Saudi Arabia’s Breach of Human Rights
\nby C\u00e9sar Chelala – December 13, 2011 – CommonDreams.org<\/p>\n
December 10 is Human Rights Day. On December 12, 2011, Saudi Arabian authorities ordered the execution of a woman convicted of practicing magic and sorcery. Although the Saudi Interior Ministry didn\u2019t give details of the woman\u2019s crime, the London-based al-Hayat newspaper quoted Abdullah al-Mohsen, chief of the religious police, who stated that the woman had tricked people, making them believe that she could cure them of a variety of ailments. It was an outrageous response to a serious crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the fact that I hate violence against women, when it comes to God\u2019s will, I have to carry it out,\u201d said Muhammad Saad al-Beshi, Saudi Arabia\u2019s top executioner, during an interview with the Saudi daily Arab News. And with remarkable calm he added, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter to me: two, four, ten \u2013 as long as I am doing God\u2019s will, it doesn\u2019t matter how many people I execute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beheadings of women in Saudi Arabia didn\u2019t start until the early 1990\u2019s. Before then, they were shot. Up to the end of 2011, forty-nine women have been publicly beheaded, mainly in major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah and Dahran. Executioners are proud of their job, which is handed down from one generation to the next. In Saudi Arabia, executioners use a traditional Arab scimitar approximately 44 inches long.<\/p>\n
Many people consider the government headed by King Abdullah as reformist. After all, he was behind the decision to allow women to vote and in local elections, albeit in 2015. However, the World Economic Forum 2009 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 130th out of 134 countries when considering gender parity issues. That same report ranked several Muslim countries such as Kyrgystan, Gambia and Indonesia significantly higher than Saudi Arabia on issues of women\u2019s equality. …more<\/a><\/p>\n