logical connection between harassment and speeding on our roads. Saher has been instrumental in reducing speeding. However, some drivers slow down when they see a camera in the distance and then speed up once they have passed it. For a section of the community, it seems that Saher has not made a major difference. This, unfortunately, is also the case with sexual harassment. Lack of proper awareness about what harassment is and how it should be dealt with and the absence of a monitoring system are the main reasons why this problem persists.
These problems only come to light when members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) detain perpetrators. Haia staff cannot monitor all the malls and commercial centers in the Kingdom. When perpetrators see that there is no one to keep an eye on them, they do what they want in broad daylight. This could, however, be dealt with via cameras in malls and souks. People would then realize that they are being watched and that their actions are being recorded.
Most shopping areas usually have a sign at the door saying entry is only for families. Security guards at these places are also diligent in preventing single young men from entering. I do not think this is an ideal way to resolve this problem. This only places further restrictions on young people who should have some freedom in their lives. Similarly, most commercial centers are open to both men and women. Preventing a section of society from entering is counterproductive.
Therefore, the best way to deal with this issue is by intensifying surveillance and taking penal action against harassers. This is the best way to prevent sexual harassment and minimize its occurrence within Saudi society.
July 19, 2014
Women of all ages and walks of life in the Kingdom are subjected to abuse and sexual harassment. There are seldom any campaigns or workshops that teach women how to protect themselves or how to react to harassment. Whether physical or verbal, harassment is a neglected cause in Saudi society and with women unable to protect themselves, harassers have an incentive to continue targeting women, Al-Riyadh daily reported.
Most women never talk about their experiences with harassment because they fear the reaction of their family and society. Strict and clear rules and laws must be implemented and promoted to protect women and ensure their social acceptance. Among other things, women must take part in sports to develop athletic bodies so they can protect themselves and also attend self-defense classes and workshops.
‘I was saved by my screams’
Asrar Jassim said she does not know what to do when she finds someone chasing her or even approaching her in public. “I am too shy to act aggressively in public and that makes harassers target me the most. There is no place I can go or number I can call. Even the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia), the most concerned committee in this matter, is not easy to reach if you are a woman,” she said.
Jassim recalled an incident when a harasser went too far and her only method of defense was to scream until he ran away. “Passersby frowned and chided for being a woman and raising my voice in public,” she said.
Throwing stones
Hibatullah said her method of self-defense is slightly primitive but very effective. With no self-defense classes available where she lives, Hibatullah throws stones or even her shoes at harassers. She has been criticized by family members and other women for her actions but she insists she has no other way to repel harassers.
“Once, I was approached by two guys in a car. I threw a rock at their car, broke their window and they sped off and left me alone. When you’re in this situation you just have to do whatever you have to do to protect yourself. I was never taught how to defend myself, this is one way that works,” said Hibatullah.
Member of the National Society of Human’s Rights’ executive board Suhaila Zain Al-Abideen said if harassment is merely verbal, then the best thing any woman can do is to ignore it. If the perpetrator resorts to physical harassment, women should act to defend themselves.
“If the woman was touched by a harasser, this is where we can interfere. Women should learn self-defense sports such as karate and female gyms and sport facilities should be available for them to use. The responsibility does not rest on women alone. There should be laws that will hold harassers accountable for their actions. There should also be surveillance cameras in shopping centers and on the streets,” she said.
Al-Abideen also accused the Shoura Council of dragging its feet when it comes to endorsing laws against harassment.
“We should not be waiting for enough victims to go through harassment before we pass laws against harassment. Moreover, when the law is implemented it should be implemented on all without exemption. We can ask girls to learn self-defense but that is not a solution. There is a great need to have a law governing this matter,” she added.
The circle of shame
Manal Al-Somali, social specialist at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, said Saudis face many problems due to the culture of shame that exists in society.
“There are certain body parts that we are unable to discuss with females. Molestation exists in all societies and is a result of several social, psychological and economic reasons. Having a legal system encompassing this issue is what is needed. Women face difficulty expressing harassment as many fear the social and familial reactions and some even believe it is their fault that they were molested,” she said.
Al-Somali urged schools to raise awareness among students regarding the issue.
“Girls need to be educated on how to defend themselves, who to go to for help and on their rights in the matter. In addition, there should be a social media campaign regarding harassment so everyone, from children to adults, has at least some knowledge on the subject and there is a sense of communal security,” she added. — SG
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