Ten non-governmental organizations affirmed that Saudi Arabia must release all women human rights defenders and activists detained in violation of international human rights standards, in addition to lifting the travel ban imposed on some of them and their relatives.
In a joint statement on the occasion of International Women's Day 2024, the organizations pointed out that since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took power in 2017, Saudi Arabia has promoted reforms to the male guardianship system aimed at easing restrictions on women's rights and freedoms, such as their right to drive and travel freely. The Crown Prince described the kingdom's first Personal Status Law as a "major leap" toward "empowering women". However, the law, which came into effect in June 2022, institutionalizes discrimination against women in many aspects of family life and retains many harmful features of the traditional male guardianship system.
Furthermore, the organizations clarified that Saudi Arabia continues its arbitrary arrests and imposition of travel bans on many women who have defended women's rights. For example, in 2023, the Specialized Criminal Court, a notoriously flawed terrorism court, sentenced academic Salma al-Sharif to 27 years in prison followed by a travel ban for the same duration. The charges against her were solely based on her social media posts expressing support for Saudi activists in the fields of human rights and women's rights.
Similarly, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Nora al-Qahtani, after an extremely unfair trial, to 45 years in prison followed by a 45-year travel ban. The court accused her of vague "terrorism" charges due to her tweets criticizing human rights violations committed by Saudi authorities and calling for the release of political prisoners. In 2023, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the detention of al-Sharif and al-Qahtani was arbitrary and urged the Saudi authorities to release them immediately.
The statement pointed out that in 2022, Saudi authorities arbitrarily detained activist and blogger Manal al-Otaibi for posting pictures of herself online. She has been forcibly hidden since November 2023. The signing organizations considered the charges against al-Otaibi to expose Saudi Arabia's hypocrisy in its claims of reform, contradicting statements by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. They also cited lengthy sentences for peaceful activism affecting Manal al-Ghafeeri, Fatimah al-Shawarbi, and Sukaina al-Oythan. Additionally, prominent women human rights defenders who have long advocated for women's rights face severe restrictions after their release from prison, often in the form of travel bans preventing them from leaving the country.
The statement concluded that on International Women's Day, Saudi Arabia should:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Salma al-Shahab and Nora al-Qahtani and other women detained due to their peaceful activism.
- Disclose the fate and whereabouts of Manal al-Otaibi, drop the charges against her, and release her immediately.
- Lift the travel ban on Loujain al-Hathloul, her family members, and any other human rights defenders currently subjected to this ban.
- Immediately abolish the male guardianship system and repeal laws and practices that discriminate against women.
The signatories:
ALQST for Human Rights
Amnesty International
CIVICUS
European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR)
Defending Front Line Defenders
Gulf Center for Human Rights – GCHR
HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
International Service for Human Rights – ISHR
MENA Rights Group
Peace for Democracy and Human Rights