China is saying that it will meet with an aide of the Dalai Lama. This is welcome news from a regime that is usually unwavering in its rigid approach to domestic policy. We now know that China can change. I think we are witnessing the loosening of China’s grip on its people, possible the beginnings of a nuanced approach to democracy in China. Very rarely does it listen to the protests of its people. Yay, China!
Duh. Apparently the UN’s Human Rights (has not been) Watch(ing) very closely. The organization just released a report today which details the suppression of women in the world’s largest oil producing country.
Saudi Arabia has a hooorrrrible track record regarding women’s rights. But, I assumed that everyone already knew this. There is no such thing as a “woman’s right” in conservative Saudi society. Women in Saudi Arabia are nothing but property. They cannot vote, drive or be without a male relative’s “supervision”. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This isn’t just Saudi custom; repressing women is Saudi law.
But, hey, better late than never. Thanks Human Rights Watch for keeping Saudi Arabia’s systemic abuse of women on the front page.
Because do I need to point out where almost all of our petrol-dollars are going? That’s right: Saudi Arabia. And as long as we remain addicted to their oil, there’s not much hope for the emancipation of Saudi Arabia’s women. The Sauds have got their kingdom cowed under a repressive blanket of oil money.
