Saudi women banned from voting again

Saudi Arabian women have been prohibited from participating in the municipal elections that are scheduled to be held later this year.

It is the second time Saudi women have been banned from voting in municipal elections since 2005.
The Saudi ministry responsible for polls decided not to allow women to participate because of social considerations, a report said on Saturday.
Only men were allowed to vote and run for office in the last mayoral elections in 2005. However, municipal councils in Saudi Arabia have no legislative powers.
The mayoral elections slated for later this year will be the second in Saudi Arabia's history.
Saudi Arabia has extremely harsh regulations for women, and it is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving.
But there is evidence that many women in Saudi Arabia do not want radical change.
Even many advocates of reform reject Western critics for "failing to understand the uniqueness" of Saudi society.
However, some women in Saudi Arabia have campaigned for the right to drive cars for decades.
An economic argument against the ban is that the country can save the money the army of foreign drivers sends back to their home countries.

Jalib’s Pakistan

Editorial:

March 12, 2011 was Habib Jalib’s 18th death anniversary. Jalib was not just a revolutionary poet, a Marxist-Leninist, a political activist but he was a visionary who wanted Pakistan to be a country free of military dictatorships, religious fanaticism and class differences. Urdu poet Qateel Shifai summed up Jalib sahib’s life beautifully in these words:

“Apney saarey dard bhula kar auron ke dukh sehta tha,

Hum jab ghazlain kehtey thay woh aksar jail mein rehta tha,

Aakhir kaar chala hee gaya woh rooth kar hum farzaanon se,

Woh deewana jisko zamana Jalib Jalib kehta tha.”

(He hid his own anguish and languished for others,

When as we rhymed for damsels and composed lilting songs, he was the one who pined behind the bars,

Now at last he is gone, leaving us sane and mandarins behind,

The one who went by the name Jalib).

Jalib sahib was committed to freedom of expression and he was not afraid to voice his opinion. He was imprisoned in General Ayub Khan’s time for the first time because he vociferously opposed the General’s capitalist policies, which were only beneficial for a handful of families. Despite the relative success of Ayub’s economic policies, the bitter truth was that the masses kept suffering and kept getting poorer. It was because of the rise in sugar prices that a mass movement finally made General Ayub resign but another military dictator, General Yahya Khan, replaced him. Jalib was against the oppression in the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and wrote his hauntingly beautiful poem ‘Bagiya Lahu Luhan’ (The Garden is full of blood). It was not just during military rule that Jalib went to jail but Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, too, imprisoned him along with some of his leftist friends. When General Ziaul Haq came to power, Jalib sahib was again vocal about his disastrous policies and challenged his orthodox views. Jalib had a keen eye and long before others would say it, he wrote how it was not Islam in danger but the vested interests of our ruling elite, who invoked the religion card at the drop of a hat. He also challenged the mullahs and how they never questioned the rich but always preached to the poor, whose fate could not change through prayers.
Agar may farangi ka darbaan hota
Tho jeena kis kadar aasaan hota
Meray bachay bhi amreeka may parthay
Har garmi may main Inglistaan hota
Meree English bhi balaa ki chusth hotee
Balaa say jo na main Urdu-daan hota
Sar jhuka kay jo ho jaata sar main
Tho leader bhi azeem-u-shaan hota
Zameenain meree har soobay may hoteen
May wallah sadr-e-Pakistan hota
The rising tide of fanaticism that has gripped Pakistan, its manifestations clear in the assassinations of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, need to be swept away by revisiting Jalib and his ideas. The new generation needs to discover what Jalib stood for and why it is important in order to save our country from an abyss of darkness. Had Jalib sahib been alive, he would have been the first one to stand on the barricades and recite a new poem for an enlightened future of Pakistan. Jalib’s poetry is about resistance and we definitely need to resist religious extremism.

Pakistani Women Move Beyond Traditional Roles

A visit to the Jalozai camp, originally established in 1980 for Afghans fleeing the Soviet invasion, gives an idea of how the fighting between the Pakistani Army and militants has affected families in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

In 2008, all the Afghan refugees left. Their place was taken by about 100,000 Pakistanis known as the “internally displaced” of their country. Children, women and men arrive with what they can carry, then spend weeks, months, even years in tents.

In this part of Pakistan, the women, almost all Pashtun, traditionally have no other role beyond marrying and producing children at a young age, then taking care of those families.

For some women, though, the camp in recent months has offered new opportunity and a change in perspective. A few hundred of them attend one of the five community centers for women established since last June. They learn to read, write, count, sew or knit. The centers, managed by the Center for Excellence and Rural Development, a partner of the U.N. refugee agency, also serve as venues where they can freely air their problems and hopes.

For Savida, a 30-year-old mother of four from the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, life had followed the same pattern for 14 years. She woke, prepared breakfast for her husband and children, worked in the field, and then cooked lunch and dinner. The family had to flee the war and ended up in Jalozai. She and her husband got divorced one year ago.

“He was a drug addict and very aggressive,” Savida said, cradling her 1-year-old boy, his feet caked with mud from playing outside. A thatched roof protects the women from the rain; walls prevent outsiders from looking in at the women. “My husband kidnapped the two older ones when they were on their way back to the tent from school,” she said, tears rolling from her eyes.

Savida, who declined to give her family name because she feared violence from her husband, said the support of the community center and other female refugees helped her. She has learned to tailor, and she stitches together clothes that the center sells for her in the local market. She wants to earn money for her children to get an education — something she was denied because fathers, and later, husbands, have to give permission. “I will not make a difference between my daughters and sons,” Savida said. “I want them all to learn and have a bright future.”

Husbands and fathers indeed have to be persuaded to allow their women to visit the center.

Neila Bibi, a teacher, and her colleague Huma Farman said they went each day from tent to tent to assure the men that only women were allowed in the center and that Islam also permitted the teaching of women. “They fear the gossip of other people,” Ms. Bibi said.

For most of the men, even negotiating with women is a big step. “We are the only chance for these girls and women to get a new perspective in their lives,” said Ms. Farman, who grew up in the nearby city of Mardan.

She recalled how one 29-year-old woman, who had been married at 13, had told her she had never been allowed to see a doctor. “We brought female medics, and this woman and others were for their first time examined,” Ms. Farman said. “For the first time.”

Some of the women report a slow change of perspective among their male kin. Alia Jahwaz, 20, from Khyber Agency, learned to read and write in six months at the center and has lived at the camp for a year and a half. “There were no girls’ schools in my area, that’s why I had not been able to read and write until I came here,” she said, smiling. Last month, Ms. Jahwaz gave a speech to nearly 1,000 people at the camp. Wearing a burqa, traditional in the region, she spoke about women’s rights also guaranteed by Islam and the issue of violence. “I am sure it was the first time for most of the men to hear about this,” she said, giggling, “but my father was very proud of me.”

Anjuman dost Muhammad, 21, has been disabled since birth. Her hands are not fully developed. Yet she learned to write the English alphabet, studying with her older brother. “We are alone here. Our parents are in Bajaur; we are not in touch for a long time,” she said.

Ms. Muhammad said she and other women taught at the center were passing on knowledge to tent neighbors who could not visit the center, either because husbands and fathers still said no, or because they had other commitments. “I teach them the alphabet and also the Koran,” she said.

One of the first things teachers discuss with their new female pupils is violence. “There is psychological, physical and sexual violence,” proclaimed Mulhtiara lal Wazir, who has visited her center since it opened. She proudly reads a plaque to a visitor. It also says that violence can stem from poverty, unemployment, drug dependence and psychological problems, and that tradition and gender discrimination play a part.

Mrs. Wazir is 42, from Bajaur. Women in her region never used even to talk about these issues, even within families. But she has broken the pattern. “I even discuss violence with my husband and sons,” she said. “I want them to know what is right and what is wrong.”

If ever she returns home, she said, “we already discussed, that we want to start a new center there.” Will her husband agree? “Of course,” she said, laughing. “We know our rights now. We do have a voice.”

Zahida Kazmi: Pakistan's ground-breaking female cabbie

BBC.COM
Zahida Kazmi has been hailed as Pakistan's first female taxi driver. She has driven from the crowded markets of Islamabad to the remote tribal country in the north. Here she tells Nosheen Abbas about her two decades in a male-dominated world.

In 1992 at the age of 33, newly widowed Zahida Kazmi decided to take her fate in her own hands and become a taxi driver.

Born into a conservative and patriarchal Pakistani family, she flew in the face of her family's wishes but with six children to support, she felt she had no choice.

She took advantage of a government scheme in which anybody could buy a brand new taxi in affordable instalments. She bought herself a yellow cab and drove to Islamabad airport every morning to pick up passengers.In a perilous and unpredictable world, Zahida at first kept a gun in the car for her own protection and she even started off by driving her passengers around wearing a burqa, a garment that covers the entire body.

Her initial fears soon dissipated.

"I realised that I would scare passengers away," she said. "So then I only wore a hijab [head covering]. Eventually I stopped covering my head because I got older and was well-established by then."

Exposing herself to the hot, bustling city streets of Islamabad and by driving to the rocky and remote districts adjoining Pakistan's tribal areas, Zahida says she learned a lot about the country she lived in and its people.

The Pathans of the tribal north-west, despite a reputation for fierce male pride and inflexibility, treated her with immense courtesy on her journeys.

Eventually she became the chairperson of Pakistan's yellow cab association. Once she was established, she offered to teach young women how to drive taxis, but there was little interest. Even her daughters didn't express enthusiasm."They don't need to make a living," she says wistfully. "They are all married."

Zahida is not one of Pakistan's metropolitan liberal middle class - there are plenty of educational and career opportunities for privileged women in Pakistan but not for women from Zahida's background.

Pakistan has an exceptionally low number of women in work: 33.7% according to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. Most women who work come under the category of "unpaid family workers".

Pakistan's legal system does little to protect women, so harassment is commonplace. Campaigners say it is little wonder that women do not choose livelihoods that make them even more vulnerable.

"Girls shy away from non-traditional jobs in a setting where there is a particular mindset... of intimidation," says Anees Haroon, chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women in Pakistan.

'Curious and amazed'
But had Zahida been starting out now, things would be quite different as she would be entering the workforce in a country torn between the forces of liberalism and Islamic radicalism.

Pakistan in 1992 was a more moderate place: it was opening up to the world; the dish antenna had been introduced; Pakistan had won the cricket world cup. Zahida says society felt fairly open to her.

But the Taliban presence in many parts of Pakistan has intensified over the years.Zahida has had to drive long distances on treacherous routes to northern areas such as Balakot, Chitral, Dir and even the Swat valley.

"Police at checkposts would be interested in why I was driving a taxi, but they were simply curious and amazed," she said.

Passengers seek her out as well. Adnan Waseem, a businessman from Haripur, told me that he always books Zahida for his journeys.

"I saw her and the first thought that came to my mind was that she's my mother's age. I liked her driving and in these days where one feels insecure in Pakistan I felt very relaxed," he said.

Another traveller, Sohail Mazhar, had to be driven through rocky terrain up to the northern city of Abbottabad.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

I am old now and I get tired. It's hard for me to drive all the time but what can I do? ”

Zahida Kazmi
"Even the policemen who stopped us at security checkpoints also knew her... we were so happy to see a woman driving a taxi."Although Zahida has been feted for being Pakistan's first female taxi-driver, she still has many bitter memories of her struggles as a single mother working hard on the road.

Her own mother disapproved of her career choice and only resentfully accepted it when the media gave her positive coverage.

And she is estranged from her children now.

"I am old now and I get tired. It's hard for me to drive all the time but what can I do? My sons don't help," she said.

"If I had a chance I would have become a doctor."

Just as she said that to me, a passing taxi driver stopped his car and got out to reverentially greet Zahida.

Despite her travails, she is clearly a respected presence on the streets of Islamabad.

Jacqueline Fernandez is one of the many star guests who will be at the GR8! Awards in Dubai

The iconic GR8! Women Awards, which have completed 10 amazing years in India, will soon be coming to Dubai! An initiative of Anu and Shashi Ranjan’s Indian Television Academy (ITA), the GR8! Women Awards honour ladies who have reached the pinnacle of success in their field. From the world of cinema to business and philanthropy, from fashion and education to marketing and journalism, the winners all demonstrate the kind of excellence that makes the world a better place. Those honoured in the past include some of the greatest Women Achievers of India – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sushmita Sen, Asha Bhosle, Nita Ambani, Shiela Dixit, Maharani Gayatri Devi and Rajshree Birla.

A key feature of the awards is that they support the ‘Beti’ campaign against female foeticide in India. This has attracted many celebrities to the event and the cause it champions, year after year.
The 2011 GR8! Women Awards in India took place in the Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon, under the aegis of GR8! TV Magazine in February this year. The A-lister award winners included Rani Mukerji, Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan Ali and Rina Dhaka, among many other super-talented women.
Now, the Awards will be in Dubai! The Middle East leg of the GR8! Women Awards will take place in the city on April 15, 2011, and you can be sure to see a lot of renowned achievers at the event. Expected are over two dozen Bollywood stars and celebs including Jacqueline Fernandes, Mugdha Godse, Bhagyashree, Zeenat Aman, Khushbu, Divya Dutta and Sunidhi Chauhan, among many others.

Check out the GR8! Women Awards categories below, and keep checking Masala.com for more details on the event in Dubai, which is being organised by GR8! Tv mag and marketed by Cyclops Communication. A lot more stars are expected to attend and perform, and we’ll let you know all about it right here. Watch this space for updates!

Operation in N. Waziristan

The federal government has directed the Fata Disaster Management Authority to prepare a contingency plan for thousands of families likely to be uprooted after a military operation in North Waziristan Agency, an official told Dawn on Saturday.

The official said about 50,000 families (roughly 500,000 individuals) could be displaced from the agency, where speculations about the military operation against militants have been doing the rounds for quite some time.

The army has deployed over 20,000 troops, including two wings of the Frontier Corps, in the agency. The region is regarded as a bastion of Al Qaeda and Taliban.

“The FDMA has received directives from the federal authorities to chalk out a plan in consultation with the United Nations’ agencies and other humanitarian bodies to cope with the displacement,” he said.

Knowledgeable sources said the federal government had not set any timeframe for completion of the contingency plan, but the FDMA had been asked to keep the plan ready.

“We have been asked by the authorities to complete the task as soon as possible, but we have no idea about the timing of a military offensive,” the sources said.

The US government has been pressuring Islamabad, since the Times Square (New York) bomb plot in which a Pakistani national Faisal Shahzad was arrested in May last year, to launch an operation against militant groups, particularly the Haqqani network, to dislodge them from their redoubt in North Waziristan. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed that it had masterminded the car bomb plot.

Islamabad, however, has stuck to the line that it alone would take a decision on the launch of an operation, citing lack of resources as the biggest handicap.

The FDMA, according to officials, had alerted the UN and its satellite organisations to the likelihood of a big displacement in the event of an operation, advising them to make provisions for shelter, food and other assistance.

They said that sites would be identified and selected for relief camps after consultations with the UN and other stakeholders.

According to official estimates, 50 per cent of the families feared to be displaced would take shelter in relief camps and the rest would settle with relatives and in rented houses.

Sources said camps were likely to be set up in neighbouring districts.

About financial resources, they said UN agencies had expressed willingness to foot the bill for tents, food, NFIs, water, sanitation and health. Officials said the average cost of a tent was 310 dollars.

The FDMA is already looking after 148,893 registered displaced families (over 1.1 million individuals) which had been displaced due to violence and subsequent military actions in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata).

About 23,505 families have been living in camps and 125,388 other displaced families have been staying with their relatives.

A recent military action in Mohmand Agency caused the displacement of some 6,000 families. They were accommodated in two camps.

On the other hand, the IDPs displaced from Orakzai and South Waziristan agencies have started returning home.

Blasphemy law founders Pakistan

A deadly silence

By GWYNNE DYER

At least with a dictatorship, you know where you are -- and if you know where you are, you may be able to find your way out. In Pakistan, it is not so simple.

While brave Arab protesters are overthrowing deeply entrenched autocratic regimes, often without even resorting to violence, Pakistan, a democratic country, is sinking into a sea of violence, intolerance and extremism. The world's second-biggest Muslim country (185 million people) has effectively been silenced by ruthless Islamist fanatics who murder anyone who dares to defy them.

What the fanatics want, of course, is power, but the issue on which they have chosen to fight is Pakistan's laws against blasphemy. They not only hunt down and kill people who fall afoul of these laws, should the courts see fit to free them. They have also begun killing anybody who publicly advocates changing the laws.

Salman Taseer, the governor of the Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province, was murdered by his own bodyguard in January because he criticized the blasphemy laws and wanted to change them. He said that he would go on fighting them even if he was the last man standing - and in a very short time he was no longer standing.

But one man still was: Shahbaz Bhatti.

Bhatti was shot down earlier this month. The four men who ambushed his car and filled him with bullets left a note saying, "In your fight against Allah, you have become so bold that you act in favour of and support those who insult the Prophet. . . . And now, with the grace of Allah, the warriors of Islam will pick you out one by one and send you to hell."

Bhatti was not a rich and powerful man like Taseer, nor even a major power in the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to which they both belonged. He was the only Christian member of the cabinet, mainly as a token representative of the country's three million Christians, but he had hardly any influence outside that community. Nevertheless, he refused to stop criticizing the blasphemy laws even after Taseer's murder, so they killed him, too.

That leaves only Sherry Rehman, the last woman standing. A flamboyant member of parliament whose mere appearance enrages the beards, she has been a bold and relentless critic of the blasphemy laws - and since Taseer's murder she has lived in hiding, moving every few days. But she will not shut up until they shut her up.

And that's it. The rest of the country's political and cultural elite has gone silent, or panders openly to the fanatics and the bigots. The PPP was committed to changing the blasphemy laws only six months ago, but after Taseer was killed, President Asif Ali Zardari assured a gathering of Islamic dignitaries that he had no intention of reviewing the blasphemy laws. Although they are very bad laws.

In 1984 Gen. Zia ul-Haq, the dictator who ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988, made it a criminal offence for members of the Ahmadi sect, now some five million strong, to claim that they were Muslims. In 1986 he instituted the death penalty for blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. No subsequent government has dared to repeal these laws, which are widely used to victimize the Ahmadi and Christian religious minorities.

Ahmadis and Christians account for at most 5% of Pakistan's population, but almost half of the thousand people charged under this law since 1986 belonged to those communities. Most accusations were false, arising from disputes over land, but once made they could be a death sentence.

Higher courts generally dismissed blasphemy charges, recognizing that they were a tactic commonly used against Christians and Ahmadis in local disputes over land, but 32 people who were freed by the courts were subsequently killed by Islamist vigilantes -- as were two of the judges who freed them.

The current crisis arose when a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, was sentenced to death last November, allegedly for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan's liberals mobilized against the blasphemy law -- and discovered they are an endangered species.

The murders of Taseer and Bhatti were bad, but even worse was the way the political class and the bulk of the mass media responded. A majority of a population fully supports the blasphemy law, making it very costly for politicians to act against it even if the fanatics don't kill them. Political cowardice reigns supreme and so Pakistan falls slowly under the thrall of the extremists.

Being a democracy is no help, it turns out, because democracy requires people to have the courage of their convictions.

Very few educated Pakistanis believe people should be executed because of a blasphemy charge arising out of some trivial village dispute, but they no longer dare to say so. Including the president.

"We will not be intimidated nor will we retreat," said Zardari the day after Bhatti's murder, but he has already promised the beards the blasphemy law will not be touched.

Nor is it very likely that the murderers of Taseer or Bhatti will be tracked down and punished. You could get killed trying to do that.

Free guided tours to historical sites

The Directorate of Archeology and Museums plans to organise free trips for people wanting to visit the historical sites located in three different districts of the province.

The free guided trip with the motto “Opening the doors of archeological heritage of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa” would be carried out by the directorate in collaboration with the Tourism Corporation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa under its awareness campaign about historical sites and revival of archeological tourism in the province.

The programme will be completed in two months during which visits will be conducted to different sites including Gor Khutree, Takht Bhai, Hund etc, in district Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi, said Dr Abdul Samad, consultant Directorate of Archeology and Museums, while talking to media persons here on Friday.

He said that the programme had been designed for people in three categories including teenagers, families and senior citizens. The basic purpose of the guided tours, he said, was to create awareness and a sense of ownership in the community for cultural heritage and promotion of domestic archeological tourism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that the registration process would be initiated from Monday (March 14) under certain terms and conditions. The aspirants should register themselves during the office hours, he added.

“We will provide transportation facility to the archeological sites in Peshawar, Mardan, and Swabi under the guided programme,” he added.

The registration process, he said, was also possible via electronic mail. If anybody willing to participate in free trips under the mentioned category, he/she should send the requests on samkhn@gmail.com, with his/her name, address, district and other relevant information, he concluded.

CD shop blown up in Peshawar

A CD shop was blown up in Peshawar on Saturday, police said. The blast, which took place in the Badabher police precincts, completely damaged the shop, but no loss of life was reported, local police said. Police have registered a case against unidentified terrorists. Terrorists have stepped up attacks in Peshawar and the provincial government has ordered beef up of security to keep the situation under control.

Why Saudis Ignored Calls for Protests

THE GUARDIAN. UK.
Friday was Saudi Arabia's "day of rage", planned for and anticipated for weeks. But, in the event, there wasn't even a grumble – unless you count the ongoing protests in the eastern province which had been going on for a week.

The protests in the east, where the Saudi Shia minority is concentrated, were mostly to call for the release of political prisoners. However, across the country there was silence. Many were expecting it to be so, but some wonder why.

Two main factors played a role in this silence. The first was the government's preparation, with the interior ministry's warning and the senior clerics' religious decree prohibiting demonstrations and petitions.

During the week there was also a huge campaign to discourage demonstrations. Saudis were bombarded on TV, in SMS messages and online with rumours that the demonstrations were an Iranian conspiracy, and that those who went out in the streets would be punished with five years' prison and fines in the thousands of riyals.

Finally, on Friday itself, there was an intimidating security presence all over the major cities, with checkpoints on the roads and helicopters flying above.

The second and more important factor discouraging protests was a huge question mark regarding who was calling for them. What started on a Facebook page as a call for the creation of a civil society with a list of demands including a constitutional monarchy and a call for public freedoms and respect for human rights eventually turned into a page where sectarianism was openly practised and Islamists were praised.

The grassroots movement was gradually taken over and given a Jihadi name: Hunain, recalling a famous battle in the early history of Islam. Sa'ad al-Faqih and other anti-monarchy people took over. On his channel, Islah TV, he assigned locations and gave instructions on how to conduct a protest, with tips ranging from what to wear to what to do if tear gas gets in your eyes. He hijacked the grassroots movement for reforms into an outright call for an end to the monarchy and the creation of a new Islamist state – a cause similar to what Bin Laden and al-Qaida were calling for. These types of calls no longer have support within Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, none of the prominent Saudis who drafted the petitions during the last few weeks openly supported the demonstrations. These academics, actors, writers, and public speakers whose petitions drew thousands of Saudis to bravely sign their names, did not call for the demonstrations on Friday nor say that they were participating.

The Monday before, in a weekly meeting of a group of reformists, it was noted that for the overwhelming majority of them, there were no plans to be part of the "Hunain Revolution". Even Saudis who considered participating said they would sit out the first day, just to gauge whether those coming out were reformists or anti-monarchists, so as to not be associated with the latter.

As to how Saudis feel now that the day of no rage has come and gone, a hashtag on Twitter, #After11March, was created to discuss just that. There, most Saudis expressed their surprise at the extent to which the government took any threat of demonstrations seriously. Also, many wrote that they had not expected any large-scale protests to happen. As Soumz, a fellow blogger and medical student, tweeted:

"Things i learned on #Mar11: the gov listens to you (though chooses to ignore you) AND the gov is afraid of you."
Fouad al-Farhan created a poll asking how people felt about the non-event. While it may not be scientific, it's still telling. Four hundred took part and 37% felt relieved that nothing happened because they are opposed to any form of demonstrations; 30% felt disappointed that nothing happened because they believed demonstrations would push reforms forward; only 2% were disappointed because they were expecting a revolution on the same scale as Tunisia and Egypt; and finally 32% were optimistic that reforms are going to happen regardless of whether or not protests materialise.

'Saudi people seek political reforms'

People in Saudi Arabia have ratcheted up political criticisms of the kingdom over mounting concerns about political detentions and intolerance against free speech, says an analyst.

People in Saudi Arabia “have genuine grievances. They are asking for their voices to be heard. So I think the way Saudi authorities have dealt with it so far is completely inappropriate,” said Pat Lancaster, the editor of the “Middle East” magazine in a Friday interview with Press TV.
She noted that it was unacceptable for Saudi authorities to disregard people and their demands in the 21st century.
“It is impossible to tell people that they have no voice, they can't speak. It just won't be tolerated. Nor should it be.”
Her remarks come in the wake of the recent police clampdown on Saudi demonstrators in a protest rally in the eastern city of al-Qatif where people poured out into the streets to demand freedom and release of political prisoners. Saudi police shot and wounded at least three protesters in the city on Thursday as the rally was about to finish.
The anti-government demonstration was the latest of a series of small protests over the past three weeks, in which several people were arrested.
More than 32,000 people backed a Facebook call to hold two demonstrations in the country on March 11 and March 20.
The Saudi regime heightened security in the city and stepped up its crackdown on any dissent.

Bahrain protesters march on palace

Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters encircled one of the royal family's palaces Saturday, shouting calls for political freedom and the king's ouster a day after a similar march triggered a violent response from security forces.There was no repeat of the violent scenes from a day earlier when police backed by pro-government mobs drove crowds back from a different palace by firing rubber bullets and tear gas in a melee that injured dozens, according to witness

accounts.In contrast, Saturday's demonstration — which coincided with a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates — was allowed to ring the palace with police deployed only inside its premises.Gates said that Bahrain and other Arab governments facing popular uprisings need to move quickly toward democratic reforms or risk giving regional rival Iran a chance to exploit the instability. Iran, a Shiite power in the region, is seen by Sunni-led countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as a serious threat.Still, there is no evidence that Iran has made any inroads with the Shiite activists who have led a month of protests in Bahrain modeled on the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia but fueled by local grievances against the island kingdom's Sunni monarchy. Bahrain's majority Shiite population accuses the rulers of discriminating against them and persecuting those who speak out.

Gates was in Bahrain to encourage dialogue between the Shiite-led protest movement and the Sunni ruling family.Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, the main American military counterweight to Iran's efforts to expand its armed forces and reach into the Gulf.Gates is the first member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet to visit Bahrain since street protests began in mid-February. In Saturday's meetings, Gates had been expected to urge a more open dialogue with political opposition groups, while offering reassurances of U.S. support for the rulers.The protesters have been staging daily demonstrations and marching on state and financial institutions that they say symbolize political oppression and economic inequality.

Tensions were high after Friday's march on the royal palace in Riffa, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Manama turned violent. The royal compound includes the Ruler's Court, the country's highest legal authority. Many members of ruling Al Khalifa family also live in the island capital's suburb.Security forces, reinforced by pro-government Sunni vigilantes, responded by fired rubber bullets and tear gas to scatter protesters near the palace in Manama, the capital.
Several witnesses reported the use of rubber bullets by the government side on Friday, including two protesters and human rights activist Sayed Yousef al-Mahafdha. Dr. Ali al-Iqri, who was part of an ambulance crew treating the wounded, also said he witnessed the firing.Bahrain's Interior Ministry denied its forces had fired rubber bullets though it acknowledged using tear gas.Saturday's march on another royal compound in Saferiya, 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Manama was bigger and peaceful. With police monitoring the demonstration from the palace's sprawling courtyard, the protesters encircled the king's summer residence — chanting anti-government slogans and calling on the monarch to step down.Some protesters were dressed in white — the color of funeral shrouds — to symbolize a willingness to die for their cause. They carried signs that said in English and Arabic, "I am the next martyr" and "Willing to die for freedom."
The island's Shiites — about 70 percent of the population — have long demanded rights equal to those of the nation's Sunnis and the naturalized Sunnis from Arab states. The current political unrest is unprecedented, though tensions have simmered for years.
Seven protesters were killed in the government crackdown last month.

Lady Gaga launches Japan relief bid

The superstar singer who topped the charts around the world with her latest smash hit single 'Born This Way' has called her fans who she calls "Little Monsters" into action. She wants them to help her help Japan by buying a bracelet on her official website that she has designed for $5 (€3.60) or more and all proceeds will go to the relief efforts.

Gaga, who has nearly 9 million fans on Twitter, tweeted; "I designed a Japan Prayer Bracelet. Buy It/Donate on my website and ALL proceeds will go to Tsunami Relief Efforts. Go Monsters."

She added; "Choose your price to add an additional donation with your wristband. All proceeds go directly to Japan relief efforts."

Many other pop stars have taken to Twitter to offer the messages of sympathy including Alicia Keys who wrote; "My heart breaks for Japan".

And Justin Bieber tweeted; "Japan is one of my favourite places on Earth. It's an incredible culture with amazing people. My prayers go out to them. We all need to help."

Pakistan spy chief to stay on as key CIA partner

Pakistan's government will extend the term of the country's powerful spy chief, the CIA's main partner in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban and a major player in the country's policies toward Afghanistan, an official said Saturday.
Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha has headed the Inter Services Intelligence, or the ISI, since 2008.
The ISI and the army — rather than the civilian government — formulate Pakistan's foreign and defense policies, especially concerning Afghanistan and India. The agency has significant influence over domestic political developments.
Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar told reporters Pasha would stay on as ISI chief when his term expires March 18, but he did not say how long the extension would be. Media reports in recent days suggested he will get a one or two-year extension.
Pasha is believed to have a good relationship with the CIA, and under his leadership the country has taken the fight to Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban. But Pakistan's perceived differing strategic interests, especially over the future of Afghanistan, cause frequent tensions between the two spy agencies.
Ties have hit a low since the arrest of a CIA contractor in eastern Pakistan in January after he shot and killed two Pakistanis. The contractor remains in jail despite Washington's insistence he must be freed. The ISI has criticized alleged CIA covert operations in the country.
Last year, Pakistan gave an unprecedented three-year extension to army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, an ally of Pasha.

Thai 'Red Shirts' rally on protest anniversary

Thousands of anti-government "Red Shirt" demonstrators took to Bangkok's streets Saturday amid a heavy police presence, marking a year since the start of protests in the capital that turned deadly.

Thai society remains deeply divided following political violence that left about 90 people dead -- mostly civilians -- in a series of bloody street clashes between armed troops and protesters in April and May last year.

Police estimated that about 25,000 people had joined Saturday's gathering by early evening with the numbers expected to increase later for a video-link address by the Reds' hero, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
"In the past year we have suffered excruciating pain and been suppressed by the elite," said Nattawut Saikuar, one of seven main leaders of the movement recently released on bail after nine months in prison.
"I invite our brothers and sisters to come out tonight," he told a satellite television station run by the Reds.
The rally near Bangkok's Democracy Monument was expected to be the largest since May 2010, when troops firing live rounds and backed by armoured vehicles moved in to end the Reds' two-month demonstration.
After the crackdown, dozens of buildings were set ablaze across Bangkok, including a major shopping complex and the stock exchange.
"Many people I knew died last year so I want to call for justice. I hope this government goes," said Prapai Wichianchod, a 72-year-old retiree from northern Kampaengpetch Province.
Demonstrators at Saturday's rally wore T-shirts saying "Reds never die" and waved placards with slogans including "No Justice, no unity".
Many seek the return of Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and lives overseas to avoid a jail sentence imposed in absentia for corruption.
"I want to express my desire to fight. I voted in an election but the military seized power and stole my rights," said Supoj Ardsak, a 25-year-old company worker from Bangkok. "Now I want to call for my rights back."
National police spokesman Major General Prawut Thavornsiri said almost 3,500 officers were deployed for the demonstration and more were on standby, although the authorities said the rally could go ahead if it was peaceful.
"Police predict there will be more than 40,000 protesters and the rally will continue into the early hours, but we don't expect any violence," Prawut said.
The Red Shirts have held a series of peaceful one-day rallies in the capital in recent weeks.
The movement views Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government as an unelected elite because it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote with military backing, after a court ruling threw out the previous administration.
The government rejects the accusation, saying it came to power through a democratic process.
Abhisit said on Friday he would dissolve the lower house of parliament by early May, paving the way for what is expected to be a hard-fought election in late June or early July.
The British-born, Oxford-educated head of the establishment Democrat Party, must call a vote by the end of this year, when his term finishes, but he has repeatedly said he favours early polls.
The government has said it hopes the election brings a return to normality, but the Red Shirts are sceptical about prospects of a fair vote.
"If there's no cheating by the government side and no dirty tricks in the election then there'll be no political crisis," said Waraporn Puriladapun, a 53-year-old protester from Bangkok.
"But I think there will be cheating because some people are obsessed by power".
Some fear the military may even intervene in a country which has seen 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932, although Abhisit has rejected the idea.
"I'm 90 percent sure there'll be a coup before the election. I have a feeling," said protester Supoj.

US army to aid Japan quake rescue

Saudi Arabia in for revolution?

Saudi Arabia is at the focus of experts’ attention after police broke up a Shiite rally in the east of the country and the authorities banned any demonstrations. Western analysts quickly listed Saudi Arabia as a country to witness the next revolution amid local publications defaming the Royal Family. All analysts are unanimous, however, that the West would not welcome destabilization in a country which is widely seen as the US’ major partner in the volatile region.

While Tunisia, Egypt and Libya were swept by riots and the authorities in Bahrain and Yemen struggled to pacify the opposition, Saudi Arabia remained an island of stability. The government precluded social unrest by announcing a 35-billion-dollar increase in social spending. And a member of the ruling family, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, issued a statement saying that King Abdullah should expand political rights and freedoms. But the measures proved useless against the critics who continued to slam the regime in the Internet on shakwa.net, encouraging critical publications in the western press. Guided by WikiLeaks files, the Reuter news agency accused members of the royal family in corruption. Vladimir Isayev, an expert from the Oriental Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes, however, that ruining relations with Saudi Arabia does not meet the western agenda.

Saudi Arabia is a top buyer of US weapons and a major oil supplier to the US. American armed forces are monitoring the situation in the country from a number of bases on the territory of Saudi Arabia and Saudi leaders have been cooperating with the US on a whole range of issues. Washington is unlikely to challenge its number one partner in the Arab world.

After a Shiite rally in the east the Saudi government banned any demonstrations. The Shiites say, however, that will take to the streets again. Vladimir Isayev says that revolutionary moods are instigated by Iran.

Iran has been trying hard to increase its clout over Shiite communities across the globe. Shiites make up a minority in Saudi Arabia. An attempt of ten to twelve years ago to capture a mosque in Mecca was sponsored by Iran.

The clergy pledged support for the royal family saying that mass protests are at odds with Islamic tradition. In this respect, experts hope that Saudi authorities will manage to keep the situation under control.

The flop of Friday’s rally proves that. “Day of wrath” rallies which were to have taken place across Riyadh after Friday prayers were attended by only one person.

Karzai tells NATO,End operations in Afghanistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday urged international troops to "stop their operations in our land", his strongest salvo yet in a row over mistaken civilian killings.

Karzai's comments came after a week in which a relative of his was killed in a raid by foreign forces and he rejected an apology by the US commander of troops General David Petraeus for the deaths of nine children in a NATO strike.

"I would like to ask NATO and the US with honour and humbleness and not with arrogance to stop their operations in our land," Karzai said, visiting the dead children's relatives in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan.

"We are very tolerant people but now our tolerance has run out."

He added that Kabul and his Western backers in the war against the Taliban were well aware that Pakistan's border areas, where insurgents have hideouts, ought to be the focus of international military campaigns.

Karzai also met relatives of those caught up in another incident in Kunar in which Afghan officials say 65 people died but NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says left up to nine people injured.

The president cried as he held a girl who he said had her leg amputated following the latter attack.

A spokeswoman for ISAF could not immediately comment.

The latest Kunar incident, which happened as the children gathered firewood, forced the always-sensitive issue of civilian casualties caused by international troops back to the top of the political agenda in Afghanistan.

Karzai had already angrily rejected a public apology from Petraeus, the US commander of foreign troops, over the deaths.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also said he was sorry personally to Karzai during a visit to Afghanistan Monday.

Then on Thursday, it emerged that Karzai's father's cousin had been shot dead near his home in the family's village in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan.

Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omer said the president was "extremely sad" at the news and "once again calls on NATO forces to avoid killing civilians."

A UN report Wednesday revealed that the deaths of Afghan civilians in the war had increased 15 percent to a record high last year, adding that insurgents were responsible for three-quarters of the killings.

The report recorded 2,777 civilian deaths last year, underscoring the level of violence in the country as foreign troops prepare to start handing control of security to Afghan forces in some areas from July.

Afghan security forces are due to take responsibility for security across the country by 2014, allowing international combat forces to withdraw.

There are currently around 140,000 international troops serving in Afghanistan, around two-thirds of them from the United States.

Yemeni Security Forces Fire Bullets as Protesters Demand Ouster

Yemeni security forces failed to stop thousands of protesters streaming into the center of the capital, Sana’a, after firing bullets at demonstrators demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Government forces killed at least one protester, fired tear gas and injured thousands of people in clashes early this morning, Al Jazeera television said. That didn’t dissuade more demonstrators from marching into the city’s Taghyeer Square to show solidarity with the injured, shouting “down, down with the president” and “shame on you.”

“Hundreds are suffocating and dozens of the cases are serious,” said Mohammed al-Obahi, who is running the team of medical volunteers in the square. “People affected by the gas are suffering from headaches, hallucinations and are trembling.” Fifty people have been wounded by live bullets, he said.

Protestors are rejecting Saleh’s promises of a new constitution this year as he seeks to stop a wave of protests sweeping the Arab world toppling his regime. Saleh, 68, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, became leader of North Yemen in 1978, and has ruled the Republic of Yemen since the north and south merged in 1990. Yemen is the Arabian peninsula’s poorest nation.

“Protesters are demanding the prosecution of the attackers,” Nabeel Mohammed, a protester in Taghyeer Square, said. “This is a heinous crime against us. We will continue the protests in spite of this excessive use of the force. We want the immediate trial of these criminals.”

Protestors in Taiz City, south of Sana’a, were also met by live bullets after they took to the streets to condemn government actions in the capital, Bushra al-Maktari, a protester, said by telephone.

Gadhafi Continues Assult on Key Oil Port City

Explosion at quake-hit Japan nuclear plant

An explosion was heard and white smoke was reportedly seen at Japan’s quake-hit Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant today, Jiji press agency said.


Several workers were reported to be injured in the explosion, and smoke was seen billowing out of the plant.

The Japan Nuclear Safety Agency later said however the explosion was not at the reactor.

Radioactivity at the plant was 20 times over the normal level, and Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission has said it may be experiencing meltdown.


Several workers were reported to be injured in the explosion, and smoke was seen billowing out of the plant.

The Japan Nuclear Safety Agency later said however the explosion was not at the reactor.

Radioactivity at the plant was 20 times over the normal level, and Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission has said it may be experiencing meltdown.


Several workers were reported to be injured in the explosion, and smoke was seen billowing out of the plant.

The Japan Nuclear Safety Agency later said however the explosion was not at the reactor.

Radioactivity at the plant was 20 times over the normal level, and Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission has said it may be experiencing meltdown.

Veena Malik's Interview

Libyan forces push rebels back

Gates urges NATO not to leave Afghanistan 'prematurely'

In a sternly worded address to the 48 countries contributing troops to the Afghanistan War, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned against wavering on promises to see the fight through to 2014.“Frankly, there is too much talk about leaving and not enough talk about getting the job done right,” Gates said at NATO headquarters Friday, specifically calling out “capitals on this continent.”

“Too much discussion of exit and not enough discussion about continuing the fight. Too much concern about when and how many troops might redeploy, and not enough about what needs to be done before they leave.”After visiting some of Afghanistan’s most contested areas this week, Gates endorsed President Barack Obama’s goal of pulling out some U.S. forces beginning this July.
Commanders at Bagram Air Field in the east and in Kandahar and Helmand provinces in the south reported their winter gains — the most significant of the war — will be tested as mid-level Taliban fighters come streaming back from Pakistan with the start of the spring fighting season.

Gates said the July drawdown would be limited and not likely occurring in the south or southwest, which are still seeing heavier fighting.
With the U.S. investing 100,000 troops, $120 billion per year, and $12.8 billion to build the Afghan security forces, Gates said the coalition needs to “keep our focus.”

“We will not sacrifice the significant gains made to date, or the lives lost, for a political gesture,” he said. “In return, we expect the same from your nations.”
Without the coalition’s unified support, he said, “the progress we now see could be threatened.”
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates was not speaking to any government in particular. Rather, he was addressing wider political debates lingering over the still unpopular war.Gen. David Petraeus and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Adm. James Stavridis also addressed Friday’s closed session, which included Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.
There are roughly 42,000 non-U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan, according to NATO. Their numbers range from Britain’s 9,500 to Iceland’s two.

On Tuesday, U.S. commanders in Sangin and Arghandab, Afghanistan, told Gates the announcement in November that NATO forces would remain in Afghanistan through 2014 helped convince locals to switch allegiances from the Taliban to the coalition and Afghan government, and helped boost recruiting for Afghan security forces.

But under political pressure to get out of the war, following the U.S. lead, British leaders last year said they may begin to pull some forces out in 2011, and in January, Germany’s parliament voted to start withdrawing some of its 4,900 troops this year. Poland also might start withdrawing forces this year.
NATO and International Security Assistance Force ministers endorsed a plan to transfer security to Afghan forces in some parts of the country beginning this year. President Hamid Karzai is expected to announce the details timed to the Afghan new year later this month. Each area could take 12 to 18 months to complete the transition, a NATO release said.
On Friday, Gates asked for money for the Afghan forces — about $1.4 billion per year — on top of the $12.8 billion Obama seeks for fiscal 2012 for the security forces.
“We can’t lose our momentum, or give in to calls to withdraw before the job is finished,” said Gates.

As protests roil neighbors, Saudis quash rallies

A massive show of force by Saudi Arabia's government snuffed out a Facebook-based effort to stage unprecedented pro-democracy protests in the capital on Friday, but political unrest and sectarian tensions roiled neighboring Yemen and Bahrain.

Yemen's largest demonstrations in a month were met by police gunfire that left at least six protesters injured and seemed certain to fuel more anger against the deeply unpopular U.S.-allied president.

In Bahrain, a conflict deepened between the island kingdom's Shiite majority and its Sunni Muslim royal family, whose security forces and pro-government mobs attacked demonstrators with tear gas, rocks and swords. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the tiny country, the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, to reassure its rulers of unwavering U.S. support, officials said.

With uprisings threatening allies on its eastern and southern flanks, the Sunni Saudi monarchy appeared to be taking no chances in its effort to keep the popular push for democracy in the Arab world from spreading to the world's largest crude oil exporter.

In the heavily Shiite eastern Saudi province, hundreds of protesters marched in at least four different locations, calling for the release of political prisoners and demanding reform.

In the city of Qatif, not far from Bahrain, armored personnel carriers and dozens of officers in riot gear surrounded several hundred demonstrators shouting calls for reforms and equality between the sects. Police opened fire in the city to disperse a protest late Thursday in an incident that left three protesters and one officer wounded, but there was no repeat of that violence.

In a video posted on social networking websites, a helicopter hovered over a few hundreds male protesters in a small street in the town of al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province. Protesters chanted: "The people want justice and equality." It was not possible to independently confirm the footage.

Yemen's president of 32 years appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's four largest provinces, ripping down and burning President Ali Abdullah Saleh's portraits in Sheikh Othman, the most populated district in the southern port city of Aden, witnesses said.

Security forces hurled tear gas into crowds close to a stadium and then opened fire, using machine guns mounted on vehicles, said eyewitness Sind Abdullah, 25.

In the conservative capital, Sanaa, thousands of women participated in demonstrations - a startling move in a deeply tribal society where women are expected to stay out of sight.

Demonstrators demanded jobs and greater political freedom and decried Saleh's proposal Thursday that the government create a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of parliament and the judiciary, calling it too little and too late.

The autocratic leader is also an ally in the Obama adminstration's push to eliminate the local branch of al-Qaida, which has attempted to attack the United States. He has also worked closely with the Saudis to quash his own Shiite uprising in the north.

In the Saudi capital, security forces who took up positions on corners and intersections as at least one helicopter buzzed overhead. Police blocked roads and set up random checkpoints, searching residents and vehicles around a central mosque as large numbers of people gathered for Friday prayers.

Government minders escorted journalists around the city, where they were shown a man, who gave his name as Khaled al-Juhni, standing outside a government building, shouting calls for more freedoms.

Police and journalists watched as the man criticized the regime as a "police state" and "a big prison" before he got in his car and left.

A government official said security measures around state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco and its oil facilities in the east were beefed up protectively in case of any violence. The company is based in the Dhahran district on the kingdom's eastern coast.

Investors are sensitive to any sign of upheaval in Saudi Arabia because the OPEC leader has been using its spare capacity to make up for output lost amid the violent uprising against Libya's government. When news broke that Saudi Arabian police fired shots to break up the protest Thursday, prices soared $3 in just 12 minutes.

Shiites make up 10 percent of the kingdom's 23 million citizens and have long complained of discrimination, saying they are barred from key positions in the military and government and are not given an equal share of the country's wealth.

Last month, the ultraconservative Saudi government announced an unprecedented economic package worth an estimated $36 billion that will give Saudis interest-free home loans, unemployment assistance and debt forgiveness.

At the same time, it reiterated that demonstrations are forbidden in the kingdom.

So far, any demonstrations have been small, concentrated in the east among Shiites demanding the release of detainees. But activists set up Facebook groups calling for protests in Riyadh and one group garnered more than 30,000 supporters of its demands for free elections.

The Middle East feminist revolution

Women are not merely joining protests to topple dictators, they are at the centre of demanding social change.Naomi Wolf

Among the most prevalent Western stereotypes about Muslim countries are those concerning Muslim women: doe-eyed, veiled, and submissive, exotically silent, gauzy inhabitants of imagined harems, closeted behind rigid gender roles. So where were these women in Tunisia and Egypt?

In both countries, women protesters were nothing like the Western stereotype: they were front and centre, in news clips and on Facebook forums, and even in the leadership. In Egypt's Tahrir Square, women volunteers, some accompanied by children, worked steadily to support the protests – helping with security, communications, and shelter. Many commentators credited the great numbers of women and children with the remarkable overall peacefulness of the protesters in the face of grave provocations.

Other citizen reporters in Tahrir Square – and virtually anyone with a cell phone could become one – noted that the masses of women involved in the protests were demographically inclusive. Many wore headscarves and other signs of religious conservatism, while others reveled in the freedom to kiss a friend or smoke a cigarette in public.

Supporters, leaders

But women were not serving only as support workers, the habitual role to which they are relegated in protest movements, from those of the 1960s to the recent student riots in the United Kingdom. Egyptian women also organised, strategised, and reported the events. Bloggers such as Leil Zahra Mortada took grave risks to keep the world informed daily of the scene in Tahrir Square and elsewhere.

The role of women in the great upheaval in the Middle East has been woefully under-analysed. Women in Egypt did not just "join" the protests – they were a leading force behind the cultural evolution that made the protests inevitable. And what is true for Egypt is true, to a greater and lesser extent, throughout the Arab world. When women change, everything changes - and women in the Muslim world are changing radically.

The greatest shift is educational. Two generations ago, only a small minority of the daughters of the elite received a university education. Today, women account for more than half of the students at Egyptian universities. They are being trained to use power in ways that their grandmothers could scarcely have imagined: publishing newspapers - as Sanaa el Seif did, in defiance of a government order to cease operating; campaigning for student leadership posts; fundraising for student organisations; and running meetings.

Indeed, a substantial minority of young women in Egypt and other Arab countries have now spent their formative years thinking critically in mixed-gender environments, and even publicly challenging male professors in the classroom. It is far easier to tyrannise a population when half are poorly educated and trained to be submissive. But, as Westerners should know from their own historical experience, once you educate women, democratic agitation is likely to accompany the massive cultural shift that follows.

The nature of social media, too, has helped turn women into protest leaders. Having taught leadership skills to women for more than a decade, I know how difficult it is to get them to stand up and speak out in a hierarchical organisational structure. Likewise, women tend to avoid the figurehead status that traditional protest has in the past imposed on certain activists – almost invariably a hotheaded young man with a megaphone.

Projection of power

In such contexts – with a stage, a spotlight, and a spokesperson – women often shy away from leadership roles. But social media, through the very nature of the technology, have changed what leadership looks and feels like today. Facebook mimics the way many women choose to experience social reality, with connections between people just as important as individual dominance or control, if not more so.

You can be a powerful leader on Facebook just by creating a really big "us". Or you can stay the same size, conceptually, as everyone else on your page – you don't have to assert your dominance or authority. The structure of Facebook's interface creates what brick-and-mortar institutions - despite 30 years of feminist pressure - have failed to provide: a context in which women's ability to forge a powerful "us" and engage in a leadership of service can advance the cause of freedom and justice worldwide.

Of course, Facebook cannot reduce the risks of protest. But, however violent the immediate future in the Middle East may be, the historical record of what happens when educated women participate in freedom movements suggests that those in the region who would like to maintain iron-fisted rule are finished.

Just when France began its rebellion in 1789, Mary Wollstonecraft, who had been caught up in witnessing it, wrote her manifesto for women's liberation. After educated women in America helped fight for the abolition of slavery, they put female suffrage on the agenda. After they were told in the 1960s that "the position of women in the movement is prone", they generated "second wave" feminism – a movement born of women's new skills and old frustrations.

Time and again, once women have fought the other battles for the freedom of their day, they have moved on to advocate for their own rights. And, since feminism is simply a logical extension of democracy, the Middle East's despots are facing a situation in which it will be almost impossible to force these awakened women to stop their fight for freedom – their own and that of their communities.

Naomi Wolf is a political activist and social critic whose most recent book is Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries.

SAUDI ARABIA URGED TO REVERSE BAN ON PEACEFUL PROTEST

Amnesty International has called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to reverse the ban on peaceful protest in the Kingdom, amid fears of a violent crackdown on mass demonstrations planned for Friday's “Day of Rage”.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the country’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday that “reform cannot be achieved through protests”, while the protest ban, confirmed on Saturday, was backed by religious and security bodies.
"Instead of banning peaceful protests the Saudi Arabian authorities should address the need for major human rights reform in the country," said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“They must heed the growing calls for change within Saudi Arabia”.
Saudi Arabia's "Day of Rage" was organized online using Facebook. One page has over 33,000 followers.
Media reports over the weekend suggested that some 10,000 Saudi troops would be deployed to crack down on any protests.
The ban was also backed by the president of the Mutawa'een (religious police), the Council of Senior Ulema (religious clerics) and the Shura Council (a consultative body appointed by the King).
“Reports that the Saudi authorities plan to deploy troops to police upcoming demonstrations are very worrying,” said Philip Luther. “Rather than seeking to intimidate would-be demonstrators from coming out on the streets, the authorities should rein in the security forces and allow peaceful protests to take place.”
Amnesty International has also called on the authorities to release or charge a man detained on Friday 4 March during a protest in the capital Riyadh.
Muhammad al-Wad'ani has been detained incommunicado since his arrest and is believed to be at risk of torture.
A video posted on YouTube two days before the demonstration showed Muhammad al-Wad'ani calling for the fall of the monarchy and for people to join the protest.
Around 24 people were detained on 3 and 4 March following protests in the city of al-Qatif, denouncing the prolonged detention without trial of Shi'a prisoners. They were released on 8 March without charge reportedly only after they signed a pledge not to protest again.
Background
The Ministry of Interior was reported to have said in 2008 that protests in Saudi Arabia were banned, after a demonstration against Israel's military action in Gaza.
Although Amnesty International is not aware of any legal text banning demonstrations, in practice the Saudi Arabian authorities have not allowed them to take place.
Torture and other ill-treatment is frequently used to extract confessions from detainees, to punish them for refusing to “repent” or to force them not to criticize the government.
Incommunicado detention in Saudi Arabia often lasts until a confession is obtained, which can take months and occasionally years.

Saudi Arabia,“I need freedom, I need democracy … the whole country is a prison,”

Appeals issued mainly on Facebook for Saudis to stage a so-called “Day of Rage” went unheeded Friday as a heavy police presence blanketed this capital city to prevent any large-scale demonstration.

Traffic police manned checkpoints at many key intersections and scores of police were stationed outside Al Rajhi Mosque, and two courthouses — sites where demonstrators had been asked to stage protests. A helicopter also patrolled the skies over these key points.

There were no reports of protests elsewhere in the country except in Awwamiya and Uum al Hamam, two small towns outside the Shiite majority city of Qatif in the oil rich-Eastern province, according to a Shiite community leader. There also was a demonstration in the eastern town of Hofuf, according to Dow Jones.

“The Saudi people have answered [and shown] their relationship to the [protest] calls going on in cyberspace,” said Gen. Mansour al Turki, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior. “Friday is always a quiet day in our life. People go to pray and then go home. That’s exactly what people did today.”

The Facebook appeal for protests on March 11 were apparently inspired by recent events in Egypt and Tunisia, where massive and sustained demonstrations by thousands of citizens ultimately brought down two Arab leaders.

These revolutions, along with a wave of protests in other Arab countries like Yemen and the ongoing uprising in Libya, appeared to generate greater interest in the Facebook calls for Saudi protests than they would have drawn at other times.

A London-based Saudi dissident, Sa’d al Faqih, had also called for protests on his personal television channel, Saudis said.

There is genuine discontent among many Saudis over corruption and the lack of political freedoms, such as the right to form parties and trade unions, and the lack of elected bodies. This discontent was clear in several petitions demanding political reforms that were sent to the king by various groups in the last few weeks, including liberals, moderate Islamists and young people.

But even among pro-reform Saudis there was little enthusiasm for the Facebook protest calls because they were made by unknown people who did not have a clear agenda and who may not even be living in the kingdom.

Also, protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Interior reminded Saudis of that in a firmly worded statement last week, and added that those who violated the ban “will be subject to the full force of the relevant regulations.”

Government-employed Islamic clerics have been warning Saudis that open protests are "haram," which means religiously forbidden.

“Islam strictly prohibits protests in the kingdom because the ruler here rules by God's will,” the Saudi Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdel Aziz Ibn Abudllah Alasheikh, said Friday during a sermon in Riyadh's central mosque.

Earlier this week, the Senior Council of Ulema, a clerical body whose members are appointed by the government, said that "the correct way in sharia [Islamic law] of realizing common interest is by advising, which is what the Prophet Muhammad established. Reform and advice should not be via demonstrations and ways that provoke strife and division.”

Another deterrence measure the sending of anonymous text messages to some mobile phones warning that protesters would face lengthy prison terms and loss of their Saudi citizenship. Onlookers at protests, the messages said, would also face detention and fines.

In a different approach to defusing discontent, the government also recently announced a huge economic package valued at around $36 billion that will give Saudis interest-free home loans, unemployment assistance and debt forgiveness.

In the eastern part of the kingdom, where its main oil fields are located, Shiite residents of Qatif and neighboring towns have held small protests regularly over the past three weeks. They are demanding the release of Shiites detained for long periods without charges and protesting discrimination in government jobs that they say makes them second-class citizens.

On Thursday night, a protest in Qatif ended in violence with one policeman injured in the face and two protesters injured, one in the leg and one in the hand, according to Al Turki. The protesters’ injuries came from bullets, he added.

Al Turki said that police monitoring the protest had fired upwards into the air in order to disperse the demonstrators after some of them began beating a policeman who had been spotted “documenting armed fire from the group.” He said that the entire incident is under investigation.

In Riyadh, the Saudi Ministry of Information organized a bus tour for journalists to several sites named by protest organizers as places to demonstrate, including Al Rajhi Mosque and part of Olaya Street, a major downtown boulevard.

At another site, as reporters were photographing police guarding a courthouse building, a man approached reporters and began denouncing the ruling royal family. He said he had intended to be part of a demonstration but that the large police presence had prevented people from arriving.

“I need freedom, I need democracy … the whole country is a prison,” said the man, who identified himself as a 40-year-old Arabic teacher named Khalid Muhammad Al Jahani. “I will be put in jail but I don’t care ... This is a police country.”

Afghans rely heavily on foreign advisers as transition looms

Nearly 300 foreign advisers, most of them Americans, work at Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, and hundreds more work in other government departments, a reliance on foreign expertise that raises doubts about the viability of the West's exit strategy.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will announce later this month his plans for "transition" from heavy international involvement in Afghanistan's governance and security to local control. But the number of civilian advisers in the ministries suggests that either Afghans lack the ability to govern themselves or that the international community is trying to run the administration itself, more than nine years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country.

There's no clear plan to reduce that number.

Foreign advisers in the Interior Ministry, for example, appear to outnumber the senior Afghan officials they serve.

The Afghan government's capacity to execute plans is so lacking it will spend only half of its $1.5 billion budget for economic development projects this fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Finance — despite the desperate need for investment in education, health and other basic services.

Karzai's announcement for how the country will move to Afghan management between now and 2014 will include the names of the provinces and districts that will be the first to come under Afghan security control. The list is likely to include the provinces of Bamiyan, Panjshir, Kabul, Herat and the district capital of Helmand province, Lashkargar, all relatively safe places.

The exit strategy for the U.S.-led international coalition requires the gradual handing over of responsibility for security to Afghans, so that the bulk of the 150,000 foreign soldiers — 100,000 of whom are Americans — deployed in the country can be pulled out. International partners are currently spending about $12 billion a month in Afghanistan, about two thirds from the U.S.

While many Afghan officials believe that the work of foreign advisers is crucial to rebuilding the capacity of a government machinery that's been battered by 30 years of constant war, some believe that the quality of the international experts is mixed and they at times push priorities and programs at odds with the ministers they are supposed to serve.

"The requirement is for technical assistance, something that's need-driven, not donor-driven," said Najib Manalai, an Afghan who's the media adviser to the minister of finance, where 70 foreign advisers serve. "The need for foreign advisers is decreasing every day, but the numbers are increasing every day."

The Interior Ministry in Kabul has 282 foreign advisers working there, according to the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan, which placed them in the ministry. Of the 282 advisers, 120 are contractors, costing $36 million a year, paid for by the U.S. government. The rest are made up of 119 U.S. military and U.S. government civilians, and 43 from other coalition countries.

Most of the contractors are from two controversial American firms: Dyncorp and Military Professional Resources Inc.

The Interior Minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, has six personal foreign advisers, two from the military and four civilians. Foreign advisers outnumber senior Afghan officials in the ministry, according to a presentation document prepared by the NATO mission. In some departments, the ratio is stark. The document, dated last month, shows at least 45 foreign advisers in the Interior Ministry's Logistics department, mentoring 14 Afghan officials.

"We're absolutely not run by foreigners. They don't tell us what to do," said Zemeri Bashary, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry, who himself has two foreign advisers. "We do need support. But that doesn't mean they are running the ministry."

Several Interior Ministry officials, serving and retired, were complimentary about the work of the foreign advisers. One mid-ranking security official, who didn't want to be named because he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters, said that corruption would be "many times" greater if the foreigners weren't present.

Some Western experts who deal with the Interior Ministry said that Afghan officials there were weary of the rapid turnover of the international staff, who might serve for only six months or a year, and being told what to do by outside "experts" with a dim knowledge of Afghan conditions.

Another former senior Interior Ministry official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that Afghans wanted to develop the police as a law enforcement force, but that American advisers, holding the upper hand because they also held the purse strings, pushed through training the police as a counterterrorism force instead.

"Most of these guys (foreign advisers) are doing a wonderful job," the former official added. "But the contractors are ill-disciplined and poorly supervised."

The Interior Ministry is probably the most extreme case of foreign involvement, given its responsibility for the police and other vital internal security functions. The Defense Ministry has 58 international advisers, according to the NATO mission. The Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Agriculture are likely to be among those with a heavy foreign presence. Ministries with foreign contractors also often need to have private security companies providing guards, to fulfill insurance requirements of the contracting firm.

"Many advisers work on the kind of things donors need, like strategies and reports. There's very little real thinking about what a self-sufficient Afghan government would look like," said Martine van Bijlert, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent research organization. "The foreign advisers are often there to solve little problems, but it's not a coherent program to get Afghanistan ready for transition."

Lt. Col. David C. Simons, a spokesman for the NATO mission, said the foreigners working in Afghan ministries are providing similar services as foreign military trainers provide the Afghan army. "The number of foreign advisers is crucial to ensuring Afghan-led ministerial processes by 2014," he said.

It's not just people that other nations provide Afghanistan. The World Bank estimates that the Afghan government won't be financially self-sufficient until 2023, a date other estimates push to 2025. That means that until then, the international community, primarily the U.S., will need to pay an army and police force of at least 300,000, initially costing $6 billion to $8 billion a year.

In the next fiscal year, which starts later this month, donors will provide about $1.3 billion toward the government's budget for "ordinary" expenses — primarily the salaries of government employees, according to the Ministry of Finance.

In addition, the whole $1.5 billion budget for development projects will be provided by foreign donors, which also separately spend about $4 billion a year in Afghanistan aid projects directly.