Saudi Women Petition for Legal Independence
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.
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.
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