Saudi woman ‘denied Caesarean because husband not present’ A new Human Rights Watch report on the guardian system in Saudi Arabia shows how women are forced to live […]

A new Human Rights Watch report on the guardian system in Saudi Arabia shows how women are forced to live by the will of a male relative or husband, tracked and confined from birth until death. There were reports of women denied everything from the right to drive to permission to have a Caesarean section during a difficult labour.

The Saudi system of guardianship means that there is always a man responsible for a woman. From when she is born until she dies, a woman is a legal minor in the eyes of Saudi law. This guardianship transfers from father to husband, but can pass to brothers, uncles or even sons through circumstance.

The laws have improved after calls from women’s rights activists. Domestic abuse is now illegal. Women no longer need permission from their guardians to go to work.

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However there is still a way to go. This report brought to light personal experiences from Saudi women who are forced to abide by the decisions of someone else throughout their lives.

Lack of control

“You don’t have power over your body… It makes you nervous every step of your life. Everything that you put so much effort and time into could just end in a second if your guardian decides.” Reema, 36

Women’s access to healthcare is restricted by the guardianship system. In some hospitals, women require the consent of their guardian to undergo operations or even be admitted. Human Rights Watch’s report described a situation in which a woman going through a difficult labour was denied a Caesarean because it required her husband’s express permission – and he wasn’t present at the hospital. At women’s universities, male paramedics have been denied access without guardian permission.

Educational chances limited

“I am lost in my career because [a Master’s abroad] was my goal. Whenever someone tells me, ‘You should have a five-year plan,’ I say I can’t. I’ll have a five-year plan and then my dad would disagree. Why have a plan?” Zahra, 25 – her father refused to let her study abroad

Male guardians are required to sign off on major decisions for their female charges, including study abroad on a government scholarship. Denial of travel or education is not sufficient cause to transfer guardianship under Saudi law, so there is little recourse if a male relative refuses to allow it.

Zahra no longer lives with her father. She told HRW that her father beat her and her sister so severely whilst she was growing up that one time she was taken to hospital because she temporarily lost her vision.

Humiliated

“My son is my guardian, believe it or not, and this is really humiliating… My own son, the one I delivered, the one I raised, he is my guardian.” Sura, 62, retired university lecturer

Escaping your guardian

“I don’t want to get married because I don’t want a stranger to control me… Basically, it is slavery. My sister married this guy to get away from my brother… If I have to go back to Saudi, I am going to be just like the other Saudi girls and get married to get away from my brother.” Tala, late 20s

Transferring the guardianship to another male relative, while possible, is a complicated process. Most women, especially those of lower socioeconomic status, are effectively stuck.

For those stuck with abusive or strict, controlling guardians, without a better option even through the courts, marriage can be viewed as an escape strategy. But with courtship in Saudi Arabia strictly curtailed and with women’s ability to choose their own husbands extremely limited, this can work out to little more than a roll of the dice.

No peace – just survival

“It is very hard to say you live, you just survive… The simple freedom of opening your door and going out for a walk… I have to call a driver to get my coffee. What if I want to walk in peace and get my coffee and come back?” Rania, 34

Saudi Arabia is the most restrictive country in the world for women’s travel: they cannot apply for a passport or leave the country without their guardian’s approval, and they are explicitly barred from driving. Some women are barred from leaving the house ( because they cannot oppose their guardian’s will, rather than by legal constraint).

Women from more prosperous families tend to have greater access to drivers and thus more mobility – something that’s not as accessible to poorer or more conservative families.

One-sided divorce

“When a woman wants to divorce her husband, he can ask for anything [in order] to give her a divorce, even to give up custody. [While] he can … say “you are divorced” through a text message.” Sura, 62

Saudi marriage laws favour the husband. While men do not need their guardian’s permission to marry, women do. It is much easier for a man to divorce a woman (a more common practice in recent years in Saudi Arabia) and the man remains the legal guardian of the woman throughout the divorce process.

The man may demand concessions, including sole custody of children, from a woman in exchange for granting a divorce.