12, March 2018 Suffocating Guardianship Laws
While most of the world was celebrating Women’s Day and their increasing role in world affairs, there was one notable exception – women in predominately Muslim countries who still suffer enormous oppression and have always been relegated to subordinate roles. For example in Saudi Arabia, governed by Sharia Islamic Law, women must adhere to the dictates of their male guardians. According to the Quran (4.34) “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given them more strength . . .). It is difficult to imagine a grown mature woman suffering the humiliations of asking her male toddler permission on life’s critical issues.
No, sadly, Muslim women are trapped in a male-dominated society by a fatwa issued by The General Presidency for Scholarly Research, in charge of strict interpretation of the Quran which renders husbands the arbiter of all matters concerning women living in their household forbidding them “to leave their house without his permission.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is highly critical of the suffocating restrictions imposed on Saudi women who become the virtual property of their guardians (fathers, husbands, brothers or even sons) who can block their ability to apply for marriage, apply for a passport, travel overseas or even access health care.
HRW showcased the tragic story of a young Saudi woman, Dina Ali Lasloom, who left Saudi Arabia against her family’s wishes and was kidnapped by her uncles as she changed planes at Manilla International Airport. She screamed for help as her “guardians” applied duct tape and whisked her back to Riyadh in a wheelchair never to be seen again.
The new czar of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, would do well to dismantle the archaic Stone Age system of Guardianship and grant women complete equality in matters of divorce, inheritance rights, travel and health care. Finally, in a gesture of egalitarianism, he should make it optional for women to drape themselves in the suffocating burkas. I am sure Allah is not in the least interested in how women dress (this applies to all religions) only to encourage all people to develop pure minds and actions.
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