Human Rights Violations in Saudi Arabia Exposed
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Homa Pourasgari, international author, decided her second novel was a necessary work to open the world’s eyes to the oppression of women and other human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. The author recently was interviewed by Reader Views and on InsideScoop Live about the need for greater Western understanding and activism and her expression of these concerns in her novel “The Dawn of Saudi” (ISBN 9780977978014, Linbrook Press, 2009).
“In any country where there is no separation of church and state, you’re going to run into human rights issues,” Pourasgari recently told Juanita Watson at www.InsideScoopLive.com. Pourasgari expressed dismay that even in the United States, the government has assumed the right to limit human freedoms in recent years. Determined to expose how women are mistreated in Saudi Arabia, Pourasgari drew upon her own Middle East background, conversed with Saudi women online, and traveled to and lived in the Middle East to understand the situation and mindset of Saudi men and women, and their political and religious views regarding the role of women in their culture.
As Pourasgari explained in her interviews, her concerns for human rights and her research resulted in her novel, “The Dawn of Saudi,” a story about Dawn Parnell, an American woman, who marries a Saudi man and follows him to Saudi Arabia. Dawn believes her husband is open-minded and liberal in his views of the treatment of women, but once he is back among his friends and family, their cultural and religious views convince him to treat his wife like any Saudi woman. Dawn is dismayed by her husband’s transformation, and she is horrified to see a friend brutally forced into an arranged marriage. Determined to escape her stifling marriage, Dawn begins on a dangerous journey to save her life.
In her interview with Reader Views, Pourasgari explained she wrote “The Dawn of Saudi” because “I wanted to be the voice of the people who are forced to be quiet and whose rights are being violated every single day. I hope that after reading my book, Westerners will be better informed and get involved in bringing about change….We, on the outside, can stay informed and sign petitions when there is a miscarriage of justice. There needs to be pressure both from the outside and the inside for change to take place.”
Born in Iran, Pourasgari writes of a culture she knows and yet still has difficulty understanding. As expressed in her recent interviews, she hopes her novel will enlighten people and make them understand that religious and female oppression is not limited to a specific religion or culture but used by political leaders worldwide to support their own agendas. To read the full interviews with Pourasgari, visit www.ReaderViews.com and www.InsideScoopLive.com. Pourasgari’s novel is also being featured on Reader Views this week.
About the Author
Homa Pourasgari resides in Los Angeles, California. She received a degree in Business from Loyola Marymount University, after which she left to live in Paris for one year and attended the University of Sorbonne, focusing on literature. Multilingual, she has been traveling since the age of five and has experienced many different cultures. Homa has worked in various industries such as marketing, retail, banking, accounting, and fitness, but she has always returned to her true love—writing. “The Dawn of Saudi” follows the success of her first novel, “Lemon Curd.”
Reader Comments (1)
Saudi Arabia's human rights record has never been a secret, its been ignored by virtually every one. Out news media and politicians will criticize China and Iran for violating people humans rights (and they should be criticized) but will ignore the worse human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
Pourasgari is absolutely right, anyplace that lacks a separation of church and state will have human rights problems. That is something many in this country should know but don't.