On Wednesday 3 March 2021, ahead of International Women’s Day, an online parliamentary discussion was held titled "Women's rights in Saudi Arabia between reform and repression".
It featured ALQST’s Executive Director Alaa Al-Siddiq and Head of Advocacy Julia Legner, Saudi activists Hala al-Dosari and Lina al-Hathloul and several members of the German Parliament: Daniela De Ridder, Bärbel Kofler, Omid Nouripour, Gyde Jensen, Frank Heinrich, Kathrin Vogler. The full discussion can be viewed here.
The speakers raised the lifting in recent years of some of the restrictions women face under the male guardianship system, including allowing women to drive and obtain passports, but how many other aspects of the system – a legal framework that treats women as minors – continue to restrict their fundamental liberties, including in matters such as education, employment, health, marriage, and nationality. “The question of equal rights is not decided in cars, but in court”, commented Omid Nouripour.
The speakers discussed the Saudi authorities’ repression against the very women who have led the fight for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, many of whom were arrested in 2018, detained and tortured. Lina al-Hathloul described the status of her sister and women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who was released on 10 February 2021 after spending over 1,000 days in prison, but still faces three years of probation and a five-year travel ban. Furthermore, State Security had her sign a pledge not to speak publicly about her detention or release. “Basically she cannot be public anymore” commented Lina al-Hathloul.
Several recent developments were raised, including the significance of a released US intelligence report that assessed that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul “to capture or kill” journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the importance of extending sanctions regimes to all individuals responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. Furthermore, members of parliament expressed interest in the news that Reporters Without Borders have filed a criminal complaint in Germany against five Saudi officials responsible for crimes against humanity, including the crown prince.
Finally, calls were made on the international community to bring pressure to bear on the Saudi authorities, and hold them accountable for their wide scale human rights abuses.
"What keeps our [Saudi] government and MBS walking with such pride is impunity. Knowing that someone is trying to sentence him is a very good sign to see”, said Lina al-Hathloul.
