Saudi Arabia is full of contradictions as a nation imposing medieval Islamic laws while striving to portray itself as a modern country. We have routinely discussed the incredible bravery of women in the Kingdom who have risked everything to demand the most minimal rights of human beings from freedom of speech to freedom of travel to associational rights. One of these heroes is Saudi activist Loujain Alhathloulwho remains incarcerated and is being reportedly tortured for her advocacy of equal rights. For all of the women being abused in the Kingdom, many objected to Maria Carey holding a concert when this repression continues. Carey, who loves to sing about that “hero inside you,” took the money and will be holding the concert today. It appears that Carey’s commitment to women does not extend as far as turning down one concert from her already burgeoning fortune.
In an oped calling on Carey to cancel the concert, Walid Alhathloul wrote about how his sister Loujain described being regularly whipped, beaten, electrocuted and sexually harassed in a basement she called the “palace of terror.” She was arrested in May 2018 with 10 other brave women. One of those implicated in torture is the infamous aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saud al-Qahtani. He is also implicated in the murder of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, The Crown Prince has also been implicated in widespread torture and murders.
Loujain Alhathloul’s family alleges that she and other female detainees have been tortured and sexually harassed in prison.The official Saudi Press Agency said the women’s rights defenders were accused of “suspicious contact with foreign entities.”Riyadh previously denied allegations of torture in a statement to CNN following an initial Human Rights Watch report alleging the abuse in November.”The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s judiciary system does not condone, promote, or allow the use of torture. Anyone, whether male or female, being investigated is going through the standard judiciary process led by the public prosecution while being held for questioning, which does not in any way rely on torture either physical, sexual, or psychological,” a Saudi official told CNN in November.
Mariah Carey loves to sing about strong women and being a hero:
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you, oh, oh
That apparently is only when those abusing women are not paying you a fortune to entertain the Kingdom. Her handlers insist that the concern will be a mixed gender audience and thus is “a positive step towards the dissolution of gender segregation.”
Then of course there was that money thing.
One can only hope that Carey’s concert can be piped into the cells of women being raped and tortured to give them that positive feeling. That Carey optimism did not appear to reach two Saudi sisters who recently committed suicide rather than return to the oppression of the Kingdom.
Carey however is not the only hypocrite. We all are. The Trump Administration has yet to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the murder of Khashoggi. Trump’s refusal has continued despite the report of a tape of a “smoking gun phone call” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an alleged instruction to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.” In a new interview, Trump has suggested that perhaps we should all just agree on blaming a “vicious world.”
This was a carefully planned killing with a team sent from Saudi Arabia, including the double and a close security aide to the Crown Prince. Moreover, there is a recording referencing the Crown Prince by the murderers as well as an intercept of a team member calling an aide to Prince Mohammed and saying “tell your boss” that the mission was accomplished. Intercepts also show that Prince Mohammed was trying to find ways to lure Mr. Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia. The tape of the Crown Prince would seem to seal the matter, but it clearly has not moved Trump.
He had no trouble luring Carey of course. It only took a check.
Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don’t let anyone
Tear them away, hey yeah
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time you’ll find the wayAnd then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
That a hero lies in you
Mmm, that a hero lies in you
Turning down the money would not have made Carey a hero, but it would have made a statement in support of real heroes like Loujain Alhathloul.
What happens to Loujain Alhathloul affects us all. Her fight for freedom and equal rights is the story of the struggle of human rights that we all share as human beings. Once Carey stops singing and collects her check, Loujain will remain in prison as our close ally continues to deny her — and all women, journalists, homosexuals, non-Muslim believers, and political dissidents — basic human rights. She does not just about heroes for money, she is a hero.