Wartime climate in Saudi Arabia puts calls for reform on hold
Female guardianship changes suspended
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — An electronic billboard at an upscale Saudi mall flashes an advertisement for a designer fragrance before switching to images of soaring F-16s and King Salman saluting the troops. “The response has come to you who threaten the nation,” the caption says. “To those who test me, take this war as a reply.”
The message is directed at the Iranian-allied Shiite rebels in Yemen who have been the target of a three-week Saudi-led air campaign. The nationalist fervor whipped up by the war has put calls for reform in the kingdom on hold as people rally behind their king, the troops and the status quo.
State-run newspapers, radio talk shows and TV programs are almost entirely focused on the war against the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, with local media portraying it as part of a regional struggle against Tehran and its allies in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
Saudi human rights activists who consistently speak out about the need for political and societal reforms declined to speak or did so only on condition of anonymity, saying they fear arrest in the current climate. In neighboring Bahrain, at least three people have been detained for criticizing their country’s participation in the Saudi-led campaign.
The project to reform Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship laws, which give men powerful sway over women’s lives and require females to seek a male relative’s permission to travel abroad or undergo certain medical procedures, was indefinitely suspended, those in charge said it was inappropriate to talk about such issues while the country is in a state of war.
A political activist said people fear being seen as traitors if they question aspects of the war or press for reforms.
Saudi Arabia was largely spared from the popular uprisings that swept the region starting in 2011, but has been alarmed by the expansion of Iranian influence and the rise of radical groups like the Islamic State. It is taking part in U.S.-led airstrikes against the IS group in Syria and is a leading backer of Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad, a close ally of Iran.
Riyadh says its aim in Yemen is to restore the internationally recognized president, who fled to Saudi Arabia last month, and to halt the power grab by the Houthis. Iran has provided political and humanitarian support to the rebels, but denies arming them.
The Islamic State group has repeatedly called on its followers to target security forces and Shiites in Saudi Arabia, and extremists have carried out a string of small-scale attacks in recent months.