Editor's note: Judge Kawamoto should take heed of this Saudi woman's statement, “the results and consequences of injustice are serious”.


KINGDOM

HRC film lashes out at guardianship abuse

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – After publishing a scathing report on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia recently, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) has launched a short film on social media to raise awareness about abuse of women by their male guardians.

The film is a warning against guardians who prevent women in their care from getting married.

Sources in the HRC said it launched the film to drive home the message that guardianship could no longer be used to control women in any way, especially since many cases of preventing women from getting married are in the Kingdom’s courts. Such cases are rarely mentioned in the media.
The HRC has received tremendous response since releasing the film on the Internet.

The film is about a woman named Noora Abdullah who works as teacher after graduating from the university with honors. However, her guardian takes her monthly salary and is preventing her from getting married by giving different excuses.

Noora tells her female students that “the results and consequences of injustice are serious”. The film ends in 46 seconds with the message, “Guardianship is a trust and it was introduced for women’s interests and not to prevent them from getting married.”

In the HRC’s comprehensive report on the status of human rights in the Kingdom, it mentioned that legislation in the Kingdom has guaranteed women the right to marry and build a family.

This is mentioned in Articles 9 and 10 of the Basic System of Governance. Also, the agreement on eradicating all forms of discrimination against women is stated in Article 16.

In its report, the HRC stressed that government and private institutions have to double their efforts in order to protect the family.
It said each member of the family has the right to enjoy their rights guaranteed by the Shariah, the Basic System of Governance or the other legislations.

Meanwhile, the HRC disclosed that some administrative and organizational procedures and practices have contributed to aggravating the problems facing women. Among these is the condition that the guardian should be present or give his consent for most government transactions. This exposes many women to exploitation, it said.