Stagnant progress on women’s issues in Saudi Arabia

In 2015, Saudi Arabia afforded women the right to vote and stand in municipal elections. The government has also taken steps to open the labor market to more women. Despite these changes, the underlying nature of women’s engagement in Saudi society remains stifled, as Saudi women remain subject to the kingdom’s system of male guardianship,[…]

HRC33: ADHRB calls attention to discrimination of women under guardianship system

On 15 September 2016, ADHRB’s UN Liaison Amanda Milani delivered an oral intervention under item 3 at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council on women’s limited access to healthcare due to guardianship system in Saudi Arabia. Please continue reading for full remarks or click here to download a PDF. Distinguished Independent Expert Ms. Kornfeld-Matte, Americans[…]

British-Saudi woman allegedly trapped by father in Jeddah

A British judge ruled last Wednesday that dual British-Saudi citizen, Amina Al-Jeffery, must be allowed to return to the UK from Saudi Arabia.  The decision comes after 21-year-old Amina Al-Jeffery claimed that she is being kept in a cage by her father, Mohammed Al-Jeffery Ms. Al-Jeffery  was born and raised in Swansea, Wales, but was forced[…]

Saudi Arabia fails to address the root of its domestic abuse problem

  In 2015, Saudi Arabia’s Justice Ministry stated that its courts saw 8,016 domestic violence cases in a one-year period. The majority of these cases were reported in Riyadh, Mekkah, and the Eastern Province, and included reports of psychological and physical abuse of both women and children. Because so many cases of domestic violence go[…]

For Saudi women, political and social change has yet to come

The participation of Saudi men and women in the 2011 Arab Spring protests placed significant pressure on the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia to make social, political, and economic reforms. In particular, women’s rights activists leveraged the influence of social media on the Arab Spring to bring attention to the lack of women’s rights granted by the[…]