Wadjda (Waad Mohammed) is a straight-up badass. Under her traditional Saudi Arabian garb, the 10-year-old girl rocks Chuck Taylors, and her cassette player (yeah, she's that cool) screams indie rock from Grouplove.  All Wadjda wants is a bike, so she can race her friend Abdullah (Abdullrahman Al Gohandi), a boy from the neighborhood. Despite being constantly reminded that "girls don't ride bikes," Wadjda hustles money left and ... Read More

In a progressive and unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has sworn 30 women into the Shura Council.  The Council, a previously all-male body, is in charge of advising the king on issues that affect Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah amended the council’s statute last month by requiring that 20 percent of the 150 members be women.  King Abdullah’s female appointments mark the first time in Saudi ... Read More

[Trigger Warning: This post contains a description of sexual and physical assault that may potentially be triggering for survivors of such abuse.] A Saudi preacher in the city of Riyadh, imprisoned for the murder of his five-year-old daughter, may be looking at an unthinkably light sentence for his crimes. Fayhan Al Gamdi, a Muslim cleric who often appears as a guest on TV networks, confessed to the deadly beating and rape of his young ... Read More

  IKEA has been under fire this past week after it was revealed that they had airbrushed all the women out of the images in their annual catalog for IKEA Saudi Arabia. They have since apologized and expressed their “regret” for the situation, telling the Associated Press, "We should have reacted and realized that excluding women from the Saudi Arabian version of the catalog is in conflict with the IKEA Group values." The ... Read More

  It started with Saudi Twitter user Sultan Al Hilali, who posted a hash tag that translates as “Prostitutes of the Olympics.” Some tweeted in support of the vile phrase, but supporters of Saudi Arabia’s first two female Olympians flocked to the rescue, drowning out their ignorant and misogynistic words of hatred. It’s no secret that it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Wojdan Shaherkani (Judo) and Sarah Attar (athletics), ... Read More