YouTube video of woman arguing with morality police, who demanded she leave the mall because of her manicured fingernails, goes viral.
By Haaretz | May.26, 2012 | 4:14 PM
An altercation between a young Saudi woman and an agent of the country's morality police over her nail polish in a Riyadh mall has stirred a public debate in the Middle Eastern kingdom, the Saudi Gazette reported on Saturday.
In a video the woman recorded of the incident and posted on YouTube, she can be heard demanding the agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to leave her alone, as they instruct her to leave the mall at once.
“Why are you chasing me? The government said no more chasing! Your duty is to advise people… why are you looking at my manicure? I will never leave the mall!” she can be heard saying in the video.
Later in the video, the woman asked mall security to intervene in the incident and to get the morality police to stop harassing her. The security guards refused to do so, instructing the youth to listen to the agent, who they know to be "a good man."
The video went viral, the Gazette reported, with many Saudis posting comments in support of the youth and against her conduct. An official investigation into the incident by the commission will be opened, the newspaper said.
Last year, Saudi women staged several protests defying a Saudi ban on women driving under the Women2Drive campaign, in which videos of women driving were posted on Facebook and Twitter in protest at the ban.
The Saudi ruling family, which oversees Islam's holiest sites, draws its legitimacy from the backing of the kingdom's religious establishment, which follows a strict brand of Islam known as Wahhabism. While Saudi King Abdullah has pushed for some changes on women's rights, he is cautious not to push too hard against the clerics. Last year, Abdullah promised to implement some reforms related to women's rights, including allowing women to vote in municipal elections in 2015
In October, Saudi Arabia named a new heir to the throne, Prince Nayef, who is a former interior minister and considered to hold traditionalist views, although he had led crackdowns against suspected Islamic extremists. His selection appeared to embolden the ultraconservative clerics to challenge any sweeping social reforms.
Source
Fierce. I hope this goes well for her.
By Haaretz | May.26, 2012 | 4:14 PM
An altercation between a young Saudi woman and an agent of the country's morality police over her nail polish in a Riyadh mall has stirred a public debate in the Middle Eastern kingdom, the Saudi Gazette reported on Saturday.
In a video the woman recorded of the incident and posted on YouTube, she can be heard demanding the agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to leave her alone, as they instruct her to leave the mall at once.
“Why are you chasing me? The government said no more chasing! Your duty is to advise people… why are you looking at my manicure? I will never leave the mall!” she can be heard saying in the video.
Later in the video, the woman asked mall security to intervene in the incident and to get the morality police to stop harassing her. The security guards refused to do so, instructing the youth to listen to the agent, who they know to be "a good man."
The video went viral, the Gazette reported, with many Saudis posting comments in support of the youth and against her conduct. An official investigation into the incident by the commission will be opened, the newspaper said.
Last year, Saudi women staged several protests defying a Saudi ban on women driving under the Women2Drive campaign, in which videos of women driving were posted on Facebook and Twitter in protest at the ban.
The Saudi ruling family, which oversees Islam's holiest sites, draws its legitimacy from the backing of the kingdom's religious establishment, which follows a strict brand of Islam known as Wahhabism. While Saudi King Abdullah has pushed for some changes on women's rights, he is cautious not to push too hard against the clerics. Last year, Abdullah promised to implement some reforms related to women's rights, including allowing women to vote in municipal elections in 2015
In October, Saudi Arabia named a new heir to the throne, Prince Nayef, who is a former interior minister and considered to hold traditionalist views, although he had led crackdowns against suspected Islamic extremists. His selection appeared to embolden the ultraconservative clerics to challenge any sweeping social reforms.
Source
Fierce. I hope this goes well for her.
Edited at 2012-05-28 01:29 am (UTC)
Such a man is not fit to bear the burden of rule.
Arise, people of Saudi Arabia. You have nothing to lose but your chains.
I'm almost certain that I wouldn't be so brave.
I really hope nothing happens to her, though. <:[
By God, I stood by and witnessed the incident, the woman does not have an atom of modesty. Her face was only covered by a transparent veil over her mouth. She also had a lot of make-up on. In addition to her wearing an abaya accentuating her waist, very similar to a dress. She had her mobile’s earphones in and she was reeling and swaying in front of the men. The CPVPV advised her politely and respectfully. Suddenly she raged against them and started screaming until everyone heard her cries. What was of the CPVPV men only to act leniently while she held up her cell phone. Then she sat beneath the escalators with her mobile held up and her earphones in and continued to scream at the men. She had her legs crossed with one foot swaying left and right in a shameful way. The CPVPV men stood about 4 meters away out of modesty. The CPVPV men insisted on her leaving the mall politely and respectfully while they faced her insults and profanity such as her saying “Do I look like I’m naked to you?”
smh at this rampant misogyny. Apparently the sheikh told her that she had "no right" to take her veil off.
Amended to say that this woman should be commended for her bravery in fighting against the oppressive Saudi Arabian system. FTP
Edited at 2012-05-28 02:17 am (UTC)
What. The. Fuck. I can't even imagine.
She had her legs crossed with one foot swaying left and right in a shameful way.
WTF on top of WTF.
I hope she doesn't suffer further harassment or get arrested for this...
In Saudi it can be unnerving to be followed around by these creeps.
I once saw a video of a young woman beating the crap out of a religious police-woman/hag who had criticized her hijab and tried to arrest her. It was beautiful and I've often looked for it.
*inserts imaginary GIF of last semester's logic teacher explaining that one cannot know a false thing*
Edited at 2012-05-29 12:27 am (UTC)
Play on, sister, play on!