Petition to end male guardianship of women in Saudi Arabia gains traction

Protest movement seeks end to law requiring women to have permission of a male guardian to travel, marry


News Desk September 27, 2016
Saudi women hold national flags during Saudi National Day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Friday. PHOTO: REUTERS

Thousands of Saudis have signed an online petition to end the kingdom's guardianship system in a bid to emancipate women.

“Women should be treated as a full citizens,” activist Aziza Al-Yousef said. She has been fighting against the guardianship system for a decade along with others. “This is not only a women’s issue, this is also putting pressure on normal men ... this is not an issue for women only,” she told The Guardian.

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The guardianship system under Saudi law requires women to take permission from a male guardian to travel, marry or exit prison. In some cases, it might be needed to access healthcare or for employment. Rejecting the claim that the law practices Islamic teachings, many activists like Yousef have been organising workshops and carrying out studies to disprove the belief over the last five years.

Eventually, the campaign gained traction this summer after the Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a blistering report on the system. The report spawned the hashtag #IAmMyOwnGuardian on Twitter.





https://twitter.com/Julanarblue/status/763607690564276225



https://twitter.com/Squeakz0rs/status/780544139209367552

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Hala Aldosari, a researcher on women’s health, who wrote the petition and worked on the HRW report, said the hashtag gained support among women of all ages and backgrounds. According to her, on the two days leading up to the petition, an estimated 2,500 women sent direct telegrams to the Saudi king’s office imploring him to end the guardianship system. The petition managed to get 14,682 signatures after being promoted on Twitter.

Although the Saudi government introduced reforms in 2009 and 2013 that made it easier for women to work and allowed them to vote and run as candidates in municipal elections, they still lack some basic rights. Earlier this year, as part of the government’s Vision 2030 that aims to reduce the country’s dependency on oil, greater involvement of women in the labour market was encouraged. However, the guardianship system makes it difficult to realise the goal and in some cases, impossible to achieve.

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According to Hamid M Khan, deputy director of The Rule of Law Collaborative at the University of South Carolina, many members of the Saudi royal family are receptive to the idea of reform but senior clerics in the country – whose approval would likely be needed to deconstruct the system – stand against any changes. “Many in the royal family – not all but there is a significant number in the royal family – actually view this is as a bit exhausting,” Khan said.

However, Yousef noted that there are some prominent Saudi clerics who have signed the petition to indicate that the system does not stem from Islamic law. Aldosari said many more clerics came out after the 26 October 2013 movement, where Saudi women pushed for the right to drive. “They all declared that this is not religion, this is all government rules and it should be changed,” Yousef said.

This article originally appeared on The Guardian.

COMMENTS (1)

Bunny Rabbit | 7 years ago | Reply Time for KSA to wake up and smell coffee -with OIL gone ,the typical rich haughty male concept is dwindling .
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