The German minister voiced her annoyance at the expectation that women should wear traditional clothing when visiting the country
Daily Mail: Female German minister REFUSES to wear a hijab during visit to Saudi Arabia, days after Angela Merkel calls for a burka ban
* Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen wore a business suit for her meetings at the Divan Palace in Riyadh
* She was criticised on Twitter by Saudis for not wearing traditional Saudi clothing
* Von der Leyen said she was annoyed that visitors are expected to wear an abaya
* It comes a week after Angela Merkel called for the burka to be banned
* On Monday a Saudi woman was arrested for taking off her veil and posing for photographs
A German minister has refused to wear a hijab during a visit to Saudi Arabia - saying women should have the same right to choose their clothing as men.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen's stand came a week after Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the burka to be banned.
Von der Leyen was in Saudi capital Riyadh to meet deputy crown prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, where she voiced her annoyance at the expectation that women cover up.
But it sparked anger in the deeply-conservative state, where social media users called for her to be arrested.
It comes in a week when a Saudi woman was arrested for taking off her veil in public.
Read more ....
Update: German Defense Minister refuses to wear hijab or abaya in Saudi Arabia (Al Bawaba)
WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... the German defense minister is not going to be invited back.
6 comments:
Not only does she refuse to wear the hijab but Germany actually sent a woman to Saudi Arabia to represent them on official business. This is a double insult to the Saudis. Good for Germany!!!
I remember a time when no "western" country would have dreamed of insulting the Saudis in this manner. The policy towards them was essentially cower in fear, do what they say, and if they say "jump" jump as high as one can and pray it is high enough.
This no longer seems to be the case. It's nice to see people standing up to these thugs even if it is still in small ways. I suppose the advent of technologies like fracking has given folks some leverage in dealing with them.
In 2013 I had stated that the Saudi government would be overthrown by the end of 2016. While this prediction, as of right now, seems as though I was a bit premature, the Saudi government is very unstable and its days are numbered. It makes no sense to hitch oneself to a government whose future is very limited.
We itch for oil so we hitch...they have many markets besides ours, and now in cahoots with Russia and Iran for OPEC
they will be around for many more years
Lol thats Islam for ya, submit or suffer penalties innumerable
Well that's it, the prince just won't wear lederhosen next time he visits Germany...
Fred,
You write, "we itch for the oil so we hitch." Oil and oil related products are vital substance for the operation of a semi-modern economy, let alone a fully modern one. As such, any government in order to properly represent its interests and its citizens is fully justified and would be expected to do anything it can to ensure that it and its citizens have access to a stable and reasonably priced supply of oil.
"...they have many markets besides ours...", this is true, however, we have/had fewer suppliers than they have markets. As such, to a large degree for many, many years we have had to do pretty much whatever they told us to do. With the advent of fracking this is not so much the case anymore. IF we can ever get the right leadership who will fully exploit this, they will have even less influence.
Additionally, with more supplies available OPEC will become less influential. The editor of this site has posted a number of articles showing how OPEC's ability to influence world markets has diminished. What we've achieved so far is only "the tip of the iceberg." With the right leadership we may be able to make OPEC virtually obsolete. At a minimum, we could become the go to country for oil and gas.
Based upon observations it appears to me the Saudi leadership's day are very limited to not more than a couple more years, at most. At the very least, they are going to have to significantly alter their behavior in order to remain in power but I seriously don't think they are capable of such behavioral modifications but we shall see.
Perhaps you are right. Perhaps they will be around for years to come but, at least for now, it is immensely pleasing to see people like the German defense minister unafraid to defy them. Not so long ago such behavior on the part of oil importers would have not only been unheard of it would not have been conceived up.
I think this is a step in the right direction even it is a baby step and I hope it can built upon.
We do not need Saudi oil. Drill on the "Loony Left Coasts".
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