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[evitteecand]

Male blackmail of female in Saudi Arabia:

When the ancient Saudi practice of veiling women meets the contemporary use of camera-equipped mobile phones, a curious by-product has emerged, that of young men threatening to go public with pictures of young women. As Fatima Sidiya documents, a rash of such cases have occurred in the last six months.

* "Police in Al-Ahsa recently arrested a man in his 20s who blackmailed a 24-year-old woman into giving him SR250,000. The man threatened to publicize photographs of the woman. On arrest, police found SR20,000 [$67,000] in his possession and found that the woman had also bought him expensive watches and aftershave that cost a total of more than SR50,000, according to Al-Watan newspaper."

* Then there was "a case involving a 20-year-old man who blackmailed an 18-year-old girl in Makkah by threatening to publish her photographs on the Internet. The girl sold her jewelry and paid the man SR5,000. A few months later he demanded SR3,000 from her and that she goes out with him."

* "Likewise, a woman in Tabuk remained in constant turmoil for five years at the hands of a worker who threatened to publicize her photographs. In Riyadh, a woman handed a man SR800,000 over 14 years before seeking the commission's help."

This situation arises, as Sidiya cautiously explains, because, pre-marital relations of any sort with the opposite gender "are something frowned upon," so the exchange of photographs or love letters with a male "might cause immense problems to a woman if her family, fiancé or husband were to find out. As a result, some men take advantage and blackmail women into giving them cash or forcing them to have sex."

The problem has reached such proportions – including forty cases recorded in Makkah alone in 2008 – that King Abdullah set up a committee to solve the problem.

(December 25, 2008)

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1%C2%A7ion=0&article=117510&d=25&m=12&y=2008