Aswat News

Today a number of MPs and youth organizations publicly condemned parliament’s decision to reject an amendment that would lower the voting age from 21 to 18, blaming the failure of this bill on the allegiances many political parties have to specific religious and sectarian groups. According to reports, if the legal voting age had been lowered, the balance between Sunnis, Shias and Christians would alter in favor of the two former groups. One can speculate that this factor played a role in the decision-making process in parliament on Monday.

Lebanon’s Daily Star covered this story; here is part of the article from today's paper:

Analysts estimate that lowering the voting age would add more than 50,000 Christians to the electorate, mainly Maronites, and about 175,000 Muslims, roughly equally split between Shiites and Sunnis.

The controversial bill has sparked fears of imbalance in Lebanon’s sectarian regime, with MPs opposed to the move demanding that expatriate Lebanese also be given the right to vote outside the country.

Supreme Leader Khamenei addressed the Assembly of Experts in the Majles today claiming that the oppositionists have lost their presence in the “system" since they started protesting the June 2009 elections. He continued by saying that those individuals who are unwilling to accept the law and the votes of the majority – and who instead choose to undermine the successful elections (reflecting the will of 40 million people) – will be pushed out of the “rescue boat.” He stressed that the presence of the oppositionists will no longer be tolerated in the system and that based on the Islamic principles of the system they have already lost all legitimacy.

Recently an economics professor from Jeddah, Reem Asaad, started an online campaign through her Facebook page to boycott lingerie stores operated by male staff throughout Saudi Arabia. The following article taken from Al-Arabiya and translated by the Mideastwire.com points to some of the underlying dynamics that led to this campaign and shares male reaction on this issue. As one might guess, the opinions espoused by many male shopkeepers is symptomatic of the systematic gender discrimination in Saudia Arabia. This phenomenon of men selling women's clothing, however, is surprisingly common throughout the Middle East despite the fact that a majority of women are uncomfortable with sharing intimate details with men they hardly know.

Kuwaiti authorities should cease denying entry to visiting speakers solely on the basis of their opinions, Human Rights Watch said today. The Interior Ministry has barred two prominent scholars - a Saudi cultural anthropologist and an Egyptian theologian - as well as a Saudi religious figure from entering the country in the past three months.

Great news - women lawyers in Saudi Arabia might actually be able to practice law in a courtroom!! The LA Times' Babylon & Beyond continues to cover important stories not often deemed newsworthy by other news sites. Here is B&B's report on Saudi's itty bitty step toward gender equality:

For years, Saudi women seeking justice through the courts had to rely on male lawyers to argue their cases, sometimes divulging sensitive information about their marriages and family lives to men they hardly knew.

But if the government backs a new law soon to be proposed by the ministry of justice, Saudis could be free to hire women lawyers to represent them in court, which advocates say would improve women's access to quality legal counsel and create more opportunities for women seeking careers in law.

These video clips display the aftermath of attacks by Basij, anti-riot, and plainclothes forces on students and their dorm rooms at the University of Tehran. Based on the information at hand the attacks occurred on the night of June 14, 2009, just two days after the elections. Many of the students were kidnapped, many of whom cannot be traced. At least seven students were reportedly murdered in the attacks.

Some of the clips show the aftermath of the destruction - a result of the Basijis setting fire to the dorms. As one might expect the University of Tehran dormitory attacks did not receive much mainstream media coverage. In fact, many abuses (such as Basij forces barging into dorm rooms and attacking students with chains and knives) have not been recorded or documented.

A new and amusing website - "Wajhy," or "my face," - which is available in Arabic has recently added to the range of websites that allow people in the region to create and customize their online persona.

Here is what LA's Babylon & Beyond had to say on the site:

Ever wished your avatar was as stylish, devout or politically conscious as you are? Now it can be, with the new online service Wajhy, which allows users to customize their online persona with traditional Arab dress and accessories like a virtual keffiyeh.

Arab media outlets have been covering ElBaradei's return to Egypt today with great enthusiasm, this is quite understandable considering the potential role he may play in the upcoming elections. That is, of course, if he decides to run...judging by his new facebook fan page he has a number of ardent supporters. Today amid tight security at the airport he was greeted by about one thousand supporters, many of whom belong to the Kefaya and the Sixth of April Youth movements.

Blogger Issandr El Amrani of The Arabist writes about today's events and the campaign efforts that are already underway:

"Two days ago we went to the office of a small NGO in Downtown Cairo to meet Abdel RahmanYoussef, the poet, television presenter and activist who is being the campaign to draft Mohamed ElBaradei. Youssef and a handful of others are using the office as a temporary HQ for the ElBaradei campaign, and were busy preparing today's welcome at Cairo Airport.

Yesterday I attended an event hosted by the Project on Middle East Democracy and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) that examined the current state of human rights in the Arab world. CIHRS released a report recently that criticized the human rights record in the Arab world and pointed to particular trends and developments over the past year that have threatened personal freedoms and hindered regional progress towards improved human rights standards.

I came across an article today in the Los Angeles Times that highlights some similar points made yesterday about human rights and portrays the deterioration of the freedom of expression in Morocco:

"MOROCCO: Pioneer of independent press silenced amid censorship worries"

Morocco is probably among Arab nations with the most vibrant press. But after a decade of openness, press freedom appears to be on the decline again. The latest victim: Le Journal Hebdomadaire, the first publication to openly criticize the monarchy.

One day late last month, Hicham Bennani was putting the final touches on an article for the next edition of the French-language weekly newspaper. It was about the rapid rise of the Parti Authenticité et Modernité, or PAM, also known as the "Parti de l'Ami du Roi" (the party of the king's friend.)