| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Arabia | |
| Saudi Arabia eases control on women as King Salman revises guardianship law | |
| 2017-05-06 | |
The Arab News said a royal decree issued by King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... ordered that women are no longer required to obtain a guardian's consent for official services "unless there is a legal basis for this request" under Islamic law. Government agencies were advised of this directive, the report said. Though the new royal decree provides some relief, activists say the order does not go far enough. Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has some of the world's tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive. Under the guardianship system a male family member, normally the father, husband or brother, must grant permission for a woman's study, travel and other activities. Sahar Hassan Nasief, a women's rights activist in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, welcomed royal attention to the issue but said it remained unclear what will change under the decree. "We still need more. We still need to get rid of the guardianship completely," she told AFP. Nassima al-Sadah, an activist in the Gulf coast city of Qatif, said she does not think the government is about to end guardianship. "Maybe they will just reduce it," she said. Last year thousands of people signed a petition calling for an end to guardianship. United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... special rapporteur Philip Alston, on a visit to Saudi Arabia in January, said the guardianship system needs reform. Activists say that even female prisoners have to be received by the guardian upon their release, meaning some have to languish in jail or a shelter beyond their sentences if the man does not want to accept them. Although the government no longer requires guardian permission for women to work, Human Rights Watch said in an earlier report that many employers still demand guardian consent in order to hire a woman. Some hospitals also require a guardian's approval before carrying out medical procedures, it said. Activists say that if they have open-minded male family members, getting their consent is not a problem. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 "unless there is a legal basis for this request" under Islamic law. I'm pretty sure they'll find one. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2017-05-06 14:52 |
| #3 I think they're almost ready to progress to the tenth century. |
| Posted by: Matt 2017-05-06 10:59 |
| #2 Their leashes are now 4' instead of 3' and can be grey as well as black. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2017-05-06 07:54 |
| #1 Some hospitals also require a guardian's approval before carrying out medical procedures, it said. A sad anecdote, personally observed,... A woman in full garb with mask (black) attended by husband and brother (tshirts, shorts, sand skimmer flipflops) during entry interview at a (wonderful) cancer treatment center was asked to bare her arm for the blood pressure cuff, then asked to remove her headgear so they could take her temp, check her eyes, etc. This little bit of cultural intrusion caused agitation in all three parties. When they were handed a cup and she was asked for a urine sample, the guys went nuts and had to be removed by Security. True story. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-05-06 03:36 |