The Arab Democrat The Latest From The Arab World
Related Articles
International rights group Human Rights Watch urged the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to release 25-year-old Lujain al-Hathloul and 33-year-old Maysa al-Amoudi from confinement – the two were held after al-Hathloul tried to drive a car into Saudi Arabia.
The rights group urged the kingdom to release the two immediately given that they were reportedly detained for driving, and called for on an end to the discriminatory practice.
“After years of false promises to end its absurd restrictions on women, Saudi authorities are still arresting them just for getting behind the wheel. The Saudi government’s degrading restrictions on women are what bring shame to the country, not the brave activists standing up for their rights”, Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson said.
According to activists, al-Hathloul was driving to Saudi Arabia from Abu Dhabi, and was stopped by the authorities at the al-Batha border crossing on November 30th. Her passport was confiscated, and after being in her car overnight, she was joined by al-Amoudi on December 1st, who drove to bring her supplies and not with the intention of entering Saudi Arabia.
They were detained on the Saudi side of the crossing, and transferred to the Bureau of Interrogation and Prosecution in Hufuf for questioning. Activists believe that authorities are holding al-Amoudi in the al-Ahsa Central Prison and al-Hathloul at a juvenile center for girls.
The rights group also brought to attention Saudi Arabia’s many laws that discriminate against women. It pointed out that the male guardianship system, under which women are forbidden from obtaining a passport, travelling, accessing higher education or marrying without the male guardian’s approval, still remains intact despite government promises to abolish it. Women can’t protest or establish organizations, as the kingdom does not permit protests or NGO human rights groups to operate freely.
“It’s time for Saudi Arabia to end its status as the only country in the world that locks women up for driving”, Whitson said.
