Despite its poor track record on women’s rights, Saudi Arabia chaired the UN’s leading women’s rights body, presiding until March 21st at a meeting of global leaders aimed at discussing gender equality amid reported setbacks to women’s rights during the 69th annual session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
“It’s surreal. Putting Saudi Arabia in charge of the world body for defending women’s rights is akin to appointing Dracula to manage the blood bank, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a non-partisan human rights group in Geneva.
“As chair, Saudi Arabia is now well-positioned to shape the planning and decisions of the world’s leading women’s rights body.”
Yet despite cosmetic reforms, Saudi Arabia continues to subject women to legal discrimination, where they are effectively enslaved under a male guardianship system that was enshrined into law three years ago, ironically on International Women’s Day,” stated Neuer.
Saudi Arabia’s poor track record on women’s rights
The persecution of women in Saudi Arabia is both severe and systematic, manifesting in both legislation and real-life situations. Even with recent reforms, women still endure significant discrimination, primarily because of the established guardianship system that mandates male consent for women to engage in basic activities. The personal status law introduced in June 2022, which the Crown Prince hailed as a ‘major advancement, ‘ enshrines discrimination against women within family matters and perpetuates many troubling features of the guardianship system.
Activists for women’s rights are at present being detained arbitrarily by Saudi Arabia for promoting more freedoms for women, such as on social media, as well as calling out the government. Academic Salma al-Shehab was sentenced in 2023 to 27 years in jail and a travel ban for 27 years based on her online activity on social media, as well as 45 years’ imprisonment with a 45-year travel ban, having was given to Nourah al-Qahtani.
Saudi fitness trainer Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment on terrorism charges for posting images of herself without an abaya and calling for the end of the guardianship system. She was detained for five months, during which time she was held incommunicado since her arrest in November 2023.