No driving licenses for women

October 25, 2013

Saudi_WomenJeddah, Oct 25: Several Saudi women who applied for driving licenses at Dallah Driving School in Jeddah had their applications rejected on Thursday by traffic officials.

Naila Attar, a Saudi businesswoman, went with two friends to apply for licenses this week at the school. She said it was a futile situation for local women, but that they had some hope that officials would grant them the licenses.

“We have done our homework and studied for the exam. We’ve learned everything there is to know about driving. We actually have licenses from other countries but want the Saudi one too,” she said.

Attar was surprised when she saw other women at the driving school also applying for licenses. “When we walked in, we saw a waiting area for women. We asked the front desk to give us the license applications but they kept asking for our drivers. When we said the applications were for us, they started laughing,” she said.

Saudi women have been going in small groups to apply for licenses throughout the week.

Fatima Moussalli, a businesswoman, was one of the women who applied Wednesday with two friends. “As soon as we walked in, they knew why we were there because other ladies had applied earlier in the week,” she said. “An employee told us that there was no way we could obtain Saudi driving licenses for the time being. He advised us to seek an explanation from the Ministry of Interior,” she said.

Hanaa Humaidan, another Saudi businesswoman who applied, said: “We wanted to apply the legal way because we are a country that respects the law. At the school, an official told us that they would only accept applications once the Ministry of Interior gives the green light,” she said.

“I learned a lot about this issue just by sitting with him for a short while. He also informed us that if we had a driving license from another GCC country, it would be easier for us to get a Saudi one without tests once it is allowed,” she said.

Three women videotaped themselves driving in Jeddah to the driving school to apply for licenses on Oct. 22. In the short video, the women said an official told them that they had not received an order from the Ministry of Interior to obtain licenses.

Um Mohannad was videotaped saying that women are being arrested for not having licenses as opposed to driving illegally, but are refused licenses upon application.

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Gulf News
April 12,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 12: In the backdrop of rising tide of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia on the social media, a company in Dubai sacked an employee from Hyderabad for his hate-filled posts on Facebook.

Bala Krishna Nakka from Hyderabad, who was working as Chief Accountant at Dubai’s Moro Hub Data Solutions Company, was sacked after his Facebook went viral evoking widespread condemnation. The man had posted images on his Facebook page which showed Muslims as suicide bombers wearing bombs in the form of coronavirus cells.

It triggered demands both on Facebook and Twitter for action against him. In a quick response the company announced that the person was being sacked from his job, as the company had zero tolerance towards hate propaganda.

Moro Hub said in a statement: “At Moro, we take a zero tolerance attitude to material that is or may be deemed Islamophoic or hate speech. The tweets that we have been alerted to do not, in any way, reflect Moro’s brand values.”

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in India, a more intense hate propaganda has been unleashed by right wing elements on social media targeting India’s Muslim minority, some of whom are based in Gulf region.

As both the mainstream media, especially Indian TV channels, as well as social media users, have unleashed a campaign linking the spread of virus to a Muslim missionary organisation, the Tableeghi Jamaat, in India, a fresh war of words has broken out on social media.

While some activists have taken up it on themselves to highlight the hate propaganda and draw the attention of employers to such hate mongers, the right wing social media handles have also launched their own counter-offensives against such activists.

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Agencies
May 22,2020

Riyadh, May 22: The family of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Friday said that they forgave his killers. Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had written columns critical of Saudi Arabia, was brutally killed in October 2018, allegedly at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

“In this blessed night of the blessed month [of Ramadan] we remember God’s saying: If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah,” Jamal Khashoggi’s son Salah Khashoggi said in a tweet. “Therefore, we the sons of the Martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce that we pardon those who killed our father, seeking reward [from] God almighty.”

The legal outcome of this announcement is not yet clear. Earlier, Salah Khashoggi said he had “full confidence” in the judicial system, and that the accused were trying to exploit the case.

Jamal Khashoggi’s body was said to have been dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and disposed of elsewhere, but his remains were never found.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Dubai, Jan 10: Iran denied on Thursday that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran had been hit by a missile, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement, according to state TV.

"All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran. All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box".

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