In recent months, international media has reported the flight of a good number of Saudi female youngsters. The number, according to various reports, runs into at least a thousand. The actual number would be much more as many a times families do not report runaways for fear of social stigma.&nbsp;

The case of Rahaf al-Qunun, who was put under UN custody after she fled from Saudi Arabia and was later granted asylum by the Canadian government, raised an important question as to why women are running from Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;

This is most surprising and paradoxical that a time when Saudi Arabia is bringing&nbsp;liberal reforms, relaxing social mores related to women, a large number of women are fleeing the country in search of dignified and free life.&nbsp;

What are the reasons for this emerging paradox?

While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, popularly known as MBS, has initiated a few liberal reforms including allowing women to drive, reopening of cinemas for them and allowing both sexes to attend concerts, watch games in the stadium. Crown Prince has also relaxed laws that required women to have male consent for availing several government services etc. In spite of these changes, women are still suffering under the intermingling of the institutions of patriarchy, religion, state, culture etc.

In Saudi Arabia, women lives are governed by the guardianship or wilaya system. Under this, a woman must have her male guardian's (father, brother, husband or son) permission to obtain a passport, travel abroad or marry.

Permission of a guardian is required when a woman tries to rent an apartment, undergo elective medical procedures, seek a job, or to get married.&nbsp;

The Saudi system is such that even if the woman is tortured, beaten, abused at home by her male relatives she still needs their permission in her daily life. Women can't afford to ignore their male guardian in Saudi Arabia. Running away from an abusive family is a crime, punishable by detention which is enforced by state agencies, and sanctioned by strict religious interpretations of Islamic law. &nbsp;

Dissent is not accepted. A large number of women activists who advocate for women rights are put behind the bars. Several women, ranging from age of 20 to 70, were arrested in June 2018&nbsp;on suspicion of harming the country’s interests. Their trial is about to begin soon.&nbsp;

At the same time, MBS wants to give an impression that he is the architect of “Liberal restructuring of Saudi Arabia” as contained in his “VISION 2030” without recognising any contribution from any segments including women in the Saudi society.

He is carefully trying to build his image of a visionary leader during the phase of Saudi transition from oil to a non-oil economy.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.) 
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In recent months, international media has reported the flight of a good number of Saudi female youngsters. The number, according to various reports, runs into at least a thousand.

In recent months, international media has reported the flight of a good number of Saudi female youngsters. The number, according to various reports, runs into at least a thousand. The actual number would be much more as many a times families do not report runaways for fear of social stigma. The case of Rahaf al-Qunun, who was put under UN custody after she fled from Saudi Arabia and was later granted asylum by the Canadian government, raised an important question as to why women are running from Saudi Arabia. This is most surprising and paradoxical that a time when Saudi Arabia is bringing liberal reforms, relaxing social mores related to women, a large number of women are fleeing the country in search of dignified and free life. What are the reasons for this emerging paradox? While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, popularly known as MBS, has initiated a few liberal reforms including allowing women to drive, reopening of cinemas for them and allowing both sexes to attend concerts, watch games in the stadium. Crown Prince has also relaxed laws that required women to have male consent for availing several government services etc. In spite of these changes, women are still suffering under the intermingling of the institutions of patriarchy, religion, state, culture etc. In Saudi Arabia, women lives are governed by the guardianship or wilaya system. Under this, a woman must have her male guardian's (father, brother, husband or son) permission to obtain a passport, travel abroad or marry. Permission of a guardian is required when a woman tries to rent an apartment, undergo elective medical procedures, seek a job, or to get married. The Saudi system is such that even if the woman is tortured, beaten, abused at home by her male relatives she still needs their permission in her daily life. Women can't afford to ignore their male guardian in Saudi Arabia. Running away from an abusive family is a crime, punishable by detention which is enforced by state agencies, and sanctioned by strict religious interpretations of Islamic law. Dissent is not accepted. A large number of women activists who advocate for women rights are put behind the bars. Several women, ranging from age of 20 to 70, were arrested in June 2018 on suspicion of harming the country’s interests. Their trial is about to begin soon. At the same time, MBS wants to give an impression that he is the architect of “Liberal restructuring of Saudi Arabia” as contained in his “VISION 2030” without recognising any contribution from any segments including women in the Saudi society. He is carefully trying to build his image of a visionary leader during the phase of Saudi transition from oil to a non-oil economy. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Women woes: Saudi Arabia continues to stifle dissent

Thousands of Saudis have signed an online petition calling for an end to the government&#39;s oppressive guardian system under which women cannot study, travel or engage in other fundamental activities without permission from a male guardian &mdash; typically the woman&#39;s father, brother or husband.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Women should be treated as a full citizen. She should be able to decide the age where she will be an adult and will be responsible for her own acts,&rdquo; campaigner and activist Aziza Al-Yousef said.&nbsp;

So far, about 14,700 people have signed the petition which will be sent by mail to the kingdom&#39;s Royal Court on Monday, Al-Yousef told AFP.

Under the Saudi law,&nbsp;which imposes the world&#39;s tightest restrictions on women, &nbsp;the guardian has control over a woman&#39;s marriage, study and travel plans. At times, women are forced to serve longer sentences in prison if they are not received by a male &quot;guardian&quot;&nbsp;on their release.&nbsp;

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, many employers ask for guardian&#39;s consent before hiring women, despite the government having disallowed the practice. &nbsp;

Men endorse the petition

A lot of men have endorsed the petition seeking an end to the system that requires them to sign consent forms.

While many open-minded male members readily give the consent, they find it tedious to formally complete the papers, Al-Yousef said.

&ldquo;Many men find signing consent papers a waste of time,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;

Newspaper columnist Abdullah Al-Alweet backed activists&#39; claim who said that Islam does not allow men to control women.&nbsp;

&quot;How can an illiterate father become the guardian of a highly educated woman?&quot; he asked in a Saudi Gazette column, AFP reported.&nbsp;

To boost female employment by allowing them to enter the workforce, the country came up with a plan to reduce the country&#39;s dependency on oil by 2030. The guardian system, as activists claim, does not help the goal.&nbsp;

The National Transformation Programme (NTP) has set the target for an increase in women&#39;s workforce from 23 per cent to 28 per cent by 2020, AFP reported.&nbsp;

#IamMyOwnGuardian

Al-Yousef and activists started a protest movement to end the guardian system five years ago. The movement gained momentum after the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report fiercely condemning the system.&nbsp;

It was the report that gave birth to the #IamMyOwnGuardian Twitter hashtag two months ago.&nbsp;

&quot;Saudi Arabia&#39;s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women&#39;s rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade,&quot; the watchdog said.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Under the system, women canot study, travel or engage in other fundamental activities without permission from a male guardian

Thousands of Saudis have signed an online petition calling for an end to the government's oppressive guardian system under which women cannot study, travel or engage in other fundamental activities without permission from a male guardian — typically the woman's father, brother or husband. “Women should be treated as a full citizen. She should be able to decide the age where she will be an adult and will be responsible for her own acts,” campaigner and activist Aziza Al-Yousef said. So far, about 14,700 people have signed the petition which will be sent by mail to the kingdom's Royal Court on Monday, Al-Yousef told AFP. Under the Saudi law, which imposes the world's tightest restrictions on women, the guardian has control over a woman's marriage, study and travel plans. At times, women are forced to serve longer sentences in prison if they are not received by a male "guardian" on their release. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, many employers ask for guardian's consent before hiring women, despite the government having disallowed the practice. Men endorse the petition A lot of men have endorsed the petition seeking an end to the system that requires them to sign consent forms. While many open-minded male members readily give the consent, they find it tedious to formally complete the papers, Al-Yousef said. “Many men find signing consent papers a waste of time,” he added. Newspaper columnist Abdullah Al-Alweet backed activists' claim who said that Islam does not allow men to control women. "How can an illiterate father become the guardian of a highly educated woman?" he asked in a Saudi Gazette column, AFP reported. To boost female employment by allowing them to enter the workforce, the country came up with a plan to reduce the country's dependency on oil by 2030. The guardian system, as activists claim, does not help the goal. The National Transformation Programme (NTP) has set the target for an increase in women's workforce from 23 per cent to 28 per cent by 2020, AFP reported. #IamMyOwnGuardian Al-Yousef and activists started a protest movement to end the guardian system five years ago. The movement gained momentum after the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report fiercely condemning the system. It was the report that gave birth to the #IamMyOwnGuardian Twitter hashtag two months ago. "Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women's rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade," the watchdog said. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Thousands of Saudis sign petition to end male guardianship of women

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Women woes: Saudi Arabia continues to stifle dissent

Thousands of Saudis sign petition to end male guardianship of women