Women, Foreign Workers, Civil Society Under Attack
When President Obama meets with Saudi King Abdullah this weekend the agenda will most likely focus on the political tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia over the American decision to ease sanctions on Iran. They may also discuss calls for Saudi Arabia to reissue its Arab peace plan, and the ongoing morass in Syria.
Several dozen Congressmen, as well as a series of international organizations, want them to discuss human rights in the kingdom.
The letter was signed by a broad bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Trent Franks (R-AZ), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Frank Wolf (R-VA) and John Lewis (D-GA). NGOs on the letter included Amnesty International, International Christian Concern, Human Rights Watch, Christian Solidary Worldwide – USA, and the National Organization for Women.
“The Saudi labor system breeds systemic human rights abuses,” Adam Coogle, a researcher at Human Rights Watch told The Media Line. “Labor is regulated by the sponsorship system, in which a worker is tied to a specific employer. He is only allowed to work for that employer and he can’t change jobs without the employer’s permission.”
According to Coogle, abuse of foreign workers is widespread, either through non-payment of wages, physical abuse, or in the case of domestic workers, sexual abuse. Hundreds of thousands of illegal workers have been deported in the past year, and many complain of difficult conditions including a lack of food and water, and beatings, while they are awaiting deportation.
There are an estimated nine million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, an estimated two million of them there illegally. Human Rights Watch says that Saudi labor courts almost always favor the employer over the worker. They call on the Kingdom to allow workers to leave when they want and to ease conditions for workers who want to change jobs.
On the issue of women’s rights, the law that forbids women from driving in Saudi Arabia is well known and has been periodically challenged by groups of women. However, other activists say that domestic violence remains a serious problem in the country.
“Last year, the country passed a law criminalizing domestic violence and child abuse,” Dr. Maha Al Muneef, the executive director of the National Family Safety program and a consultant to the Shura Council, which makes policy decisions told The Media Line. “But we have problems implementing the law. In Saudi Arabia the culture can be an obstacle.”
Islam allows men to “discipline” their wives, and some men see their children as their property.
In other cases, women do not often know their rights. In Saudi Arabia, women must have a male guardian, usually a father or husband, who takes responsibility for her behavior. Many places of employment ask for written consent from her guardian before a woman accepts a new job. Legally, however, a woman does not need to obtain this consent.
“Often women are not aware of their rights,” she said, “We need to educate women, especially poor women who are often victims of domestic violence to ask for their rights.”
She credited King Abdullah with making efforts to push forward women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, but said more needs to be done.
Amnesty International sent a separate letter to President Obama suggesting he have a female secret service agent drive him around during his trip to the Kingdom.
“In addition to the driving ban, Saudi Arabian women continue to face severe discrimination in law and practice. They are also inadequately protected against domestic and other gender-based violence,” Amnesty International wrote in the letter.
In another issue, the White House has protested a Saudi decision not to grant a visa to a Jerusalem Post reporter, Michael Wilner, a visa to enter the country. A White House spokesman said they were “very disappointed” at the decision. In the past Saudi Arabia has denied that it has ever denied a visa to an American citizen because he is Jewish.