Big Gods Came After The Rise of Civilizations, Not Before, Finds Study Using Huge Historical Database

Big Gods Came After The Rise of Civilisations, Not Before, Finds Study Using Huge Historical Database

When you think of religion, you probably think of a god who rewards the good and punishes the wicked. But the idea of morally concerned gods is by no means universal. Social scientists have long known that small-scale traditional societies – the kind missionaries used to dismiss as “pagan” – envisaged a spirit world that cared little about the morality of human behaviour. Their concern was less about whether humans behaved nicely towards one another and more about whether they carried out their obligations to the spirits and displayed suitable deference to them.

Nevertheless, the world religions we know today, and their myriad variants, either demand belief in all-seeing punitive deities or at least postulate some kind of broader mechanism – such as karma – for rewarding the virtuous and punishing the wicked. In recent years, researchers have debated how and why these moralising religions came into being.

Now, thanks to our massive new database of world history, known as Seshat (named after the Egyptian goddess of record keeping), we’re starting to get some answers.

NASA Cancels First All-Female Spacewalk, Not Having Two Equipped Spacesuits In Women's Sizes

NASA Cancels First All-Female Spacewalk, Not Having Two Equipped Spacesuits In Women's Sizes

NASA has cancelled their highly-promoted two-women space walk due to not having two size medium space suits available. Earlier this month, America’s US space agency announced that astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch were set to make history this Friday, installing lithium-ion batteries at the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA doesn't have two smaller space suits for the ladies, as only big guys are astronauts. Please forgive us for being sarcastic. In fact, NASA is trying to change this image of promoting only men as astronauts, but outfits to wear floating out there in the universe weren’t on the checklist.

Koch will now exit the ISS with male colleague Nick Hague instead. She will wear the medium-size suit used by McClain on a spacewalk with Hague last week.

Damien Mander Creates Female 'Akashinga' Anti-Poaching Force In Zimbabwe's Phundundu Wildlife Park

Damien Mander Creates Female 'Akashinga' Anti-Poaching Force In Zimbabwe's Phundundu Wildlife Park

Faye Cuevas is not alone in recruiting women as wildlife rangers, responsible for patrolling and even shooting if necessary, ivory poachers. In September 2018, the BBC featured former Special Forces sniper, Australian Damien Mander, who says he found his ‘higher calling’ protecting wildlife in Africa. Knowing what key global military experts, including America’s own top military brass believes, Mander specifically focused on creating a female anti-poaching force in Zimbabwe’s Phundundu Wildlife Park nature reserve a 115 square mile former trophy hunting area that is part of a larger ecosystem home to some 11,000 elephants.

Though women rarely serve as rangers in Africa — a reality that Faye Cuevas also confronted in Kenya — Mander believes that putting the well-being of wildlife in their expertly trained hands could usher in a new way of carrying out conservation. In Mander’s vast experience, he believes that women rangers will create conservation practices that are far less violent, while empowering women and improving communities in the process.

“There’s a saying in Africa, ‘If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation’,” Mander says. “We’re seeing increasing evidence that empowering women is one of the greatest forces of change in the world today.”

Mander is hitting roadblocks, especially in his vision for 4,500 female rangers protecting wildlife across Africa. You can imagine the havoc he’s creating!

Michael Steinhardt, a Leader in Jewish Philanthropy, Is Accused of a Pattern of Sexual Harassment

MICHAEL STEINHARDT SHOWING ANTI-ISRAEL, ANTI-BIRTHRIGHT PROTESTERS WHAT HE REALLY THINKS. SOURCE: TWITTER PHOTO CAPTURE. VIA JNS

Michael Steinhardt, a Leader in Jewish Philanthropy, Is Accused of a Pattern of Sexual Harassment

By Hannah Dreyfus for ProPublica and Sharon Otterman, The New York Times

Sheila Katz was a young executive at Hillel International, the Jewish college outreach organization, when she was sent to visit the philanthropist Michael H. Steinhardt, a New York billionaire. He had once been a major donor, and her goal was to persuade him to increase his support. But in their first encounter, he asked her repeatedly if she wanted to have sex with him, she said.

Deborah Mohile Goldberg worked for Birthright Israel, a nonprofit co-founded by Steinhardt, when he asked her if she and a female colleague would like to join him in a threesome, she said.

Natalie Goldfein, an officer at a small nonprofit that Steinhardt had helped establish, said he suggested in a meeting that they have babies together.

Steinhardt, 78, a retired hedge fund founder, is among an elite cadre of donors who bankroll some of the country’s most prestigious Jewish nonprofits. His foundations have given at least $127 million to charitable causes since 2003, public filings show.

But for more than two decades, that generosity has come at a price. Six women said in interviews with The New York Times and ProPublica, and one said in a lawsuit, that Steinhardt asked them to have sex with him, or made sexual requests of them, while they were relying on or seeking his support. He also regularly made comments to women about their bodies and their fertility, according to the seven women and 16 other people who said they were present when Steinhardt made such comments.

NRA Puts Nancy Pelosi + Gaby Giffords Out For Target Practice. Will Sandy Hook Ruling Dampen Their Machismo?

NRA Puts Nancy Pelosi + Gaby Giffords Out For Target Practice. Will Sandy Hook Ruling Dampen Their Machismo?

The National Rifle Association left little to the imagination in their March 2019 issue of American Rifleman, citing Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and gun control advocate, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Gifford — herself an assault rifle victim — as in the line of fire and perhaps in need of a little target practice.

There’s no doubt that these are macho men. The white nationalist assassin from Australia who Facebook livestreamed with his assault on two New Zealand mosques Friday is also a macho man. that currently leaves 50 dead and 50 hospitalized — many in critical condition.

On Thusday, March 14th, the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling, agreeng with Connecticut’s Sandy Hook families that the marketing employed by Remington Arms, a major manufacturer of deadly assault rifles and specifically the AF15, was so aggregious in appealing to men’s “killer instincts” that it transgressed against federal immunity laws that protect gun manufacturers from liability.

Connecticut law, the court wrote in the majority opinion, "does not permit advertisements that promote or encourage violent, criminal behavior." While federal law does offer protection for gun manufacturers, the majority wrote, "Congress did not intend to immunize firearms suppliers who engage in truly unethical and irresponsible marketing practices promoting criminal conduct, and given that statutes such as CUTPA are the only means available to address those types of wrongs, it falls to a jury to decide whether the promotional schemes alleged in the present case rise to the level of illegal trade practices and whether fault for the tragedy can be laid at their feet."

Read on in Salon. Sandy Hook Lawsuit Court Victory Opens Crack In Gun Maker Immunity Shield

NIKE, Pls Help Us FREE 'Fearless Girl' From State Street Global Advisors. We NEED Her Now More Than Ever

NIKE, Pls Help Us FREE 'Fearless Girl' From State Street Global Advisors. We NEED Her Now More Than Ever

Patriarchal, capitalist forces are clamping down on ‘Fearless Girl’, with her ‘owners’ State Street Global Advisors saying that Fearless cannot go worldwide, unless she flies the State Street banner. A New York federal judge issued a preliminary injunction this week, barring ‘Fearless Girl’s’ birth mother and creator, artist Kristen Visbal, from duplicating her likeness in any way.

The problem is that countries and their governments worldwide want their own ‘Fearless Girl’. She is a unifying, American vision, but her ‘owners’ State Street Global Advisors say “No Way. ‘Fearless Girl is our property.”

Simply stated, yet another female has become an unwilling advocate for big-money capitalism and the boys club. ‘Fearless Girl’s’ debut on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2017 inspired us beyond words. The small bronze goddess arrived in the dead of night, originally installed at Bowling Green in another legal battle with ‘Charging Bull’.

SIA Legal Team + If/When/How Unite As Pro-Choice Counter To Anti-Women Federalist Society

MERGER OF SIA LEGAL TEAM AND IF/WHEN/HOW REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE LAWYERS UNIT ANNOUNCED MARCH 13, 2019

SIA Legal Team + If/When/How Unite As Pro-Choice Counter To Anti-Women Federalist Society

Two powerful groups fighting for women’s reproductive rights have joined forces under the If/When/How name. Their goal? Creating a national network to push back against restrictive abortion legislation in every state, helping those ‘whose rights are being trampled.’

The merger of SIA Legal Team and If/When/How—two existing pro-choice groups that already shape policy, file lawsuits, and inform lawyers around reproductive rights issues — launched today March 13. To date, most legal work in the reproductive rights arena has focused on protecting clinics and providers. Executive director Jill Adams says the new organization will also focus on providing a network of attorneys for everyday people facing reproductive rights challenges.

Ryan Magers Madison County, Alabama

Examples of new lawsuits include that of Alabama man Ryan Magers of Madison County, Alabama, who recently filed suit on behalf of an aborted fetus, claiming that his girlfriend had a medication abortion against his wishes in February 2017. In the law suit, filed in January, Magers filed a petition to serve as the “personal representative” of the aborted fetus’ estate.

Next, Magers sued the clinic that performed the abortion, the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville, on behalf of himself and “Baby Roe,” as the fetus is referred to in court documents.

On March 5, Madison County Probate Judge Frank Barger granted Magers’ petition to represent the estate in a decision his attorney, Brent Helms, said broke new legal ground.

NARAL President Ilyse Hogue called the decision a “very scary case”. “This is the logical consequence of all anti-abortion activity,” tweeted Erin Matson, founder of Reproaction. “Fetuses are treated like people and women and people who can become pregnant are not.”

Abortions Rise Worldwide When US Cuts Funding To Women’s Health Clinics, Study Finds

Abortions Rise Worldwide When US Cuts Funding To Women’s Health Clinics, Study Finds

By Yana Rodgers, Professor of Labor Studies, Rutgers University. First published on The Conversation

Fulfilling Republican efforts to “defund Planned Parenthood,” the Trump administration announced on Feb. 22 it would end federal funding to health providers that perform abortions.

This new ruling is the domestic version of the “global gag rule” that Trump imposed in 2017. It cuts U.S. global health funding from organizations abroad that perform – or even talk about – abortions, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

First implemented under Ronald Reagan in 1984, the global gag rule has been rescinded by every Democrat and reinstated by every Republican to occupy the Oval Office, reflecting the partisan nature of abortion.

Supporters of the global gag rule say defunding abortion providers will reduce abortions. However, researchers from Stanford University in 2011 found that this U.S. policy actually made women in sub-Saharan Africa twice as likely to have an abortion.

Linda Sarsour Accuses Nancy Pelosi Of Upholding Patriarchy As Ilhan Omar Calls Obama A Pretty-Face Murderer

Linda Sarsour Accuses Nancy Pelosi Of Upholding Patriarchy As Ilhan Omar Calls Obama A Pretty-Face Murderer

Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour had choice words for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as House Democrats struggled this week to respond to Rep. Ilhan Omar accusing Jewish lawmakers of displaying "allegiance to a foreign country."

Sarsour, who served as co-chair of the Women's March in 2017 and 2019, accused Pelosi of "doing the dirty work of powerful white men" by condemning Omar’s words, writes the San Francisco Chronicle. .

"Nancy is a typical white feminist upholding the patriarchy doing the dirty work of powerful white men," she wrote in a Facebook post. "God forbid the men are upset - no worries, Nancy to the rescue to stroke their egos."

Friday night, Rep. Omar stole the narrative yet again, igniting a new controversy by appearing to bash former president Barack Obama as some sort of “war-mongering, neoliberal shill”, according to Vanity Fair.

Omar says the “hope and change” offered by Barack Obama was a mirage. Recalling the “caging of kids” at the U.S.-Mexico border and the “droning of countries around the world” on Obama’s watch, she argues that the Democratic president operated within the same fundamentally broken framework as his Republican successor.

“We can’t be only upset with Trump. … His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was,” Omar says. “And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”

Rolling Stone March 2019 Profiles Nancy Pelosi + New Female Dem Voices In 'Women Shaping the Future'

Rolling Stone March 2019 Profiles Nancy Pelosi + New Female Dem Voices In 'Women Shaping the Future'

The Republican hate machine has obsessed over Nancy Pelosi for years. At least now the Speaker has four young women besides her. They are all WOC -- ironically or not? We've not seen anything like the Republican hate machine being readied in particular against these four young women: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.

At least they've got broad shoulders to lean on and the best possible advice. And Madame Maxine will be in there, too, offering support. Right on, ladies!

We may not agree all the time, but I am one person who will not tolerate needless attacks and misrepresentations of these young women -- solely because Republicans always need a female she-devil to obsess over.

With 37 new Democratic women in Congress, the Repubican right wing — which is the only one active at this point — will probably lose their minds as the weeks go on. Especially if they ask smart questions like they did of Trump fixer Michael Cohen during last week’s hearing, these young women are standing on solid ground. That was a masterclass.

'Knock Down the House' Documentary Featuring AOC + Three 2018 Democratic Candidates Sold To Netflix for $10 Million

'Knock Down the House' Documentary Featuring AOC + Three 2018 Democratic Candidates Sold To Netflix for $10 Million

The Kickstarter campaign read: When her daughter died from a preventable medical condition, businesswoman Amy Vilela of Las Vegas didn't know what to do with her anger about America's broken health care system. Bronx-born Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts in a restaurant to save her family’s home from foreclosure after losing her father. Cori Bush, a Saint Louis nurse, was drawn into the streets when the shooting of Michael Brown brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. Paula Jean Swearengin buried family and neighbors to illnesses caused by West Virginia’s coal industry — and worries her children will be next. All four women understood that their lives were affected by politics, but none had considered running for office themselves. Until now.

424 backers pledged $28,111 to help bring the documentary ‘Knock Down The House: A Documentary’ to life. Created by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick, ‘Knock Down The House’ won the Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award, a fact that most certainly impacted the recent sale of all distribution rights to the film to Netflix for $10 million. Deadline reports that NEON, Focus, Hulu and Amazon were also vying for the feature

Kamala Harris Eyes March 3, 2020 California Primary | Early Voting Timed With Iowa + New Hampshire

Harris in Los Angeles with beneficiaries of the DREAM Act—which the senator has made a priority to protect. Photographed by Zoe Ghertner,Vogue, April 2018

As America readies another presidential election season and trained journalists are talking Iowa and New Hampshire — two states that do not at all mirror the voter makeup of America or the wins of the 2018 mid-terms — Sen. Kamala Harris is beating down door in California. Not content with a wait and see strategy, Senator Harris is locking down endorsements and financial contributions in her new Super Tuesday March 3 primary state — and her home state — that could give her an enormous edge in winning the Democratic nomination. The decision of California to move up its primary from being last in the country makes it suddenly very relevant.

If she has anything but stellar success in California, writes Politico, her presidential aspirations for 2020 could end quickly. Kamala Harris has a true political machine in California and no home-state challengers. Not that Harris isn’t busy making appearances out of California.

In particular, she’s courting voters in another Super Tuesday state — South Carolina. If Biden runs, he does have close relationships with African American voters in the South Carolina, but it’s pretty inconceivable that African American women won’t break big for Sen. Harris in South Carolina.

Dem. Rep Ilhan Omar Masterfully Questions Elliott Abrams About His Support For US Backed 80's Coups

Dem. Rep Ilhan Omar Masterfully Questions Elliott Abrams About His Support For US Backed 80's Coups

I so regret the tweets from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) about Jews from the other day and agree w/those who say she threw away some hard-won power and capital. This article by The Daily Beast shows another side of Omar, questioning Elliott Abrams, who has been appointed as the U.S. Special Envoy to Venezuela. Her questioning leaves me very proud of her.

Watch the video to see the fearless, composed, questioning that Omar is capable of doing. She confronts Abrams about El Salvador and how proud he is of the country as a democracy. Abrams is very dismissive of Omar, but she stays totally focused and on point. ***** (5-stars)

As women, we know this is a hideous answer from Abrams about a country — El Salvador — where femicide runs rampant right under the eyes and noses of the Catholic Church. Women are garbage in El Salvador, and Abrams' answer is very much the white male, hawk answer. She also challenges him on his past lies -- why is he telling the truth now. 

Related:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Emerging As Unlikely, Egoless Unifying Force Among Democrats

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Emerging As Unlikely, Egoless Unifying Force Among Democrats

No freshman member of the new House of Representatives has gained more national media attention than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Less than one week after her victory in the November 2018 midterm elections, AOC joined environmental activists in a protest in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Politico published a story that AOC denied, advancing the theory that she was encouraging activists to primary Democratic incumbents in the 2020 elections.

The Republican obsession with Ocasio-Cortez has bordered on full-frontal misogyny, with many Dems reporting that “a cloud” of uncertainty hovered over her. Was she determined to build her own disruptive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brand? Or was she truly interested in passing collaborative legislation with fellow Democfrats.

Writing for Vanity Fair, Abigail Tracy says that AOC has emerged “as an unlikely unifying force for Democrats — and a surprisingly egoless champion of a new, progressive politics.”

Why Sierra Leonean Women Don’t Feel Protected By Domestic Violence Laws

Why Sierra Leonean Women Don’t Feel Protected By Domestic Violence Laws

By Luisa T. Schneider, Postdoctoral research fellow, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. First published on The Conversation

Sierra Leone has a long history of sexual and gender based violence, dating back to the colonial era and stretching into the years of independence which began in 1961. The country’s civil war, which raged between 1991 and 2002, brought international attention to the high levels of violence against women.

In this way, Sierra Leone is similar to many young democracies in Africa with a violent history; it struggles with patriarchal attitudes and high levels of violence against women and girls.

After the war, several legal changes were made to try and address this kind of violence. One was the Domestic Violence Act, ratified in 2007. It criminalises all forms of violence – physical, sexual, emotional and economic — against women and outlines strict punishments for perpetrators.

American Women's Satisfaction W/How They Are Treated Hits All-Time Low, But Men Think We Are Fine

American Women's Satisfaction W/How They Are Treated His All-Time Low, But Men Think We Are Fine

How interesting that Republican white men are saying that Democrats are undoing all the progress women have made. Politico has photographed the 36 new women members of the House. 35 are Dems; 1 lone WV woman is a Republican.

I would say that Republican white men are really running scared if electing women to Congress -- unlike their white men party -- represents a step backwards for women in 2019. Let that sink in. The party that elected 1 freshman woman to the House is telling the party that elected 35 freshmen woman to the House that we are setting women back.

Hey, boys, maybe your War on Women worked so well that once and for all, you stirred up a heap of trouble for yourselves. As for your inner fears . . . you probably should be runnin' scared.

For most of you -- the ones left -- you embrace a version of Christianity that says women must be subservient to men and obey you. No wonder you're confused about the hurricane arriving in DC. All your witches on brooms jokes will get you nowhere. DEAL WITH THEM. And just remember that you and your egregious, anti-people policies are a key reason they are so pissed off.

Related: Women’s satisfaction with how society treats them hits a record low. Marketwatch

Cate Blanchett Will Play Phyllis Schlafly In Nine-Part Series On FX 'Mrs. America'

Cate Blanchett Will Play Phyllis Schlafly In Nine-Part Series On FX 'Mrs. America'

Star actor Cate Blanchett is set to play the indefatigable anti-ERA activist Phyllis Schlafly. It remains one of the most astounding realities of modern life that one American constitutional lawyer. born in St. Louis, Missouri with a law degree from Washington University, a large family and conservative husband, hit the road and brought the Equal Rights Amendment to a grinding halt.

Arguing for traditional roles for women in American society, the self-described activist housewife Schlafly went to battle against Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelhaus. And she beat them.

Cate Blanchett is executive producing ‘Mrs. America’, in the upcoming limited nine-episodes series for FX, which is written and narrated through the lens of Schlafly’s feminist opponents. ‘Mrs. America’ is being written by Dahvi Waller, the Emmy-winning writer and producer of ‘Mad Men’, another show deeply rooted in evolving gender dyhamics in 20th century America.

Serena Williams Challenges Women To Make The First Move in Superbowl Ad | Dedicates Winning Australian Open Game 1 To Moms

Serena Williams Challenges Women To Make The First Move in Superbowl Ad | Dedicates Winning Australian Open Game 1 To Moms

The GOAT won the first round of the Australian Open on Monday, besting Germany’s Tatjana Maria in a 49-minute match. Serena competed in a green Nike Jumpsuit, which she calls a ‘Serena-tard’. The stories of black fishnets are erroneous, as her tights were flesh-tone fishnets with all the circulation-boosting support that Williams needs to keep her safe from bloodclots.

In a piece of old news, the Women’s Tennis Association in December 2018 issued a ruling that makes Serena’s controversial black catsuit from the French Open appropriate attire.

Nancy Pelosi Victorious – Why The California Democrat Was Reelected Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi Ready to Be Sworn In Again As Speaker of the House, Jan. 3, 2019

Nancy Pelosi Victorious – Why The California Democrat Was Reelected Speaker of the House

By Kathryn L. Pearson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota . First published on The Conversation.

Despite some brash and not insignificant opposition, California’s Nancy Pelosi is returning to her previous role as speaker of the House.

She will preside over a chamber that is 77 percent male and a Democratic Caucus that is 62 percent male.

When the Democratic Caucus held their leadership election on Nov. 28, Pelosi won the nomination on a 203 to 32 vote, falling 15 votes shy of the 218 she would later need to win the speakership with all members voting.

When a vote was taken on the House floor on Jan. 3, she won by a vote of 220 to 192, with 15 Democrats voting for someone else or voting “present.” The close vote illustrated, once again, Pelosi’s skill in coalition-building and counting votes, but also that some Democrats – particularly new members and those in swing districts – are dissatisfied with her as the party’s standard bearer.

As a political scientist who focuses on gender and party discipline in the House of Representatives, I have studied Pelosi’s leadership and how she was able to hold it for so long.

It’s important to realize that Pelosi’s battle to win over wavering Democrats didn’t begin in November 2018. Rather, it stretches back to when she was first elected to leadership in 2001. Her ongoing ability to rally members of her own party illustrates why she has been among the most successful U.S. House speakers. It also suggests her leadership will help Democrats in Congress as they negotiate with President Trump and Senate Republicans, even if Pelosi remains unpopular in some Democratic members’ districts.

Rising to power

Samar Badawi + Brother Raif Badawi Remain In Saudi Arabia Dhahban Central Prison, As Saudi Arabia Disallows Any Dissent

Samar Badawi + Brother Raif Badawi Remain In Saudi Arabia Dhahban Central Prison, As Saudi Arabia Disallows Any Dissent

Coming to grips with the horrors of Saudi Arabia’s torture of women’s activists at the same time Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud — or MbS — lifted the ban on women driving in the kingdom is no more complicated than following the daily mental machinations of Donald Trump.

Jailing the Saudi women activists behind the women driving campaign seems irrational, but only if one fails to understand that machinations are not rational thought processes. Perhaps this is why MbS and Donald Trump have such a lovefest. It takes a self-absorbed schemer to know one, which is precisely why they end up so often hanging out together as the world’s leading autocrats.

Updating AOC two days ago about the jailed women’s activists, I zeroed in on the name Samar Badawi, knowing her to be the sister of jailed liberal blogger Raif Badawi. In 2015 Raif was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes for his writings. After receiving the first 50 lashes — which nearly killed him in front of the entire world — Raif Badawi has languished in Saudi prison.

Women activists arrested in Saudi Arabia include Loujain al-Hathloul, who I considered to be a major face behind the driving ban. Samar Badawi has campaigned for years against the most discriminatory of all the Saudi laws against women’s rights — as if it’s possible to enumerate them in order. Badawi opposes against the male guardianship system, under which women require the permission of a male relative to travel, marry, or work in certain jobs. In this article ‘Saudi Arabia: Where Fathers Rule and Courts Oblige’, Human Rights Watch details the mutual litigation of Badawi and her father against each other.

It was for this work that Samar Badawi received the US State Department International Women of Courage Award in 2012, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. Note that Waleed Abu-al-Khair, Samar’s former husband and Raif Badawi’s lawyer, is also jailed for 15 years.