By: Asma T. Uddin When British Prime Minister Theresa May touched down in Riyadh recently to meet with the Saudi crown prince, she thought her uncovered head would inspire Saudi women. The country’s dress code requires that women keep their hair covered in public spaces, but she attended meetings without a headscarf. Western news media largely heralded May’s move as revolutionary, just as some had portrayed Michelle Obama’s 2015 visit to Saudi Arabia with head uncovered a “bold political statement.” Despite the media’s fascination, these women’s decision to leave the headscarf off is not unprecedented. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush also chose to forgo wearing a headscarf. May’s dress choice is not brave or unique. She was not in violation of Saudi law; while female foreigners who choose not to conform to the Saudi dress code risk a confrontation with the Mutawwa, or the Commission of the…

By: Jeannette I. Andrade A Saudi Arabian woman who was reportedly seeking asylum in Australia but was off-loaded from her flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was repatriated Monday night. On the request of officials from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Manila, Dina Ali Lasloom was off-loaded from her Australian-bound flight at the NAIA Tterminal 2 and put on a 10:30 p.m. Saudi Airlines flight to Jeddah at the NAIATterminal 1. Lasloom was a passenger of a Philippine Airlines flight PR 669 from Kuwait to Manila, which arrived at 3:30 am Monday, and was supposed to take an 11 a.m. connecting flight to Sydney, Australia the same day. According to personnel at the NAIA Terminal 2, the group from the Saudi Arabian Embassy were the persons with Lasloom in the video, which the group calling itself the Saudi Arabian Female Empowerment (SAFE) Movement posted on Twitter. The video…

India defeated Chile in the shoot-out in a pulsating contest to win the Women’s Hockey World League Round 2 and qualify for the World League Semi-final. The match went into the shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 1-1 at the end of regulation time. In the shootout, Indian goalkeeper Savita came up with a stunning display to help her side emerge winners. Savita, who was adjudged the goalkeeper of the tournament, was outstanding under the bar as she denied scoring chances to Kim Jacob and Josefa Villalabeitia which gave India a head start in the shootout. Skipper Rani Rampal and Monika converted their chances to give India a 2-0 lead in the shoot-out. Chile’s Carolina Garcia then scored from their third attempt, but Deepika found the net to seal the match for India. Despite conceding an early goal in the fifth minute when Maria Maldonado scored for Chile,…

By: Mary Emily O’Hara Recently, Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order then-President Barack Obama put in place to ensure that companies with federal contracts comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws. The Fair Pay order was put in place after a 2010 Government Accountability Office investigation showed that companies with rampant violations were being awarded millions in federal contracts. In an attempt to keep the worst violators from receiving taxpayer dollars, the Fair Pay order included two rules that impacted women workers: paycheck transparency and a ban on forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims. Noreen Farrell, Director of the anti-sex discrimination law firm Equal Rights Advocates, said Trump went “on the attack against workers and taxpayers.” “We have an executive order that essentially forces women to pay to keep companies in business that discriminate against them, with their own tax…

The Chief Justice of South Africa’s Judicial Service Commission Mogoeng Mogoeng has called on women to take on leadership roles in the judiciary. According to the Chief Justice during the first day of interview for new judges, more needed to be done to fast-track gender transformation. The first round of interviews was focused on positions for the Deputy Chief Justice and for a position at the Supreme Court of Appeal. Mogoeng and other commissioners questioned the first interviewee, Constitutional Court Justice Raymond Zondo, the only candidate nominated to replace retired Deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke. The panel focused on gender transformation and balance, and the challenges facing women in the legal fraternity. President Jacob Zuma nominated Zondo. If chosen, he would replace current acting Deputy Chief Justice Bess Nkabinde, whose term ends in December. Zondo said more women needed to be supported and nominated to positions in the courts. “The…