The story of a slave woman: You must not drive, you must not leave the house without an escort - and you can not go abroad
For Amal, a 20-year-old Saudi woman, this is not the plot of "The Story of a Slave." This is reality
Amal, a symbol, a mako
18.06.2017 14:35
Save 8 comments
From "The Story of a Slave"
Take Five / Hulu / Hot
A few weeks ago, after watching the sixth episode of "The Story of a Slave," I opened the TV TIME application and debated what grade to give. It is true that the less brown-walled the less blood-soaked the body was absorbed by the trial bodies, the graphic descriptions of rape from the Mossad, and the courageous message to the outside world of the horrors that pass it and the like - but I, who lay on the sofa and ate a bowl of cherries, The score is "like that". Overworked, too gruesome, too dystopian. I explained to myself and let out a pit. When I turned the rest of the responses into the chapter I discovered Amal, a 20-year-old Saudi citizen. She did not think the chapter was that way. She thought it was a brave and accurate description of the reality of her life. We began to correspond. This is her story, as she wrote it:
********************************************** ***********************
Saudi women in Riyadh
Saudi women at the Riyadhwaters
When I was nine years old they dressed me in Abaya (a traditional traditional dress with a head covering). At the age of 11 they wrapped me in the hijab, and when I turned 14 they forced me to cover my face. I was born into a religious family where I am forbidden to leave the house without being covered - otherwise they will beat me to death. Once I put on a short drop dress I bought secretly, she reached my knees. When my mother saw me she beat me, kicked me, and my father and my brother helped her.
Life as a woman in Saudi Arabia are impossible. Not only must you be wrapped in a hijab at any moment, the most important decisions in your life - like who to marry and when, where and what to study, or whether you go to work or not - are not in your hands but in the hands of a man appointed to you by the state, What will your life look like? But he is not responsible only for the big decisions: you can not travel or travel abroad without his permission, or get medical treatment, I can not drive, or even ride a bike - these things are forbidden by law. Can do and other women in Saudi Arabia Yes - like removing the hijab occasionally or going out alone - these are things that depend on the family and the guardianship Imagine a world where your whole life is dictated by the man in charge of you: father, brother, uncle, grandfather, nephew, son David, sometimes even your son, my father is my guardian, he decides almost everything about me, and it will be until the day I die. Thi it, it seems obvious but small things always remind me that I am not free, I kind of slave.
Women's Division at McDonald's in Saudi Arabia
McDonald's Women's Division in Saudi Arabia FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP
I used to think that my life was the best there was, until at the age of 15 I saw "High School Musical," and suddenly realized how different my life was from what you see there. I always knew that the world outside Saudi Arabia was different, but when I saw the film I began to realize that my life was ridiculous, that most women did not. They can drive - I'm not allowed; They do not cover their bodies with blacks-I can not go out without cover; They have friends-I can not talk to strange men. It confused me. If my life is so perfect as I was taught to believe, why do not I have freedom?
I want to work to make money and run away, but I'm not allowed. My father thinks that if I have my own money I will not need him anymore, and he will lose the power he has over me, so he will not let me work. I wish I could find asylum abroad and live like a normal, free person, but if I try to get out of the country they will pursue me and force me back, as they did to Dina Ali. "On April 11, Dina Ali Salum, a 24-year-old Saudi woman who lived with her family in Kuwait, And her father and her uncles, who were called by the local embassy, arrived at the scene and took her back to Riyadh, and when she was detained in the field, she managed to shoot a video with the help of a young woman A Canadian she met there: "They've been holding me for 13 hours, like a criminal," she said "They took my passport and I can not get out of here or do anything. If my family finds me she will kill me. If anything happens to me, the blood will be on the hands of the Philippine airline and the Saudi government. "Since her return to Saudi Arabia, she has disappeared, and no one knows if she is still alive: Dina Ali's story proves what I already knew: those who try to break through and out of the country - And punished.
The men in Saudi Arabia despise women, they treat them as inferior beings, not as human beings. Women can not serve as judges "because they are too emotional." They can not serve as priests, because 1400 years ago, one of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad said that "women are small in their intellect and their faith," and continue to use it as an excuse to this day. Women doctors actually have - but only because some men would prefer their woman to die than to let a male doctor check her out. There are so many things that women are not allowed to do. No one takes into consideration their opinion, and certainly not their wishes - all that matters to them is to marry every woman as soon as possible. If a husband beats his wife, steals her, and even kills her - he will not be brought to justice, and even if he is tried, he will usually be acquitted.
Twitter Women in Saudi Arabia - Skip
Follow
Moudi Aljohani ✔ @ Moudhi90
. @ Cnnphilippines #SaveDinaAli I just received this video, her uncles just arrived in Philippines, they are going to murder her, please help
11:32 AM - 10 Apr 2017
767 767 Retweets 345 345 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
I see in the forums and Twitter ShanShim talks about "The Story of a Slave". They watch the series and think it's all imaginary, but it's very similar to the world in which I live. The women in the series are not allowed to own assets or bank accounts, to work, or to engage in anything beyond their "biological mission" - procreation. They are wrapped in long robes of a uniform color, and with a head covering that preserves their modesty, they must not drive or do anything without the man's approval that they belong to him. Sounds familiar, does not it? If a Saudi mother sees the series for example, she will not be shocked but will agree with everything described there. Most older women here think a woman is allowed to be in two places: her house and her grave. To feel free I secretly photograph Salafi every day I wake up, get organized and go to school with my brother. After school I wait for two hours until he finishes so he can accompany me, because I can not go back alone or with someone who is not my brother. When I get home I eat and then go to sleep for five hours. When I get up I do my homework, play on my smartphone, watch TV, eat and go back to sleep. I have nothing to do but sleep. This is the only place I feel comfortable, because when I sleep I do not have to face the truth, with the fact that I do not really have a life because I live in Saudi Arabia. It's so hard to get up in the morning and understand that I woke up for another day in this prison, where every day looks like the one in front of me, and I have no escape. When I was 14 and my cousin was 18 years old, we all lived together in his father's estate. One day we were both alone in one of the rooms, and he tried to touch me. I shouted to stop, and my mother came and saw us. She told my father and his parents, and they decided among them that we would have to get married so that I would not disgrace the family. They determined that we would marry when I was 18, but hid our engagement from us - everyone knew except for us. It was only when I was 17, before my wedding, that my mother told me what was planned. I cried and told her I did not want to marry him, but she said I had no right to choose who my husband would be after what happened. I told her that nothing had happened between us, that I had arrested him, but she did not believe me. I cried endlessly, I was in despair, and when I realized that nothing I would do would change her mind I tried to commit suicide. I took pills, but my family found me and took me to the hospital. When I awoke, I said to my mother: Nothing happened that day. You can take me to the doctor to see if I'm a virgin or not. She took me for a test, and she really confirmed that I was still a virgin (it happens all the time, if a bride does not bleed on the wedding night, her husband can take her to the doctor to make sure she's a virgin). She told my father and the parents of my cousin and told them I told her that if we got married, I would commit suicide. They decided to cancel the engagement, and that's how I managed for the first time to decide my life. I was happy at this moment. To feel a certain degree of freedom, I photograph myself. I make Salafi and hide the pictures so my father will not take my smartphone or hit me. I read Nawal al-Saadawi, a pioneering feminist writer in the struggle for women's rights in Islam, and also just see "Gossip Girl" and "The Games of the Throne" to forget. I go into Twitter and see other girls who are as sensitive as I am, and those who have managed to escape and start a new life elsewhere, and that gives me hope. I hide everything, because once my father and my brother discovered that I had a Twitter account and they took my smartphone for four months. They check my phone all the time, but I manage to hide it from them. It's my rebellion. I write these things because I want the world to know about our suffering, I want to be the voice of the Saudi girls. My name, Amal, says "hope" in Arabic, so I have to raise hope and explain the situation to the world. Imagine a world where your whole life depends on the man who determines your every step. Would you continue to live like this until you died, or would you try to escape? ********************************************** ******************************************* Here is the story of Amal. As of 2016, Saudi Arabia ranks 141 out of 144 for women. Only in 2011 were women granted the right to vote, but in 2013 domestic violence was defined in the country as a crime, and to this day in order to file a complaint against the owner of a blow, his written approval must be sought. The guardianship system leaves women under the complete control of the men around them - from birth to the day of their death. According to human rights organizations, about 1,000 women escape from Saudi Arabia each year.
http://www.themarker.com/mako/1.4178973
translated by google
For Amal, a 20-year-old Saudi woman, this is not the plot of "The Story of a Slave." This is reality
Amal, a symbol, a mako
18.06.2017 14:35
Save 8 comments
From "The Story of a Slave"
Take Five / Hulu / Hot
A few weeks ago, after watching the sixth episode of "The Story of a Slave," I opened the TV TIME application and debated what grade to give. It is true that the less brown-walled the less blood-soaked the body was absorbed by the trial bodies, the graphic descriptions of rape from the Mossad, and the courageous message to the outside world of the horrors that pass it and the like - but I, who lay on the sofa and ate a bowl of cherries, The score is "like that". Overworked, too gruesome, too dystopian. I explained to myself and let out a pit. When I turned the rest of the responses into the chapter I discovered Amal, a 20-year-old Saudi citizen. She did not think the chapter was that way. She thought it was a brave and accurate description of the reality of her life. We began to correspond. This is her story, as she wrote it:
********************************************** ***********************
Saudi women in Riyadh
Saudi women at the Riyadhwaters
When I was nine years old they dressed me in Abaya (a traditional traditional dress with a head covering). At the age of 11 they wrapped me in the hijab, and when I turned 14 they forced me to cover my face. I was born into a religious family where I am forbidden to leave the house without being covered - otherwise they will beat me to death. Once I put on a short drop dress I bought secretly, she reached my knees. When my mother saw me she beat me, kicked me, and my father and my brother helped her.
Life as a woman in Saudi Arabia are impossible. Not only must you be wrapped in a hijab at any moment, the most important decisions in your life - like who to marry and when, where and what to study, or whether you go to work or not - are not in your hands but in the hands of a man appointed to you by the state, What will your life look like? But he is not responsible only for the big decisions: you can not travel or travel abroad without his permission, or get medical treatment, I can not drive, or even ride a bike - these things are forbidden by law. Can do and other women in Saudi Arabia Yes - like removing the hijab occasionally or going out alone - these are things that depend on the family and the guardianship Imagine a world where your whole life is dictated by the man in charge of you: father, brother, uncle, grandfather, nephew, son David, sometimes even your son, my father is my guardian, he decides almost everything about me, and it will be until the day I die. Thi it, it seems obvious but small things always remind me that I am not free, I kind of slave.
Women's Division at McDonald's in Saudi Arabia
McDonald's Women's Division in Saudi Arabia FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP
I used to think that my life was the best there was, until at the age of 15 I saw "High School Musical," and suddenly realized how different my life was from what you see there. I always knew that the world outside Saudi Arabia was different, but when I saw the film I began to realize that my life was ridiculous, that most women did not. They can drive - I'm not allowed; They do not cover their bodies with blacks-I can not go out without cover; They have friends-I can not talk to strange men. It confused me. If my life is so perfect as I was taught to believe, why do not I have freedom?
I want to work to make money and run away, but I'm not allowed. My father thinks that if I have my own money I will not need him anymore, and he will lose the power he has over me, so he will not let me work. I wish I could find asylum abroad and live like a normal, free person, but if I try to get out of the country they will pursue me and force me back, as they did to Dina Ali. "On April 11, Dina Ali Salum, a 24-year-old Saudi woman who lived with her family in Kuwait, And her father and her uncles, who were called by the local embassy, arrived at the scene and took her back to Riyadh, and when she was detained in the field, she managed to shoot a video with the help of a young woman A Canadian she met there: "They've been holding me for 13 hours, like a criminal," she said "They took my passport and I can not get out of here or do anything. If my family finds me she will kill me. If anything happens to me, the blood will be on the hands of the Philippine airline and the Saudi government. "Since her return to Saudi Arabia, she has disappeared, and no one knows if she is still alive: Dina Ali's story proves what I already knew: those who try to break through and out of the country - And punished.
The men in Saudi Arabia despise women, they treat them as inferior beings, not as human beings. Women can not serve as judges "because they are too emotional." They can not serve as priests, because 1400 years ago, one of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad said that "women are small in their intellect and their faith," and continue to use it as an excuse to this day. Women doctors actually have - but only because some men would prefer their woman to die than to let a male doctor check her out. There are so many things that women are not allowed to do. No one takes into consideration their opinion, and certainly not their wishes - all that matters to them is to marry every woman as soon as possible. If a husband beats his wife, steals her, and even kills her - he will not be brought to justice, and even if he is tried, he will usually be acquitted.
Twitter Women in Saudi Arabia - Skip
Follow
Moudi Aljohani ✔ @ Moudhi90
. @ Cnnphilippines #SaveDinaAli I just received this video, her uncles just arrived in Philippines, they are going to murder her, please help
11:32 AM - 10 Apr 2017
767 767 Retweets 345 345 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
I see in the forums and Twitter ShanShim talks about "The Story of a Slave". They watch the series and think it's all imaginary, but it's very similar to the world in which I live. The women in the series are not allowed to own assets or bank accounts, to work, or to engage in anything beyond their "biological mission" - procreation. They are wrapped in long robes of a uniform color, and with a head covering that preserves their modesty, they must not drive or do anything without the man's approval that they belong to him. Sounds familiar, does not it? If a Saudi mother sees the series for example, she will not be shocked but will agree with everything described there. Most older women here think a woman is allowed to be in two places: her house and her grave. To feel free I secretly photograph Salafi every day I wake up, get organized and go to school with my brother. After school I wait for two hours until he finishes so he can accompany me, because I can not go back alone or with someone who is not my brother. When I get home I eat and then go to sleep for five hours. When I get up I do my homework, play on my smartphone, watch TV, eat and go back to sleep. I have nothing to do but sleep. This is the only place I feel comfortable, because when I sleep I do not have to face the truth, with the fact that I do not really have a life because I live in Saudi Arabia. It's so hard to get up in the morning and understand that I woke up for another day in this prison, where every day looks like the one in front of me, and I have no escape. When I was 14 and my cousin was 18 years old, we all lived together in his father's estate. One day we were both alone in one of the rooms, and he tried to touch me. I shouted to stop, and my mother came and saw us. She told my father and his parents, and they decided among them that we would have to get married so that I would not disgrace the family. They determined that we would marry when I was 18, but hid our engagement from us - everyone knew except for us. It was only when I was 17, before my wedding, that my mother told me what was planned. I cried and told her I did not want to marry him, but she said I had no right to choose who my husband would be after what happened. I told her that nothing had happened between us, that I had arrested him, but she did not believe me. I cried endlessly, I was in despair, and when I realized that nothing I would do would change her mind I tried to commit suicide. I took pills, but my family found me and took me to the hospital. When I awoke, I said to my mother: Nothing happened that day. You can take me to the doctor to see if I'm a virgin or not. She took me for a test, and she really confirmed that I was still a virgin (it happens all the time, if a bride does not bleed on the wedding night, her husband can take her to the doctor to make sure she's a virgin). She told my father and the parents of my cousin and told them I told her that if we got married, I would commit suicide. They decided to cancel the engagement, and that's how I managed for the first time to decide my life. I was happy at this moment. To feel a certain degree of freedom, I photograph myself. I make Salafi and hide the pictures so my father will not take my smartphone or hit me. I read Nawal al-Saadawi, a pioneering feminist writer in the struggle for women's rights in Islam, and also just see "Gossip Girl" and "The Games of the Throne" to forget. I go into Twitter and see other girls who are as sensitive as I am, and those who have managed to escape and start a new life elsewhere, and that gives me hope. I hide everything, because once my father and my brother discovered that I had a Twitter account and they took my smartphone for four months. They check my phone all the time, but I manage to hide it from them. It's my rebellion. I write these things because I want the world to know about our suffering, I want to be the voice of the Saudi girls. My name, Amal, says "hope" in Arabic, so I have to raise hope and explain the situation to the world. Imagine a world where your whole life depends on the man who determines your every step. Would you continue to live like this until you died, or would you try to escape? ********************************************** ******************************************* Here is the story of Amal. As of 2016, Saudi Arabia ranks 141 out of 144 for women. Only in 2011 were women granted the right to vote, but in 2013 domestic violence was defined in the country as a crime, and to this day in order to file a complaint against the owner of a blow, his written approval must be sought. The guardianship system leaves women under the complete control of the men around them - from birth to the day of their death. According to human rights organizations, about 1,000 women escape from Saudi Arabia each year.
http://www.themarker.com/mako/1.4178973
translated by google
