Saudi Arabia’s Secretive Rehabilitation ‘Prisons’ For Disobedient Women
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 May 2025
· Saudi Arabia’s Secretive Rehabilitation ‘Prisons’ For Disobedient Women
· Australia’s First Hijab-Wearing Senator Files Complaint After Colleague Urges Her To ‘Drink Wine, Dance On Table’
· The First Female Muslim Jockeys, Khadijah Mellah, On Diversifying Horse Racing
· The Love Scam: How Matchmaking Fraud Is Growing In Iran
· French PM Blasts Predecessor’s Proposal To Ban Headscarves For Most Children
· UAE Chess Star RoudaAlserkal Creates History at Norway Chess 2025
· Woman Killed By Husband After Requesting Divorce In Iran
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saudi-arabia-secretive-rehabilitation-women/d/135696
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Saudi Arabia’s Secretive Rehabilitation ‘Prisons’ For Disobedient Women
28 May 2025
Girls grow up fearing Saudi Arabia’s Dar al-Reaya, or ‘care homes’. Illustration: Anna Ivanenko/The Guardian
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A young woman wearing a black Abaya is pictured in a city in north-west Saudi Arabia standing precariously on a second-floor window ledge. A second photograph shows a group of men escorting her down with the help of a crane.
The woman’s identity is unknown, but she was allegedly being held at one of Saudi Arabia’s notoriously secretive “jails” for women banished by their families or husbands for disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or being absent from home.
It was a rare glimpse of the plight of hundreds or more girls and young women believed to be held in such facilities, where they are “rehabilitated” so they can return to their families.
Speaking out in public or sharing footage of these “care homes”, or Dar al-Reaya, has become impossible in a country where voices on women’s rights appear to have been silenced. But over the past six months, the Guardian has gathered testimony about what it is like inside these institutions, described as “hellish”, with weekly floggings, forced religious teachings and no visits or contact with the outside world.
Conditions are reported to be so bad that there have been several cases of suicide or attempted suicide. The women can spend years locked up, unable to leave without the permission of their family or a male guardian.
“Every girl growing up in Saudi knows about Dar al-Reaya and how awful it is. It’s like hell. I tried to end my life when I found out I was going to be taken to one. I knew what happened to women there and thought ‘I can’t survive it’,” says one young Saudi woman who later managed to flee into exile.
Maryam Aldossari, a Saudi activist based in London, says: “A young girl or woman will stay in there for as long as it takes for her to accept the rules.”
While Saudi Arabia celebrates being awarded the Fifa men’s World Cup and meticulously promotes itself on the global stage as reformed, women who have dared to publicly call for more rights and freedoms have faced house arrest, jail and exile. Activists say the country’s care homes are one of the regime’s lesser-known tools for controlling and punishing women, and want them to be abolished.
Saudi officials have described the care homes, which were set up across the country in the 1960s, as providing “shelter for girls accused or convicted of various crimes” and say they are used to “rehabilitate the female inmates” with the help of psychiatrists “in order to return them to their family”.
But Sarah Al-Yahia, who started a campaign to abolish the care homes, has spoken to a number of girls who describe an abusive regime, with inmates subjected to strip-searches and virginity tests on arrival and given sedatives to put them to sleep.
“It is a prison, not a care home, as they like to call it. They call each other by numbers. ‘Number 35, come here.’ When one of the girls shared her family name, she got lashes. If she doesn’t pray, she gets lashes. If she is found alone with another woman she gets lashes and is accused of being a lesbian. The guards gather and watch when the girls are being lashed.”
Yahia, who is now 38 and lives in exile, says her parents had threatened to send her to Dar al-Reaya since she was 13. “My father used it as a threat if I didn’t obey his sexual abuse,” she says, adding that girls and women may face the horrifying dilemma of deciding between Dar al-Reaya and staying in an abusive home.
“They make it impossible for others to help women fleeing abuse. I know a woman who was sentenced to six months in jail because she helped a victim of violence. Giving shelter in the case of a woman charged for ‘absenteeism’ is a crime in Saudi Arabia.
“If you are sexually abused or get pregnant by your brother or father you are the one sent to Dar al-Reaya to protect the family’s reputation,” she says.
Amina*, 25, says she sought refuge in a ‘care home’ in Buraydah, a city in central Saudi Arabia, after being beaten by her father. She says the building was “old, crumbling and unsettling” and the staff “cold and unhelpful”. They belittled her experience, says Amina, telling her other girls had it “far worse” and were “chained at home” and told her to “thank God my situation wasn’t that bad”.
The next day, staff summoned her father, says Amina, but did little to protect her. “They asked both of us to write down our ‘conditions’. I requested not to be beaten or forced into marriage, and to be allowed to work. My father demanded that I respect everyone, never leave the house without permission, and always be accompanied by a male escort. I signed out of fear – I didn’t feel I had a choice.”
Once she returned home, Amina says the beatings continued and in the end she was forced to flee into exile. “I remember being utterly alone and terrified. I felt like a prisoner in my own home, with no one to protect me, no one to defend me. It felt like my life didn’t matter, like even if something terrible happened to me, no one would care,” she says.
For young girls, learning to fear Dar al-Reaya starts from a young age. Shams* says she was 16 when a woman who had been in one of the care homes was brought to her school. She told the class that she had started a relationship with a boy and was caught by the religious police and made to confess to her father. After she became pregnant her family disowned her and the father refused to allow her to marry, so she was sent to Dar al-Reaya. “She told us, if a woman has sex or a relationship she becomes a ‘cheap woman’. If you are a man you will always be a man, but if a woman makes herself cheap, she will be cheap for life.”
Layla*, who still lives in the country, says she was taken to Dar al-Reaya after complaining to the police about her father and brothers. She says they abused her and then accused her of bringing shame on her family after she posted on social media about women’s rights. She remained in the care home until her father agreed for her to be released, even though he was her alleged abuser.
“These women have no one. They could be abandoned for years, even without committing a crime,” says a Saudi women’s rights activist who wishes to remain anonymous. “The only way out is through a male guardian, marriage or jumping off the building. Old men or former convicts who did not find a bride would look for a bride in these institutions. Some women would accept this as the only way out.”
Some Saudi men will say a woman deserves to be there or that they should be thankful that the government provides facilities to protect them, says Fawzia al-Otaibi, an activist forced to flee the country in 2022.
“No one dares tweet or speak about these places. No one will ask about you when you go there. They make the victims feel ashamed,” Otaibi says.
Activists say that if the Saudi regime were serious about women’s rights they would reform the care home system and provide proper safe shelters for victims of abuse. “There are women who have good families who do not abuse or hide them,” says a Saudi activist now living in exile. “But many live under strict restrictions and suffer abuse silently. The state supports this abuse with these institutions. They only exist to discriminate against women. Why are the Saudi authorities allowing them to stay open?”
The human rights group ALQST says Dar al-Reaya facilities are notorious within Saudi Arabia as state tools for enforcing gender norms and “stand in stark contrast to the Saudi authorities’ narrative of women’s empowerment”.
Campaigns officer, Nadyeen Abdulaziz, says: “If they are serious about advancing women’s rights, they must abolish these discriminatory practices and allow the establishment of genuine shelters that protect, rather than punish, those who have experienced abuse.”
A Saudi government spokesperson said there was a network of specialised care facilities that supported vulnerable groups, including women and children affected by domestic violence. It categorically rejected claims of enforced confinement, mistreatment, or coercion.
“These are not detention centres, and any allegation of abuse is taken seriously and subject to thorough investigation … Women are free to leave at any time, whether to attend school, work, or other personal activities, and may exit permanently whenever they choose with no need of approval from a guardian or family member.”
It also said that reports of domestic violence were received through a dedicated and confidential hotline, and that all cases were addressed swiftly to ensure the safety of those affected.
Source: theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/may/28/saudi-arabia-women-girls-rehabilitation-prisons-dar-al-reaya
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Australia’s first hijab-wearing senator files complaint after colleague urges her to ‘drink wine, dance on table’
28 May 2025
Born in Afghanistan, Payman is the first senator to wear a hijab inside Australia’s parliament, according to local media. — Pic via Facebook
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SYDNEY, May 28 — A Muslim lawmaker in Australia said today that she has complained to a parliamentary watchdog after a male colleague allegedly urged her to drink wine and “dance on the table”.
Senator Fatima Payman—who said she does not drink alcohol—claimed the older colleague made a series of inappropriate remarks after he “had too many drinks” at an official function.
He said: “Let’s get some wine into you and see you dance on the table,” Payman, 30, told national broadcaster ABC.
“I told this colleague, ‘Hey I’m drawing a line mate’, and moved on to making a formal complaint,” she said.
It was not clear when the alleged incident occurred or who the colleague was.
Born in Afghanistan, Payman is the first senator to wear a hijab inside Australia’s parliament, according to local media.
Former political staffer Brittany Higgins in 2021 alleged she was raped by a colleague inside a parliamentary office, triggering protests across the country.
A scathing review later found Australia’s parliament was rife with heavy drinking, bullying and sexual harassment.
Independent Senator Payman split from the left-leaning Labor government in 2024 after accusing it of failing to help Palestinians in Gaza. — AFP
Source: malaymail.com
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2025/05/28/australias-first-hijab-wearing-senator-files-complaint-after-colleague-urges-her-to-drink-wine-dance-on-table/178432
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The First Female Muslim Jockeys, Khadijah Mellah, On Diversifying Horse Racing
Yousra Samir Imran
28 May 2025
Khadijah Mellah doesn’t want to be a token. The 24-year-old semi-professional horse jockey first came to prominence in 2019 when she took part in women’s charity race the Magnolia Cup, the first hijabi in the history of the competition. “I didn’t realise I was the first in the UK, and apparently the world,” she tells Hyphen.
“There was a lot of interest in my story. I was young and had all these opportunities coming my way, like brand deals. It was overwhelming, but exciting.”
It is a big weight to carry, as Mellah is still just one of two Muslim female jockeys in what remains an overwhelmingly white and male-dominated sport. “Ultimately, I want to represent my community and be appreciated for my actual talent and ability,” she says. “And less because of the tokenistic nature of being the first hijabi, Muslim and Black woman in horse racing.”
Just 16% of horse jockeys in the UK are women, and the high costs of riding classes have meant that it’s seen as an exclusive sport for the wealthy. In the upcoming 2025 Magnolia Cup, two of the 15 selected riders are people of colour.
Mellah first became interested in horseriding aged 11 after watching the DreamWorks movie Spirit. “I rode at clubs in Kent but it was only once every two to four months,” she recalls. She secured a place at Ebony Horse Club in Brixton, which offers classes for young people from disadvantaged communities. “I was on the waiting list for two years and then once I got my place I went there every week.”
In this context, Mellah has always worked to help increase diversity in horse riding. In 2021, she cofounded The Riding A Dream Academy with producer Naomi Lawson, who worked on the award-winning documentary about Mellah’s journey. The academy runs riding programmes for young people from underrepresented communities, supported by funding from the Racing Foundation.
“We focus on young people from diverse ethnic communities and disadvantaged backgrounds,” Lawson says. “About 75% of our students are from a diverse ethnic background. It’s really important to us because research shows that young people from those communities are massively underrepresented within equestrian sports.”
One of the people who walked through the doors was AamilahAswat, a 19-year-old jockey who works at Kim Bailey Racing in Cheltenham. At the age of 10 she began pony racing at her local riding school in Gloucester. In 2021, she moved to horses and became the first person to be selected for a Khadijah Mellah scholarship at the academy. Aswat went on to win a race at last summer’s Magnolia Cup.
“It feels amazing to be the second female Muslim horse jockey, because I hope people will look up to me and follow in either my or Khadijah’s footsteps,” Aswat says. “It also helps open opportunities for up-and-coming Muslim kids who want to do this.”
Lawson says just seeing Mellah and Aswat at the races or in the press encourages others to pursue the sport.
“To this day, when we get applications from young people wanting to be part of the academy, many of them still reference Khadijah and Aamilah,” she says. “We’ve had lots of Muslim students that have engaged with different courses and been part of the scholarship, residentials and taster days.”
“The demographics are definitely changing,” adds Mellah. “The academy has been running for three years and we’ve already got 11 students from ethnic minority backgrounds into the industry. We’ve seen a massive shift in the dynamics and conversation around horse racing and racing academies are now appealing to wider audiences.”
Yet challenges still remain. “I think it’s important to be specific about how the racing dynamic and community is sometimes hard to navigate,” says Mellah. “It can be a difficult space for someone who is an outsider whose background was not in racing.”
Noori Hussain, an equestrian rider from Oxford, says she still experiences discrimination when she engages with other equestrians. “People would treat me like a complete amateur, even though I’ve been riding for 10 years. They can be patronising and have very strong opinions about how to manage horses,” she says. “Add ethnic minority and hijabi to that and you’re in a very vulnerable position, because people are then doubly looking at what you’re doing.”
But horses bring joy to Hussain’s life, and women like Mellah act as powerful role models.
“I think equestrian sports should be open to other Muslim women, especially considering it’s a Sunnah of the Prophet and horses are beautiful creations of God,” Hussain adds. “There’s so much spiritual benefit as well. I think it’s really sad that we don’t have as many Muslim women doing it as we want.”
Knowing the mantle she holds, Mellah is planning to launch an inclusive riding space specifically for Muslim and minoritised women in their 20s and 30s, hoping to create “a community and safe space for them to learn to ride”.
Source: hyphenonline.com
https://hyphenonline.com/2025/05/28/muslim-women-horse-jockey-racing-magnolia-cup-khadijah-mellah-aamilah-aswat/
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The Love Scam: How Matchmaking Fraud is Growing in Iran
MAY 28, 2025
MARYAM DEHKORDI
Across Iran, thousands are losing their life savings chasing a simple promise: finding love online, approved by clerics and guaranteed safe by matchmakers.
The truth, however, is very different. Many victims realize too late that they’ve been trapped by a sophisticated scam network.
Iran’s Cyber Police chief has confirmed that most matchmaking and temporary marriage websites are illegal and primarily set up to deceive users.
Still, these sites continue to grow. Their operators grow rich while victims remain silent, too "ashamed" to report scams that could expose their private lives.
As state policies on marriage and family falter, scammers have stepped in, exploiting religion, tradition, and people’s desperation for profit.
The websites are cleverly branded, with names like "Hello," "PeyvandeDelha" (Bond of Hearts), and "Hamdam" (Companion) - names that suggest love, trust, and faith.
They look like legitimate dating sites, with polished designs and detailed forms that ask about education, finances, and religious beliefs.
“There’s careful thought and planning behind this work,” explains Mohammad Hassan, a young man from Kerman whose experience with these platforms left him both poorer and wiser.
The sites he used were highly sophisticated operations, complete with customer service representatives, payment systems, and elaborate verification processes designed to create an illusion of legitimacy.
It all starts normally. Users create profiles, upload photos, and browse for matches - just like on any dating site.
But once someone shows real interest, the trap is sprung. Suddenly, users are asked to pay introduction fees, upfront dowries, and security deposits.
Each payment may seem small on its own, but together, they amount to severe financial losses.
The truth became clear for Mohammad Hassan during his first and only in-person meeting. The woman who had claimed to be 26 looked closer to 40.
The photos that had drawn him to her profile bore little resemblance to reality. The promises of verified identities and guaranteed introductions proved hollow.
“The bottom line is that almost everyone gets scammed because the photos are mostly fake,” he said. “You have to transfer the dowry set for the woman you choose before the first meeting. These sites operate comfortably knowing most people don’t file complaints because of social stigma.”
This reluctance to report lies at the heart of the fraud industry’s success.
In a society where temporary marriages and casual relationships carry a significant stigma, victims often choose silence over justice.
The fraudsters count on this, building their business models around the certainty that “shame” will shield them from prosecution.
“You do the math,” says Reza, a mobile phone seller in Tehran. “If the business owner traps ten customers like me each day, and the amounts are small, nobody bothers chasing the money.”
But the financial loss is only part of the harm. The real damage runs deeper to "people’s dignity."
Using personal details such as names, ID numbers, addresses, and phone numbers, scammers often blackmail victims or publicly shame them.
Some report having their personal information and photos shared in public Telegram groups without consent.
Others face ongoing blackmail threats or are directed to fake payment portals that wipe out their bank accounts entirely.
The fraud ecosystem has evolved from simple romance scams into a full-scale assault on privacy, dignity, and financial security.
“There are people on these sites who are part of organized crime groups,” warns Mohammad Hassan.
“They’re here to defraud. Some are involved in trafficking women and girls or pushing business promotions. There's no oversight of their performance, either. No matter how many times you report them, their profiles don’t get taken down.”
The persistence of these scams highlights the Iranian government’s contradictory approach to internet regulation.
While authorities claim to rigorously monitor online activity and frequently announce crackdowns on illegal sites, the matchmaking fraud industry continues to thrive with apparent impunity.
Vahid Majid, head of Iran’s Cyber Police, has publicly claimed that law enforcement “continuously and decisively deals with illegal sites and channels in the field of temporary matchmaking and also the sale of immoral items.”
He insists that police identify and prosecute violators even without formal complaints.
But the situation on the ground tells a different story. Fraudulent matchmaking services are widely advertised on social media, and fake websites often operate for months or even years without being shut down.
The regulatory confusion extends to legitimate services as well. In 2020, officials claimed there was only one government-approved matchmaking website. By 2023, that number had grown to 33 licensed centers operating in 15 provinces.
Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration has tasked the Ministry of Sports and Youth with issuing matchmaking licenses, but the criteria and oversight mechanisms remain unclear.
The scam network thrives on social media, especially Telegram, where ads spread rapidly. A single message to a matchmaking channel can result in users being added to dozens of similar groups.
The Islamic Development Organization claims that advertising requires official licensing, but investigations show this rule is rarely enforced.
Channel operators openly admit that advertising restrictions are largely symbolic, having little effect on their ability to promote fraudulent services.
This regulatory vacuum has created ideal conditions for scammers to operate with near-complete impunity while victims suffer in silence.
Social media, government inaction, and victim silence have transformed matchmaking scams from isolated incidents into a booming industry.
Experts say what’s most troubling is how these scams prey on genuine human needs in a society where unmarried men and women can hardly interact.
Strict social norms in the Islamic Republic have left many desperate for safe, socially acceptable ways to meet partners, making them easy targets for fake, faith-based promises.
Mohsen, a 29-year-old who joined matchmaking channels out of curiosity, says, “Everything about these channels is fake.”
He adds, “But I’m glad when those who think they can have sex by reading two Arabic words get scammed.”
Even non-religious Iranians find themselves drawn to these platforms, thinking they offer easier and less complicated paths to relationships than traditional dating apps.
Dating apps, despite their risks, operate on the principles of direct communication and personal accountability. Users understand from the outset that they are responsible for their own safety and choices.
Matchmaking sites, by contrast, offer a false sense of security and official approval, making users trust them too easily. Their claims of religious endorsement only heighten that vulnerability.
Source: iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/features/141560-the-love-scam-how-matchmaking-fraud-is-growing-in-iran/
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French PM blasts predecessor’s proposal to ban headscarves for most children
MAY 27, 2025
PARIS — French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Tuesday delivered a scathing critique of his predecessor and centrist ally Gabriel Attal’s proposal to ban Muslim headscarves for minors under 15.
Attal, the leader of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance political party, publicly floated the proposal following a report on alleged attempts by groups supposedly tied to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood to “infiltrate” French society and promote a fundamentalist agenda. The report — described by some experts as “alarmist” — cited instances of particularly young girls wearing headscarves.
While Bayrou acknowledged that the document contained useful elements, he said in an interview with RMC that the “scale” of the issue still needs to be assessed and the government must tread carefully out of respect for France’s law-abiding Muslim community.
“I don’t want to make Islam a subject of fixation for French society,” Bayrou said.
Attal, a former socialist and early Macron ally, and other centrists have increasingly seemed to inch rightward on the political spectrum as France and the rest of Europe has drifted toward a more conservative tilt. As education minister, Attal was responsible for overseeing the ban on abayas — long, flowing robes worn by some Muslim women — in school.
But Bayrou hinted that Attal’s new proposal could alienate many French Muslims and would be nearly impossible to enforce.
“Does it mean that, in the streets, police officers will tell young women, show me your ID so I can see if you’re old enough?” he said.
Macron on Monday said the risk of Islamist infiltration exists but shouldn’t be overblown at the risk of becoming “conspiratorial and paranoid.”
Attal’s idea is unlikely to see the light of day without support from Bayrou or even within his own party. Elisabeth Borne, the current education minister and Renaissance’s second-in-command, said she had “the greatest doubts as to the constitutionality of this measure.”
Source: politico.eu
https://www.politico.eu/article/france-francois-bayrou-blast-predecessor-proposal-ban-headscarf-children-under-15/
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UAE Chess Star RoudaAlserkal Creates History at Norway Chess 2025
May 28, 2025
Rahul Sadhu
UAE star RoudaAlserkal created history on Tuesday after making her debut at the Norway Chess 2025. But her milestone moment was not just a stamp on the chessboard but far beyond it.
On Tuesday, the rising star from the UAE became the first Emirati woman to compete at the prestigious Norway Chess tournament, having already become the UAE’s first and youngest Woman Grand Master (WGM) earlier this year.
While her opening game didn’t go as she had hoped, as she lost to Ukraine's PlatonGalperin, the result was secondary to the milestone itself.
"It is sad not to start with a win,” Rouda was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times. "But it was also incredibly valuable. Playing at this level is intense, and I know I’ll grow from this," she added.
"It's been an incredible journey for me so far – one tournament at a time, learning from every game and gradually improving," she said.
"Playing at an event like Norway Chess, alongside some of the biggest names in the sport, is a great experience. It shows how far I've come, and how much more there is to learn and achieve," she further added.
KjellMadland, Founder and tournament director of Norway Chess, was also impressed by the teen and said, "She’s breaking barriers that we didn’t even know existed."
"For a young Emirati woman to compete in the open category at one of the world’s top tournaments—it’s inspirational. The significance of Rouda’s journey stretches beyond sport."
"I am confident her courage and skill are paving the way for a new generation of Emirati girls who now see a future for themselves on the international stage — not just in chess, but in any field they choose," Madland said.
As for Rouda, she isn’t dwelling on the loss. Her sights are firmly set on the rounds ahead.
"I’m just getting started,” she said. "It’s an honour to be here, and I’m going to fight hard every game," she concluded.
Source: timesnownews.com
https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/chess/uae-star-rouda-alserkal-creates-history-at-norway-chess-2025-shatters-glass-ceiling-to-inspire-women-article-151735073
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Woman Killed by Husband After Requesting Divorce in Iran
MAY 27, 2025
A 39-year-old woman was killed by her husband after she requested a divorce, according to a human rights organization.
FatemehSadeghi’s body was found on April 30 in the bathroom of a public park in the Jahrom district of Fars Province, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said.
The organization identified the perpetrator as SadeghRanjbar, Sadeghi’s husband.
He strangled her with a scarf and tried to make the death appear to be a suicide, according to sources. Sadeghi earned income by baking cakes.
In Iran, official bodies do not provide accurate statistics on femicides, though incidents are reported in Iranian newspapers.
According to Etemad newspaper, 78 women were murdered by their relatives or family members between March and September last year.
In 2023, Shargh newspaper reported that male family members killed at least 165 women between 2021 and 2023.
Of these, 27 women were murdered in the first three months of 2023 alone, with “honor killings” cited as a primary motive.
These figures reflect only reported murders, and the actual number is likely much higher.
Source: iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/women/141547-woman-killed-by-husband-after-requesting-divorce-in-iran/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saudi-arabia-secretive-rehabilitation-women/d/135696