‘They’ve destroyed us because of some tweets’: why has Saudi Arabia targeted these three sisters?
Last week one was sentenced to 11 years, another had to flee the country, a third could be arrested at any moment. And what were Manahel, Maryam and Fawzia al-Otaibi’s ‘crimes’? A few social media posts that outraged Saudi Arabia’s conservatives
In September 2022, Fawzia al-Otaibi was a week into a trip to her home country of Saudi Arabia, staying with a friend near the Bahrain border, when her phone rang. As soon as she heard the male voice on the other end of the line, she realised that returning had been a terrible mistake.
It was a police officer who, in 2019, had tracked her down and fined her for public indecency after she had posted a video on her Snapchat account, showing her dancing in jeans and a baseball cap at a concert in Riyadh. She and her two sisters, Maryam and Manahel, had become targets in a campaign of arrests, threats and intimidation by the Saudi authorities after they had used their popular social media channels to post about women’s rights. For her, the dancing clip wasn’t a political statement; it was just about sharing a happy moment with her followers.
After the fine, Fawzia left Saudi Arabia for Dubai and hadn’t been back to her home country in three years. She thought the authorities had forgotten about her. She was wrong.
SA is an experiment in what religious nutjobs would do with unlimited money. its going as well as we all expected.
This photo, plus the part about the dancing in jeans and a baseball cap at a concert confuse me. I thought women were not allowed to be outside uncovered in Saudi Arabia.
Anyway, good luck to these sisters and all Saudi women fighting for freedom in the face of repression. I'm sorry they've had to go through what they went through.
Here's an article with her being asked about wearing the outfit:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/rebel-saudi-women-shun-obligatory-abaya-robe/
Also beginning in 2019 tourists are allowed to go without an Abaya, at least officially. And apparently in some cities more than others it's at least somewhat common to see women without. Jedda especially it sounds like? Still very much the norm though.
https://www.businessinsider.com/female-solo-traveler-went-to-saudi-arabia-heres-what-i-saw?op=1
Thanks, very interesting.
The sooner we can stop being dependent on fossil fuels so shitholes like this place can go back to being irrelevant the better. Medieval opinions with unlimited money, what could go wrong?
Dancing in jeans & a baseball cap. Manahel's terrorism offence, uploading pictures of herself with her head uncovered.
Sounds like Saudi Arabia is a shithole country.
All that talk about democracy and human right by the US but Saudi is one of their biggest allies.
Bruh. Saudi Arabia is a model for right wing Christo fascist Republicans.
It’s infuriating - we’re not happy about it either. It’s something I think about a lot…the hypocrisy.
Only reason this regime is able to oppress its civilians is because America is supplying them with the weapons to do so.
Backward degenerates.
House of Saud doesn't follow these laws, when will they have consequences? 🤔
Someone said that we should also speak against Saudi oppression so here we go:
Biden admin approves potential multibillion-dollar arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In September 2022, Fawzia al-Otaibi was a week into a trip to her home country of Saudi Arabia, staying with a friend near the Bahrain border, when her phone rang.
It was a police officer who, in 2019, had tracked her down and fined her for public indecency after she had posted a video on her Snapchat account, showing her dancing in jeans and a baseball cap at a concert in Riyadh.
She and her two sisters, Maryam and Manahel, had become targets in a campaign of arrests, threats and intimidation by the Saudi authorities after they had used their popular social media channels to post about women’s rights.
This time it was to tell her that Manahel had been convicted of terrorism offences by a court in Saudi Arabia, for uploading pictures of herself with her head uncovered, and social media posts supporting women’s rights.
Although they were very different – Maryam, the older sister, was maternal and protective; Manahel was adventurous and extroverted; Fawzia quieter and more private – they all refused to accept what they were being taught about the role of women in Saudi society.
Fawzia’s continued activism on behalf of her sisters – and refusal to be silenced on calling for women’s rights – means that she faces a constant barrage of online harassment and abuse from anonymous accounts, and from Saudi government officials who say she is bringing shame on her family and homeland.
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