Thousands of Saudi women have petitioned their
government to end the male guardianship system,
which has long been criticized by human rights
activists.
Let’s look at what’s going on here.
In Saudi Arabia, women of all ages have a
male legal guardian – a father, brother,
husband, or son.
A Saudi woman needs permission from this guardian
to marry, and must be accompanied by him or
another male relative when traveling abroad.
She can be asked by institutions like schools,
potential employers, and hospitals for proof
that she has his approval before she’ll
be allowed to study, work,
or receive a medical procedure.
The petition calls for the abolishment of
male guardianship.
It was delivered in person to the Royal Court
by two female activists on September 26th,
bearing 14,682 signatures.
And its delivery was bolstered by about 2500
telegrams (used because they can be confirmed
to have come from within the kingdom) sent
directly to the King’s office in the days
leading up to the submission.
This campaign is rooted in two decades of
protests for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.
Current support has been growing since July,
when a Human Rights Watch report on the guardianship
system spurred a movement that organized on
Twitter, with hashtags that translate from
the Arabic as “Saudi women want to abolish
the guardianship system”
and “I am my own guardian”.
This movement is part of a wave of change
in the kingdom.
The government has twice told the United Nations
that they would end the guardianship system
due to human rights concerns, once in 2009
and once in 2013 – though only smaller changes
have been enacted so far.
Saudi women participated in official sporting
events for the first time at the 2012 Summer
Olympics in London.
In 2013, women were first appointed to the
King’s highest advisory council, and the
government passed a law criminalizing domestic
abuse.
And in their municipal elections of December
2015, women voted – and registered as candidates
-- for the first time in the country’s history.
Not everyone agrees with the current petition.
Other Saudi women have launched counter-protests,
with an alternate hashtag that translates
as “The guardianship is for her, not against
her”.
These protests focus on maintaining the conservative
values
and family customs outlined in religious law.
In 2010, a campaign called “My Guardian
Knows What’s Best for Me” gathered over
5400 signatures on a petition of their own,
calling for rejection of women’s rights activism.
It’s a complicated issue that’s difficult
to understand from the outside.
As of this recording, there has been no official
response to the petition.
But we’ll be on the lookout.
So what do you think about this?
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