SCHOOLGIRLS DIE BECAUSE THEIR HEADS WERE NOT COVERED....

March 17, 2002 - Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both issued statements of concern and condemnation today about reports that 14 girls have lost their lives and dozens of others were injured following a fire at their school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on March 11th after the religious police (Mutawa'een) prevented them from escaping from the fire because they were not wearing headscarves and their male relatives were not there to receive them.

Amnesty said, "If these reports are true, this is a tragic illustration of how gender discrimination can have lethal consequences…Amnesty International welcomes calls for an urgent investigation into these tragic deaths to prevent any future recurrence and for anyone found responsible to be brought to justice. The findings of such investigation must be made public.." Saudi authorities should conduct an independent, thorough, and transparent investigation of the March 11 fire at a girls' public intermediate school in Mecca that claimed the lives of at least fourteen students, Human Rights Watch said today.

Eyewitnesses, including civil defense officers, reported that several members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (mutawwa'in, in Arabic) interfered with rescue efforts because the fleeing students were not wearing the obligatory public attire (long black cloaks and head coverings) for Saudi girls and women.

The mutawwa'in, a law-enforcement agency that has sought to ensure the application of the kingdom's strict gender segregation and dress code for women, has drawn criticism for abusive practices including harassment, physical abuse, and arbitrary arrest. A report prepared by Mecca's Civil Defense Department about the rescue effort at the school noted that mutawwa'in were at the school's main gate and, "intentionally obstructed the efforts to evacuate the girls. This resulted in the increased number of casualties."

The religious police reportedly tried to block the entry of Civil Defense officers into the building. "We told them that the situation was dangerous and it was not the time to discuss religious issues, but they refused and started shouting at us," Arab News quoted Civil Defense officers as saying. "Whenever the girls got out through the main gate, these people forced them to return via another. Instead of extending a helping hand for the rescue work, they were using their hands to beat us," Civil Defense officers were quoted as saying.

The officers also said they saw three people beating girls who had evacuated the school without proper dress. In the end, the department's officers had to use force to keep the commission's members away from the area and help the girls get out of the building quickly. "We told them that the situation was dangerous and it was not the time to discuss religious issues, but they refused and started shouting at us." Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif stated yesterday that the government would investigate the Makkah school fire tragedy earnestly to bring the culprits to account. He also said that the persons responsible for the incident would be asked to pay blood money to the families of the 14 girls who perished in the school disaster as well as compensations to the injured.

Sources: Arab News (Saudi Arabia), Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International The Oread Daily provides daily (Monday-Friday) progressive, left, anti-racist, anarchist, commie, activist, environmental, Marxist, revolutionary, etc. news and information from around the US and around the world.

The Oread Daily was a mimeographed sheet that came out first in the summer of 1970 in Lawrence, Kansas. It was irreverent, radical, spicy, revolutionary et. al. Now, three decades later it returns.

To view the entire Oread Daily, please visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OreadDaily