Video of Women Being Beaten at Saudi Arabian Orphanage Sparks Outrage

Footage that shows a group of young Saudi women being beaten up by security staff at an orphanage has been condemned by human rights groups. 

The incident is believed to have happened after a group of women went on hunger strike in protest against conditions at the orphanage. 

It came to light after a video recording of a group of girls in an orphanage circulated on Twitter went viral in the conservative, oil-rich kingdom. 

The video shows security workers dressed in khaki uniforms and men in civilian clothing rounding up a group of young women in what looked like a courtyard of the orphanage where they were reportedly on hunger strike protesting poor living conditions.

The scenes show the security workers detaining a young woman, while a group of men dragged another by her hair and twisted her arm before handcuffing her. Other girls ran around while being chased by other members of security staff.  

The video quickly gained attention in Saudi Arabia, and the government said that Turki bin Talal, the ruler of the Asir region, where the orphanage is located, had ordered an inquiry into “all sides” of the incident. 

The governor of the southwestern Asir region said in a statement that the incident is under investigation, but did not give any further details. 

The footage, which was posted by Saudi rights groups based outside of the country, has been viewed millions of times.

Lina al-Hathloul, a rights activist whose sister Loujain was jailed by the kingdom for protesting the ban on women driving, tweeted, “If you were wondering how MBS’s state security acts when it arbitrarily arrests people – you have a video here of them assaulting an orphanage. Criminals.”

In the past few years, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, has tried to depict a more progressive state, which is still ruled by strict Sharia law.

Saudi Arabia only allowed women to drive in 2018 as part of a campaign spearheaded by bin Salman. But the footage of the girls in the orphanage has raised new questions over how much progress is really being made in Saudi Arabia.