WUNRN
SAUDI ARABIA CONVICTS TWO WOMEN FOR
HELPING A CANADIAN WOMAN,
ALLEGEDLY MARRIED TO ABUSIVE SAUDI
MAN, TRY TO LEAVE SAUDI WITH CHILDREN
COMPLEX STORY - Hamilton Spectator, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/3845522-saudi-women-jailed-for-trying-to-help-a-canadian/ -
June 19, 2013
"Two
Saudi women who attempted to help Nathalie Morin were sentenced to 10 months in
prison. They were found guilty on a Sharia law charge of takhbib —
incitement of a wife to defy the authority of her husband."
Nathalie Morin, a Canadian Quebec woman who married an allegedly abusive Saudi man and cannot leave Saudi Arabia because of Saudi laws.
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SAUDI ARABIA CONVICTS WOMEN'S RIGHTS
ACTIVISTS FOR "INCITING A WIFE TO DEFY HER HUSBAND"
On
15 June 2013, two Saudi Arabia women’s rights activists, Wajeha
Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni, were convicted of the Islamic Sharia law
offence of Takhbib, or incitement of a wife to
defy the authority of her husband. They were charged because of their
support of a Canadian woman and her children, who had allegedly been abused by
the woman’s Saudi husband. While absolved of the charge of trying to help the woman
and her children escape, Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni were convicted
of “supporting a wife without her husband’s knowledge, thereby undermining the
marriage.” The District Court in Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia sentenced them to 10
months in prison and banned them from leaving the country for two years
following completion of their prison terms.
That Saudi authorities have punished those seeking to protect human rights, but appear to have done nothing to investigate the violence allegedly perpetrated by the husband is deeply disturbing and a breach of international law. It signifies that protecting his dominant and apparently violent position in the family is more important than ensuring his wife’s safety. According to reports, this is also the first time in Saudi legal history that a travel ban has been imposed in a case involving domestic issues. Saudi activists have questioned therefore whether the travel ban and the unwarranted prison terms are related to Wajeha Al-Huwaider’s and Fawzia Al-Oyouni’s long-term human rights work, which includes attempting to overturn the ban on women drivers, rather than to the alleged offense.
Under the male guardianship system of Saudi Arabia, women are vulnerable to a wide range of discrimination in both private and public life and have limited decision-making authority and freedom of movement. In December 2008, in an appearance before the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Saudi authorities stated that “there are no statutory requirements that necessitate guardianship or make a woman’s enjoyment of her rights conditional on approval” and that women in the Saudi Kingdom “conduct all their affairs in full independence.” As the judgment against Waheja Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni shows, however, this is clearly not the case. Male guardianship remains forcefully imposed by the legal system, despite being in breach of Saudi Arabia’s international obligations, including under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni are appealing their sentences. They have 30 days from sentencing in which to do so.