On Women’s Day, Rights Group Laments Saudi Repression

The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights [ESOHR] published a report on March 8, marking the International Women’s Day.

It explained Al-Saud has in the recent years expanded the repression of women and treated them boldly “in horrible ways” in a campaign that has seen the use of brutal torture, widespread arrests, intimidating investigations, and pledges that instill fear and limit their activities.

Meanwhile, the rights group criticized the ongoing intimidation of female human rights defenders, saying such a treatment belies the regime’s official propaganda about “reforms” in the area of women’s rights.
According to statistics gathered by ESOHR with great difficulty, at least 47 women, including human rights defenders, are still in prison for political reasons.

“Likewise, other women are still under trial, and restrictions are still imposed on those who were released. Women who are accustomed to raising human rights demands on social networks are today more anxious and filled with dread that they will be exposed to repression,” the organization said.

It added that the relentless and influential struggle of women's rights defenders has forced the Saudi government to change its attitude towards women’s rights as it has issued a number of decisions and promises.

The ESOHR cited the lifting of the driving ban on Saudi women, the only ban of its type in the world, in June 2018 as the most notable example of change, which came after successive campaigns launched by female activists.

However, it said, the Saudi government detained the most prominent activists who demanded the lifting of driving ban just days before it took effect.

“After that, the activists were subjected to multiple violations and crimes, including torture and denial of the right to a fair trial, among others,” the rights body added.

It pointed to Saudi Arabia’s various types of violence against women in public life and said the government cannot still protect women in their family lives.

“In spite of new laws, which the government stated will protect women, the mechanism to protect them from domestic violence is still deficient and unable to protect the victims of violence.”

The ESOHR also reported that a bad reputation continues to haunt the care homes, which “in reality are prisons for women and have many defects.”

It cited the Saudi Press Agency as reporting in August 2019 that the Passports and Civil Status Departments began the implementation of the travel documents law and its amended regulations, which give women the right to travel without a guardian’s permission.

It further added:  Saudi Arabia amended laws with regard to the employment sector in July 2019 to ensure that “citizens are equals in terms of the right to work without any discrimination based on sex, disability, age, or any other form of discrimination.”

However, the government refrained from taking any serious measures to stop the discriminatory acts as women still need male approval to open a bank account, leave a government-run prison, or file a lawsuit.