Mohammed bin Salman is asked: "Did you order the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?". In April, Saudi border guards fired on Ethiopian migrants who were forced into the Saudi-Yemen border area by Houthi forces, killing dozens, while hundreds of survivors escaped to amountainous borderarea. This month the Pentagon has withdrawn Patriot missile batteries sent as an emergency defensive measure. The kingdom has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and falling oil prices among other challenges, Saudi Arabia has lost billions in revenue with the Hajj and Umrah cancelled due to Covid-19 (MEE/illustration by Mohamad Elaasar), Saudi Arabia's economic crisis, explained in 10 graphics. The Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which has been battling a Saudi-led military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015, has repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks towards Saudi Arabia, mostly the kingdoms southern region but also Riyadh. : . But in July, as part of austerity measures, that allowance was scrapped,saving the kingdom some $4.8 billion a year. In June, theUNsecretary-general removed the Saudi-led coalition from his latest list of shame of parties responsiblefor grave violations against children during conflict, even though his report concluded that the coalition was responsible for 222 child casualties and 4 attacks on schools and hospitals in Yemen in 2019. To avoid punishment, a woman must ask her guardian for permission to do many everyday tasks. Social discrimination in marriages also exist on both sides. "They have a lot of reserves to keep them going and they could still come out of this oil price slump with their market share intact or even improved. Higher prices are particularly felt by poorer citizens,with some 2.4m receiving financial assistance, according to a UN Special Rapporteur report on extreme poverty in the kingdom, released in 2017. Some employers confiscate passports, withhold wages, and force migrants to work against their will. The moves come as global oil prices have crashed down to less than half what they were a year ago, slashing government revenues by 22% and putting major projects on hold. The fear of westernisation that the religious authority warned against was no longer perceived as a threat by everyone. The kingdoms population has been grown fast for decades, doubling since 1990. Lack of availability of foreign housing compounds at relatively fair prices, where expats have access to pools and sports facilities. "These measures reflect a drastic need to rein in spending and to try to stabilise weak oil prices," says Gulf analyst Michael Stephens. If individuals are engaging in such relationships online, judges and prosecutors utilize vague provisions of the countrys anti-cybercrime law that criminalize online activity impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy.. In April, Saudi authorities announced criminal justice changes ending flogging as a punishment for some crimes and re-stating a 2018 legal change halting the death penalty for alleged child offenders for certain crimes. The National Project Management Organization is set up to reduce costs on state infrastructure projects. In the late 20th century, the United States was faced with a major political dilemma that left a negative impact on the country. RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday expressed its "strong condemnation and dissatisfaction" with a failure to take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of violations against . Share this via WhatsApp Tribal (qabili or asil) people assign themselves into inferior and superior tribes that assume purity in blood and root (asl).[10]. Riyadh started a price war in March in an apparent bid to damage rival producers, even as global demand was sinking due to Covid-19. Financial pressures, familial dynamics, mental health issues, and issues with an aging population are common social concerns in Saudi primary healthcare (Almujadidi et al., 2022). But this figure masks inequalities within the kingdom, and is significantly lower than other Gulf states, including UAE ($43,103) and Qatar ($64,782). She added that the move allowed for other changes to follow, such as easing gender segregation and allowing women a more prominent role in public life. But for Saudis born during the past 30 years, jobs are in short supply. The religious authority that dominated these womens upbringings has now been curtailed by the government, while also losing credibility in the population. Abbas, Faisal J. They are intended to save $26bn but the combined damage caused by the Covid-19 virus and the oil price drop has already reportedly cost the Saudi central bank a similar figure in just the month of March alone. What happened in the last 30 years is not Saudi Arabia, he said, adding, Now is the time to get rid of it.. Authorities did not publish updates in 2020. . The recent changes allow women to be guardians for their children; register marriages, divorces, births and deaths; obtain family documents from the government; and remove a requirement that women have to live with their male guardians. More than two-thirds of the country is estimated to be younger than 30. Advertisement Progress for Saudi Women Is Uneven, Despite Cultural Changes and More Jobs Women say Saudi Arabia has advanced significantly in just the past year, with more choices regarding. But the the dual shocks of coronavirus and tumbling energy prices have hurt its plans, particularly in the non-oil sector, which is forecast to contract by 14 percentthis year. Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by William Maclean. Many Arab countries offer extremely limited rights to women, but Saudi Arabia may be among the worst. Social Issues: Family in Saudi Arabia Topics: Family, Social Issues Words: 604 Pages: 3 Dec 26th, 2019 Family is the fundamental unit in any society where most society members learn their behavior. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Social and racial discrimination in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials allowed hundreds, if not thousands, to enter the country, but then arbitrarily detained them in unsanitary and abusive facilities without the ability to legally challenge their detention or eventual deportation to Ethiopia. YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat allowed Saudi women to broadcast their lives. Another setback is the decision to limit the annual Hajj to 1,000 domestic pilgrims. Segregation narrowed job options for women. Hajj is a big money maker, and the lost revenue is needed," said Theodore Karasik, a senior advisor to Gulf State Analytics. Smartphones and the proliferation of the internet have contributed to changes in Saudi Arabian society. Men can still file cases against daughters, wives, or female relatives under their guardianship for disobedience, which can lead to forcible return to their male guardians home or imprisonment. Prominent activist Waleed Abu al-Khair continued to serve a 15-year sentence that the Specialized Criminal Court imposed on him after convicting him in 2014 on charges stemming solely from his peaceful criticismin media interviews and on social media of human rights abuses. The women dont want to harm the family structure by doing something against the familys norms, even if its allowed for them to do it.. Riyadh blamed Iran, a charge Tehran denied. Almost two-thirds of the population are under 30 - and most of them are unemployed university graduates. The Sustainable Development Goals in Saudi Arabia. For your average citizen in Saudi Arabia, that means only one thing - more belt tightening. Trillions of dollars are also needed to fund Vision 2030 projects. The social issues they have cause serious problems in everyday life. Perhaps the most disputed issue in Saudi politics in that of women's rights. Human Rights Watch reported in March thatSaudimilitary forces and Saudi-backedYemeniforces carried out serious abuses against Yemenis since mid-2019 in al-Mahrah, Yemens far eastern governorate, including arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and illegal transfer of detainees to Saudi Arabia. Each province has its own governor, deputy governor, and a provincial council; Although the king still has power over them. Overview Saudi Arabia's absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties. Saudi Arabia held the presidency of the G20 in 2020 despite the countrys longstanding human rights abuses, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced authorities to turn G20 events, including the leaders summit, into virtual forums. Those who break the law are subject to hundreds of lashes, deportation, fines, or imprisonment. But while Saudi Arabia was once responsible for nearly 30 percent of global oil exports, that figure has now dropped to just 12 percent, according to Capital Economics. One of his male descendants rules the country today, as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law. Saudi Arabia detains scores of senior princes, ministers and top businessmen at Riyadhs Ritz-Carlton hotel in an anti-corruption campaign seen by critics as a power play and shakedown of the crown princes rivals. Saudi Arabia begins accepting licence applications in the military industrial sector, a major target for diversifying the economy away from oil. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman AL SAUD (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. Nor is the global outlook positive: demand is projected to fall by 8.1 million barrels a day, the largest in history because of Covid, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Through 2020, the Saudi-led coalition continued a military campaign against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen that has included scores of unlawful airstrikes that have killed and wounded thousands of civilians. In 2019 an unprecedented missile and drone attack hit the energy infrastructure of oil giant Saudi Aramco. Subcategories. Some women will benefit from the reforms more readily, while some will still have to fight for the implementation of them, according to Yasmine Farouk, a visiting fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peaces Middle East program. The religious discourse, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, constantly warned against the growing domination of Western culture that was seen as contrary to Islamic beliefs and values. The coming period will show how far these women can go. A project of Saudi tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talals Kingdom Holdings, the planned 1,000m-high landmark is intended to top Dubais Burj Khalifa, the worlds current tallest tower. However, authorities arrested several womens rights activists before and after the move amid a broader crackdown in which scores of critics have been arrested. In November 2017, Saudi Arabia launched a campaignto detain foreigners found to be in violation of existing labor, residency, or border security laws, including those without valid residency or work permits, or those found working for an employer other than their legal sponsor. Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030: Can Saudi Arabia afford it? Looking forward, the organisation predicts that demand will peak by 2030 due to the rise in renewable energy. The conflict exacerbated an existing humanitarian crisis. As of June, at least 7,825 civilians had been killed in the conflict, including 2,138 children, and 12,416 wounded since 2015, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), although the actual civilian casualty count is likely much higher. As a cornerstone . Children of mixed marriages would carry mixed blood which would reflect on the position of the tribe as a whole.[11]. Now, increasing numbers of women are in solidarity for their rights. (February 13, 2012). "Pilgrims remains" (bagaya hujjaj) is another phrase used unflatteringly. It also has Saudi Aramco, the majority state-owned oil company, valued last year at $1.7 trillion - equivalent to the combined worth of Google and Amazon at the time. By November, those on trial facing the death penalty included prominent cleric Salman al-Awda, whose charges were connected to his alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and public support for imprisoned dissidents, as well as Hassan Farhan al-Maliki on vague charges relating to the expression of his peaceful religious ideas. Read about our approach to external linking. Prices have recovered since to about $44 a barrel but that is still well below the $77.6 a barrel that the kingdom needs to balance its budget. The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth's environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. A national social issue has been that of becoming a more modern nation while still maintaining a strong sense of heritage, faith, and culture. Saudi women who were initially only observers became more active. That has allowed them to take a whole different number of measures that ease up on the rather severe sort of social norms and restrictions that were in place previously, she said. Hejazi Hadar, as a minority, face many forms of formal and informal discrimination. Then, the same religious scholars became active on social media, on national and international TV channels, and appeared in unsegregated social events while travelling abroad. This is because slaves used to take the name of the people they were serving. A small group of Saudi men and women decided to wait for her in the airport. Authorities say they seized more than $100 billion through financial settlements. Authorities failed to hold high level officials accountable for suspected involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Pinderhughes states, "The proximity of multiple-story complexes to these homes creates social and religious conflicts of privacy widely practiced in the MENA" (243). This contributes to a new and more conducive situation with regard to Saudi womens demands. The Armed Conflict and Event Data Projectestimates that 112,000 people have died from the hostilities, including 12,000 civilians. It provided them with knowledge, entertainment and a private place. In March, the European Union raised concerns on Saudi Arabia at the UN Human Rights Council, including over the detention of human rights defenders, the death penalty, and the Khashoggi case. In the years since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has come to power as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, several headline-grabbing social reforms concerts, movie theaters, a lift on the ban on women driving have been introduced in the ultraconservative kingdom. In 2005, the late King Abdullah allowed thousands of students to study abroad. Oil revenues account for around two-thirds of the kingdoms exports. [9], In the Arabian peninsula generally the tribe (qabila) refers not only to a blood relation but also to a social status. The fear of westernisation and losing ones religious identity were the two concerns that stood in the way of Saudi Arabia opening up the country. Saudis are far more expensive than expats, said Rory Fyfe, managing director of MENA Advisors, so if firms are cutting expats due to cost considerations they arent going to be replaced with Saudis., Momani said: This is going to be a real reckoning for the labour market. In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's social and economic reforms are moving ahead. A royal decree allows music to be played in restaurants as public entertainment flourishes around the kingdom and the ban on gender-mixing eases. The announcement is the latest in a series of dramatic economic and social reforms launched by the 35-year-old crown prince aimed at modernizing the kingdom. Capital trials continued against detainees on charges that related to nothing more than peaceful activism and dissent. The driving demonstration showed the extent of the conservative nature of Saudi Arabia at that time. Middle East Eye. Social media was another crucial factor that contributed to this normalisation. (See also Yemen chapter). The hashtag #SaveDinaLasloom trended for days during the whole ordeal. However, they are increasingly challenged by those who label themselves as contemporary activists and who often stand together with the same women who protested the ban in 1990. Of the 15 executions, nine were for murder, five for non-violent drug crimes, and one for terrorism. Saudi commanders face possible criminal liability for war crimes as a matter of command responsibility. Racism or Tribalism of any kind is prohibited in Saudi media. Somehow you have to keep both in mind simultaneously, that theres been a real social opening and cultural opening, and a real political threat there, Diwan said. The kingdoms debt could rise further after the government raised its debt ceiling from 30 percent to 50 percent from 2022. No officials at the national level are elected. In 2021, increasing oil prices and the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a GDP growth of 3.2% (IMF Economic and Political Outlook, October 2022). In contrast to MBS's reputation abroad, his standing at home remains largely popular, especially amongst the youth. Nor is there any sign that it will return to those levels. FRONTLINE spoke with experts about some of Saudi Arabias recent social reforms, the Saudi monarchys calculus in enacting them, and why some activists pushing for similar changes were arrested and imprisoned. The Hadar in these places are known by their distinctive dialect yet contrasting physical features. That said, there is still opposition from some women. Part of that popularity rests on a newfound Saudi nationalism, embodied in the youthful crown prince himself. ", Saudi Aramco traces its history back to the 1930s. But in 2015 falling oil prices forced the kingdom to turn to the international markets. of this report and the Department of State's. Section 2. Share this via Printer, As More Climate Chaos Looms, Slashing Fossil Fuels Is Key. Though the majority of Hejazi Hadar are Sunni, they, unlike the majority of Bedouin, belong to a variety of Islamic schools of jurisprudence like Sufism. According to Interior Ministry statements, Saudi Arabia executed only 15 persons between January and November, down from 184 executions in 2019. [8], In 2019, Saudi Arabia reportedly asked the WWE to remove Sami Zayn from the super showdown event that is taking place in Saudi Arabia due to his Syrian ethnicity. [2, 3] The World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Gender Gap Report has ranked Saudi Arabia 141 out of 144 countries for gender parity. But the civilian death toll caused by those air strikes has led to mounting criticism in Washington and elsewhere. The two will certainly have an impact on spending and hurt the economy, said Fyfe. Foreign men and women are permitted to rent hotel rooms together without proving they are related. But only a quarter of the tower has so far been built. When youre in an absolute monarchy like Saudi Arabia, even when you respond to peoples demands you have to be careful not to create precedents, Farouk told FRONTLINE. By December 2019, authorities announced that the campaign had totaled over 4.4 million arrests, including for over 3.4 million residency law violations and over 675,000 labor law violations. - - . Diwan noted that the social and cultural reforms are also taking place amid a shift toward nationalism in the country. These are the key threats. They are not permitted to drive a car ever; They have to ask even to be driven to the store or a friends house. Rather, it has become part of the global identity of many Saudi men and women. If there is one symbol of Saudi Arabias economic challenges then it is the unfinished $20bn Kingdom Tower, also known as the Jeddah Tower. . Saudi authorities in 2020 continued to repress dissidents, human rights activists, and independent clerics. Premier League club in 2020, but the bid was eventually withdrawn following protests. D. The internet was not only a breathing space for women who wanted more than their environment could offer, but also a realisation that there was a different reality out there. Government efforts attempts to increase citizen employment by nationalizing the workforce, imposing a monthly tax on foreign workers dependents in mid-2017, increasing exclusions of migrants from certain employment sectors, and the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in which vast numbers of migrant workers were dismissed from jobs, led to an exodus of migrant workers from Saudi Arabia. Hejazi Hadar are Saudi citizens of non-tribal, non-Bedouin origins in the urban areas of Hejaz region, colloquially called Hadar (city-dwellers).

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