Although Saudi women were permitted to vote and run for political positions in December 2015, the government has required the 17 women who gained elected seats in municipal councils (out of 978 candidates) to sit in separate rooms and only communicate electronically with their male counterparts. This move upset women activists, but government ministers quickly[…]
04
Feb
Feb
A UAE court has once again postponed the trial of Omani blogger Muawiya al-Rawahi on Sunday. A writer and human rights defender, al-Rawahi has been accused of insulting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed. UAE authorities originally arrested al-Rawahi at the border with Oman almost a year ago, preventing him from returning[…]
04
Feb
Feb
With the assistance of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, about 150 domestic workers have returned to Sri Lanka after suffering abuse in GCC countries, particularly Kuwait. Some sought refuge at the embassy in that country a few months ago. Many Sri Lankan women have journeyed to the Gulf as to work domestic help, which[…]
02
Feb
Feb
The Sultanate of Oman will no longer be issuing work visas for domestic workers from the five African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Cameroon, and Guinea. A senior official from the Royal Oman Police explained that the government implemented the official ban yesterday, on 1 February 2016, but had already been in the process of[…]
02
Feb
Feb
On 2 February 2016, International Business Times published an op-ed by ADHRB advocacy associate Ellen Duthoy regarding the US’ silence amidst Saudi Arabia’s increasing human rights abuses both at home and abroad. The first paragraphs of the article are found below; the rest can be viewed here. At the end of January, attachés to[…]
