 | THE WEEK IN RIGHTS July 21, 2016 |
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Saudi Arabia’s Male Guardianship Boxes In Women
Photo © 2016 Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms.
Under the system, adult women must obtain permission from a male guardian to marry or be released from prison, and may be required to provide guardian consent to work or get health care. These restrictions last from birth until death, as women are, in the view of the Saudi state, permanent legal minors. Many women also suffer abuse from violent guardians, and face obstacles getting help or fleeing.
“We all have to live in the borders of the boxes our dads or husbands draw for us,” one 25-year-old Saudi woman told us. In April 2016, Saudi Arabia announced Vision 2030, the country’s “vision for the future.” But continuing to undermine women’s rights isn’t helping it get there.
Photo © 2016 Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms.
Under the system, adult women must obtain permission from a male guardian to marry or be released from prison, and may be required to provide guardian consent to work or get health care. These restrictions last from birth until death, as women are, in the view of the Saudi state, permanent legal minors. Many women also suffer abuse from violent guardians, and face obstacles getting help or fleeing.
“We all have to live in the borders of the boxes our dads or husbands draw for us,” one 25-year-old Saudi woman told us. In April 2016, Saudi Arabia announced Vision 2030, the country’s “vision for the future.” But continuing to undermine women’s rights isn’t helping it get there.
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