フェミニズムを「過激思想」と見なす動画が物議、サウジが事態収拾図る

【リヤドＡＦＰ＝時事】サウジアラビアの国家保安庁は先週末にフェミニズムと同性愛、無神論を過激思想と見なすアニメーション動画をツイッターに投稿したが、物議を醸したことを受けて動画を削除し、事態の収拾を図っている。（写真は資料写真）
　折しもサウジでは、同国の実質的な指導者であるムハンマド・ビン・サルマン皇太子が海外観光客に初めて門戸を開き、同国の超保守的なイメージを刷新しようとしている。
　人権活動家らは動画を非難。国際人権団体アムネスティ・インターナショナルは「極めて危険」で「同国における表現の自由、生命、自由、安全に対する権利に深刻な影響を及ぼす」ものと批判した。
　国家保安庁は１２日夜、国営サウジ通信を通じて声明を出し、問題の動画には「多くの間違い」が含まれているとした上で、動画に関与した人物らに対して正式な捜査を実施すると発表。また、フェミニストらが収監され、むち打ち刑を科されるとした現地紙アルワタンの報道を否定した。
　サウジの人権委員会は別の声明で、「フェミニズムは違法ではない」「女性の権利を最重要視」していると強調した。
　いずれの声明も、同性愛と無神論には言及していない。イスラム教国であるサウジでは、同性愛と無神論は違法で、死刑に相当する罪とされている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/11/15-08:43）

Saudi authorities have distanced themselves from an official video that sparked controversy after it branded feminism, homosexuality and atheism as extremist ideas.
Saudi Arabia's state security agency posted the animated video on Twitter last weekend at a time when de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to open up the austere kingdom to foreign tourists and overhaul its ultra-conservative image.
The tweet has since been taken down.
The security agency said the video contained many mistakes and suggested that those behind it would face a formal investigation, according to a statement posted late Tuesday by the official Saudi Press Agency.
It also rejected a report in Al-Watan, a local daily, that said feminists will be jailed and subject to flogging.
In a separate statement, the kingdom's Human Rights Commission stressed that feminism is not criminalised and that it accords the utmost importance to women's rights.
The two statements made no mention of homosexuality or atheism, which are both illegal and punishable by death in the Muslim kingdom.
The video had sparked criticism from campaigners, with Amnesty International saying it was extremely dangerous and had serious implications for the rights to freedom of expression and life, liberty and security in the country.
Saudi Arabia has long faced international criticism over its treatment of women.
Prince Mohammed has sought to ease restrictions on women with multiple reforms including a historic decree that ended a decades-old ban on female motorists.
In August, Saudi Arabia also allowed women to obtain passports without seeking the approval of their guardians -? fathers, husbands or other male relatives.
The move, part of Prince Mohammed's plan to revamp the national image, ended a longstanding rule that prompted some extreme attempts by women to flee the kingdom.
But observers say loopholes still allow male relatives to curtail their movements and, in the worst cases, leave them marooned in prison-like shelters.
Alongside a string of pro-women reforms, Saudi authorities have also cracked down on female activists.
Nearly a dozen women campaigners, arrested just before the ban on women driving ended last year, are currently facing trial that has drawn criticism from Western governments.