Ensaf Haidar

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

A woman behind the wheel in March 2014 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of a campaign to defy the country’s ban on female drivers. Credit Hasan Jamali/Associated Press

MundoOriente Próximo,

I was astonished when, in late September, Saudi Arabia decided to allow women to drive, putting an end to an old, discriminatory practice. This was only one of several cautious social reforms that have been introduced in the country. In the past two years, King Salman bin Abdulaziz has restricted the powers of the notorious religious police and relaxed male guardianship laws. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has spoken about embracing “moderate Islam” and increasing social freedoms.

Prince Mohammed is being credited for the effort to transform Saudi Arabia, but the changes might not have been possible without the Saudi activists and intellectuals who struggled and suffered over the years — enduring the loss of jobs, imprisonment and exile — to increase the freedoms in their country.…  Seguir leyendo »

Activists of the global civic movement Avaaz dressed as Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi and Germany's Minister of Economic Affairs, Sigmar Gabriel, right, demonstrate in front of the military airport of Tegel Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 7, 2015. (Gero Breloer/Ap Images For Avaaz)

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

On June 17, 2012, my husband, Raif Badawi, the father of my three children and my best friend, was arrested in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. For nearly three years, as he has languished in prison, my family has been trapped in a nightmare.

Raif is a man of principle and a respected activist in Saudi Arabia. In 2008, he started a blog where readers could openly discuss politics, religion and other social issues. But in Saudi Arabia, one can pay an unthinkable price simply for blogging. Raif was convicted of insulting Islam and violating the kingdom’s repressive information-technology laws.

Then this January, in a show of cruelty, the authorities lashed Raif 50 times.…  Seguir leyendo »