Wajeha Al-Huwaider is a courageous advocate for Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia.
The Washington Post’s Outlook section this past Sunday featured an illuminating op-ed by Wajeha al-Huwaider, a Saudi woman who has daringly shed light on the quandary of Saudi women over the years.
Read her article, Saudi Women Can Drive. Just Let Them.
As explained in her article, Al-Huwaider’s latest campaign is for the abolition of the paternalistic male guardianship. Under this system, women are not permitted to travel, work, attend college, or even receive life-saving medicine without the permission of a male guardian, usually their husband, father, or brother. This system denies Saudi women their basic human rights. Victims of domestic abuse have little or no recourse and no way of escaping from their attackers, since consent of their male guardian, who is often their abuser, is required to seek legal action. Preposterously, this system is not written law, yet is enforced by Saudi authorities. This makes it exceedingly difficult to fight the system, as the Saudi government continues to deny its existence.
As a promoter of human rights and democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia CDHR staff and supporters held a peaceful demonstration on July 27 in front of the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate support for Saudi women’s call for the removal of the unnatural, unnecessary and contemptuous male guardianship system, which is sanctioned and enforced by Saudi authorities.
In her article al-Huwaider talks not only about the need to abolish male guardianship, but highlights the multitude of impediments Saudi women face every day of their lives, including child marriage, the ban on women driving, being forced to wear an abaya in public, not being allowed to participate in sports, and the four wives system.
CDHR supports Wajeha al-Huwaider and her colleagues in their struggle to obtain their full citizenship and legitimate rights in the autocratically ruled Saudi kingdom.
Here's a link to an earlier article on al-Huwaider, also in The Washington Post, and her YouTube video of Saudi women driving for International Women's Day (in Arabic).
Showing posts with label male guardianship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label male guardianship. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Recent Events at CDHR
As the only non-profit educational organization that is focused exclusively on the Saudi government’s domestic and foreign policies and their implications and ramifications for the Saudi people and the international community, CDHR organized two major events in July 2009.
As part of its ongoing educational activities, CDHR staff and supporters held a peaceful demonstration on July 27 in front of the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate support for Saudi women’s call for the removal of the unnatural, unnecessary and destructive male guardianship system, which is sanctioned and enforced by Saudi authorities.
On July 29, CDHR hosted a unique and informative conference, “How Empowering Saudi Women Can Undermine Islamist Extremism,” held at the US Congressional Visitors Conference Center in Washington DC. CDHR brought together members of the US Congress, former US government officials and dedicated human rights activists including Muslim women and men to elaborate on the importance of empowering Saudi women, which in turn will ensure a stable society that will serve the best interest of its people and the international community.
The well-attended conference featured two panels where speakers addressed different aspects of Saudi women’s oppression and its implications for Saudi society and beyond. At the end of their presentations, the speakers made specific policy recommendations to be considered and carried out by the United States government. Prominent among these recommendations are removal of the male guardianship system, full employment opportunities, religious freedom, codified laws to protect women from discriminatory policies and the right to representation in the Saudi judicial system.
Speakers included Congresswomen Sue Myrick (North Carolina) and Congressman Dan Burton (Indiana), as well as Dr. Thomas Farr, Georgetown University; Ms. Farzana Hassan, Canadian Muslim Congress; Ms. Clare Lopez, former CIA official; Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour, Director of Al-Quran Center; and Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch, director Middle East and North Africa section.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
They Gave Barbarity a Bad Name
The Washington-based Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia denounces the slaughter of two young Saudi women by their brother. The women, who were 19 and 21 years old, were shot while being escorted by their father out of a government shelter for women accused of talking to unrelated males, khalwa.
After the brother emptied his gun in his sisters’ bodies, his father thanked him for protecting the family’s honor. The son will not be punished for his heinous and savage crime because his father forgave him for defending the family’s honor.
This is the result of the Saudi government sanctioned male guardianship system, which gives men total control over every aspect of women's lives. Saudi Arabia is the only country in which women cannot drive. Saudi women are also forbidden to work, travel, buy property and even receive life saving medicine without their male guardian’s presence or written permission.
Take a look at the coverage from Hudson New York and Arabian Business.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Peaceful Demonstration at Saudi Embassy
CDHR invites you to join us in a peaceful demonstration in front of the Saudi embassy to support Saudi women’s struggle to obtain their rights, specifically the removal of the male guardian system which is designed to control every aspect of women’s lives.
As documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House and even by the US Department of State, Saudi women are among the most oppressed and marginalized citizens in Arab and Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia’s repressive policies that deny women their natural and human rights are not only immoral, but also have crippling political, social, educational and economic consequences on Saudi society and the Muslim world. Due to its centrality to Islam and position as the world’s largest petroleum exporter, many Muslims look to Saudi Arabia for religious guidance, money and employment.
Supporting and empowering Saudi women is not only morally correct, it will stabilize, moderate and help eradicate the root causes of religious extremism and its by-product, terrorism, in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Please join us and encourage others to show their support for Saudi women in a peaceful and orderly demonstration in front of the Saudi Embassy on Monday, July 27, 2009 from 11 AM to 1 PM.
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia is located at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037, between Virginia Avenue NW and F Street NW, near the Foggy Bottom – GWU Metro Station.
Contact Sarah Little at Sarah@cdhr.info or by telephone at 202-558-5552.
Check out this event on Facebook.
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