Disturbing Video: Saudi Security Staff Beat And Drag Young Women By Their Hair In An Orphanage
In a disturbing video that just surfaced, young Saudi women can be seen being thrashed and dragged by the orphanage’s security employees. The incident is thought to have occurred when a group of women went on a hunger strike in protest of the orphanage’s poor environment. The issue came to light after the video became viral on Twitter.
The video depicts men in civilian clothing and security personnel in khaki uniforms rounding up a group of young women in what seemed to be an orphanage courtyard where they were reportedly participating in a hunger strike to protest against their poor living conditions.
The security guards are seen holding one lady while a group of men pull another by her hair and twist her arm before handcuffing her.
As soon as the video became viral in Saudi Arabia, the government said that Turki bin Talal, the governor of the Asir area, where the orphanage is located, had commissioned an investigation into “all aspects” of the incident.
Millions of people have watched the video, which Saudi rights organisations located abroad uploaded online.
Lina al-Hathloul, a rights activist whose sister Loujain was imprisoned by the kingdom for opposing the ban on women driving, tweeted, “If you were wondering how MBS’s state security acts when it arbitrarily arrests individuals – you have a video here of them attacking an orphanage. Criminals.”
Saudi Arabia Suppresses Female Voices
Saudi Arabia has been brutally suppressing female activists in recent weeks, and just last week, a student from Leeds University was given a 34-year prison term for using Twitter.
Mother of two small children Salma al-Shehab, 34, received the punishment for using Twitter to “create public discontent and destabilise civil and national security.”
Also Read: Saudi woman, Salma al-Shehab, sentenced to 34-year in prison for using Twitter
The video of the orphanage has served as another proof of how the Saudi monarchy has suppressed women’s rights while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the country, has been in power.
He has made several attempts in recent years to present Saudi Arabia as a more modern nation while upholding the stringent Sharia law.
It was a campaign led by bin Salman that women were permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia in 2018. However, the video of the girls at the orphanage has led some people to reevaluate how much Saudi Arabia has actually accomplished.
