Word: saud
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Saudi men may have to start getting used to such situations. True, Rotana remains an anomaly protected by the position and progressive ideals of its owner - global investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. And Saudi women still can't drive and legally can't even leave the house to shop, let alone get a job, without a male family member's permission. Yet under the guidance of a few members of the Saudi royal family - in particular the current King, Abdullah - the kingdom is slowly changing. Mixed-gender workplaces are becoming more common, especially in banks...
...publicity about the new female members of the Shura Council, for instance, they still don't have the voting rights of their male colleagues. "This is tokenism, it's insulting," says Hatoon Ajwad al-Fassi, a columnist and assistant professor of women's history at King Saud University. "We are asking for full participation. All the doors that are closed for women should be open." Given government restrictions on the right to assemble and discuss political issues even in private homes, al-Fassi says it's impossible to know just how many Saudi women want change. "It's an exaggeration...
Millions of Saudis, of course, still adhere to the strict religious and social conservatism that dates to the 18th century pact made between Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a puritanical preacher, and the founder of the Saud dynasty Mohammed ibn Saud. And many conservatives resent the social changes the King is pushing. "Those around King Abdullah use his peaceful positions to impose secular values," says conservative cleric Mohsen al-Awajy. "But Saudi society is a special, tribal society, and neither King Abdullah or anyone else can impose his own interpretation of Islam. They can do nothing without Islam. There...
...Dhabi has kept Dubai afloat by snapping up $10 billion of a $20 billion Dubai bond issue. Among other things, the bailout money has helped shore up the state-owned development companies behind most of those massive building projects. Still, the shakeout is probably not over yet, according to Saud Masoud, an analyst at the Dubai office of investment bank UBS. Masoud predicts house prices could eventually fall as much as 70% from last year's highs. "You can't just put in more capital," he says, arguing that Dubai needs to be more transparent about the seriousness...
...Saudi Arabia's government debt was bigger than its economy. And then came 9/11, which drove the final nails into the coffin of the country's image. A series of terrorist attacks inside the country added to the sense of chaos. Some predicted the end of the House of Saud...