by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Over 14,000 women in Saudi Arabia have signed an online petition to end the country’s practice of male guardianship.

The official number of signatures on the petition is currently reported as approximately 14,000. However, there are many more signatures that were submitted anonymously due to fear of reprisal from their families or the religious police. Furthermore, approximately 2,500 women have also sent personal messages to King Salman demanding the guardianship law be abolished.

An online women’s rights movement has been building for the past few months, and became more prevalent this summer after Human Rights Watch released a report on the guardianship system. The report found that the guardianship system is “the most significant impediment to realizing women’s rights in the country.” It gave way to the hashtag #IAmMyOwnGuardian, which has become the slogan for the campaign. Activist Aziza Al-Yousef, who has been fighting the guardianship system for a decade, stated that “women should be treated as a full citizen.” Ms. Al-Yousef further noted that the petitioners “want women over 18 or 20 to be treated as adults, to be responsible for their own acts and allowed to make their own decisions.”

Ms. Al-Yousef stated that she tried to deliver the petition to the Royal Court on Monday, September 26^th. However, she was turned away and told to submit the petition by mail. Accordingly, as instructed, activists will now send the petition by mail. There has been no response to the petition by the Saudi Arabia government.

The petition is protesting a Saudi Arabia law in which women are treated as legal minors and close male relatives make important legal decisions on their behalf. The male guardian is typically a woman’s father or husband, if she is married. A widow may be required to seek permission from her son if she does not have any other male relatives of age. Alternatively, uncles and brothers can also serve as the male guardian. Under this law, women are required to obtain their male guardian’s permission to marry, travel, obtain a passport, rent property, file any legal claim, or be treated at a hospital, among other things. Furthermore, many institutions also require the guardian’s permission for a woman to pursue an education or hold a job. Many women report that their guardians extort them for money or other favors. Due to the limited recourse options available to women, some are “trapped with extortionate or abusive men.”

The Saudi Arabia government had agreed to abolish the guardianship system in 2009 as well as in 2013 in response to a review by the United Nation’s Human Rights Council. Although some reforms were instituted at the time, they did not provide basic rights to women.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian—Thousands of Saudis sign petition to end male guardianship of women—26 September 2016

ABC News—#IAmMyOwnGuardian petition to end male guardianship system kicks off in Saudi Arabia—27 September 2016

Daily Mail—Saudi petition seeks ‘full’ rights for women—27 September 2016

CNN—Saudis petition king to end male guardianship system—26 September 2016

Inquisitr—Saudi Women Take Stand Against Male Guardianship, Oppression—26 September 2016

 

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Kuwaiti attorney, Adel Abdulhadi, filed a challenge against the constitutionality of the country’s DNA collection law.

In his filing, Mr. Abdulhadi argued that the DNA collection law violates “fundamental human rights and personal freedoms protected and sacred by the Kuwait constitution.” He stated that “compelling every citizen, resident and visitor to submit a DNA sample to the government is similar to forcing house searches without a warrant.” He asserted that the law means “every single person is now considered a suspect until proven innocent.” Mr. Abdulhadi further stated that the government has already started collecting DNA samples from individuals they suspect falsely claimed Kuwaiti nationality.

The DNA collection law, which was passed in July 2015, is expected to go into effect in November 2016. It is the first law of its kind around the world, and would require all Kuwait citizens, expatriates and temporary visitors to provide DNA samples for the government’s database. Furthermore, all Kuwait citizens applying for passport renewals will be required to submit DNA samples. Kuwait officials stated that the law is a security and counterterrorism measure in response to the suicide bombing at a mosque in Kuwait which killed 27 and injured hundreds of others. Officials further indicated that the law will help facilitate solving crime and terrorism cases. Mr. Abdulhadi criticized these explanations by stating “terrorism is in the mindset of the person, and you can’t minimize this by restricting the privacy of people.”

The DNA samples of over 1.3 million citizens, and 2.9 million expatriates and temporary visitors from other countries would be collected through saliva swabs or a few drops of blood. The samples would then be entered into a database and stored in a laboratory at the General Department of Criminal Evidence. Anyone who refuses to provide a sample could be fined $33,000 or sentenced to one year in prison. Furthermore, any individual who is caught faking samples could be sentenced to up to seven years in jail.

Several international organizations urged the Kuwait government to change or amend the law before it goes into effect. The European Society of Human Genetics declared that the law is a “serious assault on the right to privacy of individuals.” The Society further noted that the law will most likely result in Kuwait’s isolation from scientific research. The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee as well as the Human Rights Watch stated that the law “imposes unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on the right to privacy.” In addition, scientists and security experts criticized the law as a “huge attack on genetic privacy,” and voiced their concerns over the law while urging Kuwait to amend it.

For more information, please see:

Zawya (Thomsan Reuters)—Lawyer files challenge against constitutionality of the DNA law—22 September 2016

International Business Times—Kuwait lawyer challenges constitutionality of world’s first controversial mandatory DNA collection law—23 September 2016

Middle East Monitor—Kuwaiti lawyers challenge forced DNA sampling law—23 September 2016

New Scientist—Kuwait lawyers fight world’s first mandatory DNA sampling law—22 September 2016