Women in Saudi Arabia are often seen in the West as oppressed. The Nesma embroidery and tailoring center in Jeddah is breaking new ground, giving Saudi woman a sense of freedom in a country that until recently excluded them from public life.

Report: C. Butta/G.Riedle

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WTO RECOMMENDS

What women are not allowed to do in Saudi Arabia

The human rights record of Saudi Arabia is far from good. One of the things which makes it bad is the protection of women and their rights. Even though women have been allowed to take part in an election recently for the first time, as voters and as candidates, they are still not allowed to do some things or restricted. And those are things which are considered normal for women in other countries. Here are some of the things.

An open letter to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has banned its citizens from marrying foreigners from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Chad. The administration says that the number of expats from these communities has exceeded the government’s limit of 500,000. But for one Pakistani woman, this is a blessing in disguise!

Do the media suffer from ADD when covering violence against women?

It is rarely a good idea to pay too much attention to talk shows and their hosts. But once upon a time I thought differently and so they received much undeserved attention from me.