"Saudi Women Launch International Campaign Against Guardianship
November 5, 2009 10:16 p.m. EST
The Media Line Staff
A group of Saudi women have launched an international campaign against the kingdom's male guardianship law, on the anniversary of a prominent protest, in which dozens of Saudi women publicly drove their cars through the country's capital.
The campaign calls on supporters all over the world to tie a black ribbon around their wrist signifying a call for Saudi women to be given equal rights to men and an end to the male guardianship system, in which Saudi women are represented by men in all public and official spheres of life.
"We are calling on everybody, both Saudi and non-Saudi, to show their support of Saudi women," Wajiha Al-Huwaidar, the leader of the campaign, told The Media Line. "It's not just about the right to drive, it's everything," she said. "We want to have our lives back, which the male guardianship system took from us. So we are calling for everyone to wear this black ribbon and spread the word."
A statement by campaign organizers called for women to be given "rights to marry, divorce, inherit, gain custody of children, travel, work, study, drive cars and live on an equal footing with man."
"We, Saudi women activists, appeal to all those who support Saudi women's rights, inside and outside the Kingdom, to participate in the campaign by wearing a black ribbon on their wrists as a symbolic and peaceful gesture of their advocacy to Saudi women's rights," the statement read.
Under the motto "we will not untie our ribbon until Saudi women enjoy their rights as adult citizens", the "Black Ribbon Campaign" was launched Friday to mark the anniversary of a famous event on November 6, 1990, in which 47 Saudi women publicly drove cars through the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in a protest calling for Saudi women to be given the right to drive. The women were subsequently detained by Saudi police, had their passports confiscated, and some were fired from their jobs"
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Although the campaign is calling for people to actually wear a black ribbon on their wrist, I think it would be great to get a movement to "wear" a black ribbon on your blog. So if you support Saudi women in their campaign for equal rights, rights in keeping with those promised to women by Islam, please consider adding a black ribbon to your blog.
well i am hoping that day come when we have our rights to do whatever we want as any human exist, so far i don't see any change happened also i afraid that wont happen without supporting from women over here, it is like they afraid to ask for their rights and that's really effect on our life and how it is run, everyday struggle, if you in normal condition maybe your life much better but can you just think of people like me who hasn't any guardian while they ask me about it in every government official i go to, my life is so hard my rights took away from me for being just a female, no jobs available for women here because employment take 10 % for women and 90% for men, they even wont let us go out Saudi to work because we need permission! now i wonder who i should consider him as a guardian my step brother who took my money away from me after my father is dead, or my step father who took my mother to live with him after a big problem happened and our case arrived to police after he hit us insult us and treat us badly, why i should take permission from people who careless about me and destroy me as much as they can is that part of islam?
ReplyDeleteSince your a lawyer how do you see sharia law as it is implemented and its treatment toward women.
ReplyDelete1. Men can divorce with out women's consent by saying talaq three times.
2. Woman cannot divorce men
3. Alimony is paid only for three months and 10 days
4. Children and property all belong to father
5. 2 Women's testimony is equal to one man's testimony
6. Men can beat woman if they do not obey the husband
In Saudia Arabia it even worse
I can add more.