The anti male-guardianship campaign is an ongoing campaign by Saudi women against the requirement to obtain permission from their male guardian for activities such as getting a job, travelling internationally or getting married.

Wajeha al-Huwaider Wajeha al-Huwaider ( ar, وجيهة الحويدر) (born 1962 or 1963) is a Saudi activist and writer, who played key roles in the anti male-guardianship and women to drive campaigns during the early twenty-first century. She is a co-founder ...

deliberately tried to travel internationally without male guardianship permission in 2009 and encouraged other women to do likewise. Women activists wrote a letter to the Saudi Minister of Labor and brought media attention to the issue in 2011. A 14,000-signature petition was given to royal authorities by

Aziza al-Yousef Aziza al-Yousef is a Saudi Arabian women's rights activist and academic. She was detained by Saudi authorities in May 2018 along with Loujain al-Hathloul and five others. As of November, 2018, she was apparently being held in the Dhahban Centra ...

in 2016 following a

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

report on male guardianship. A crackdown against the activists took place in mid-May 2018, with 13 arrests . Several of the women remained in prison . Some of the women activists were tortured, including supervision by

Saud al-Qahtani Saud bin Abdullah al-Qahtani (born July 7, 1978) is a Saudi Arabian consultant and former royal court advisor. Prior to his dismissal in late 2018, he worked as an advisor to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. ...

, a close advisor of Crown Prince

Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...

Background

Women in the pre-Roman Arabian kingdom of

Nabataea The Nabataean Kingdom (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''), also named Nabatea (), was a political state of the Arab Nabataeans during classical antiquity. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled many of the trade routes of the region, ...

were independent

legal persons In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...

able to sign contracts in their own name. In Nabataea women were free to conduct legal contracts in their own name with no male guardian, unlike in Greek and Roman law, and in Saudi Arabia where the guardian is central to the clerics’ idea of a moral public sphere. The Wahhabi interpretation of sharia requires a “muhrim” — father, husband, brother or son — to accompany women in public, allow them to travel and attest their legal contracts. In the late twentieth century, after the

Grand Mosque seizure The Grand Mosque seizure lasted from 20 November 1979 to 4 December 1979, when extremist militants in Saudi Arabia calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud besieged and took over Masjid al-Haram, the holiest Islamic site, in the city of M ...

in 1979, King

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

gave more power to religious groups. In 2016,

described the male guardianship situation in Saudi Arabia, stating that a Saudi woman's life "is controlled by a man from birth until death". , any adult woman in Saudi Arabia is required to obtain approval from her male guardian for activities such as accessing healthcare, getting a job, travelling or getting married.

Unauthorised travel protest (2006)

is a Saudi women's rights activist who in 2003 was banned by Saudi authorities from publishing her opinions in Saudi media and was arrested again after holding a women's rights street protest in August 2006. In June 2009, she protested against male guardianship by trying three times to enter

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

without permission from her male guardian. She was refused departure from Saudi Arabia at the Bahraini border all three times because of her lack of male-guardian authorisation. Al-Huwaider encouraged other Saudi women to carry out the same attempted border crossings without male guardian approval, with the aim of ending the male guardianship system.

Appeal to Ministry of Labor (2011)

Late in 2011, during the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests, Saudi women started a campaign against the Saudi Ministry of Labor requirement for guardian approval for employment. The group contacted the media and argued that women's equality is established in the eighth article of the Saudi Arabian constitution, and that Islamic scholars generally do not see male guardian approval as a requirement for a woman to be employed. The group held workshops on the issue and studied Islamic religious arguments in relation to male guardianship.

Petition to King and wave of activism (2016)

In July 2016,

issued a detailed report on male guardianship in Saudi Arabia. The report brought attention to the topic, and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

hashtags ''#IAmMyOwnGuardian'' and ''#StopEnslavingSaudiWomen'' became popular. Several months later, in September 2016, 2500 women sent telegrams to King Salman, and fourteen thousand people, including

Loujain al-Hathloul Loujain al-Hathloul ( ar, لجين الهذلول ''Lujjayn al-Hadhlūl''; born 31 July 1989) is a Saudi women's rights activist, a social media figure, and political prisoner. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia. Al-Hathloul ...

and

Eman al-Nafjan Eman al-Nafjan is a Saudi Arabian blogger and women's rights activist. She was detained by Saudi authorities in May 2018 along with Loujain al-Hathloul and five other women's rights activists in what Human Rights Watch interpreted as an attempt ...

, signed a petition, calling for the male guardianship system to be fully abolished. Al-Yousef went to the royal court to deliver the petition. Human Rights Watch described the 2016 wave of activism against male guardianship as "incredible and unprecedented".

2018–2019 crackdown

During 2018–2019 there was a crackdown on women's rights activists in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

involved in the

women to drive movement Until June 2018, Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world in which women were forbidden from driving motor vehicles. The Women to Drive Movement ( ''qiyāda al-marʾa fī as-Suʿūdiyya'') was a campaign by Saudi women, whom the government ...

and the Saudi anti male-guardianship campaign and of their supporters, with waves of arrests mainly in May 2018 and April 2019. The arrests were described in June 2018 by a United Nations special rapporteurs as a "crackdown" taking place "on a wide scale across" Saudi Arabia; the special rapporteur called for the "urgent release" of the detainees. Six of the women arrestees were tortured, some in the presence of Crown Prince advisor

2019 online campaign

In early January 2019, Rahaf Mohammed sought her

right of asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

while transiting Bangkok airport, on the basis of what she stated was physical and psychological abuse by her family. Her situation gained wide international media attention and support from online social networks, saving her from being deported according to ESOHR-appointed lawyer François Zimeray. Following the international online campaign Canadian authorities offered her asylum after she was given refugee status by the UNHCR. Anger against the

assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins. His body ...

constituting a triggering factor in the online support according to

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...

. The online reaction included a

revival of the anti male-guardianship campaign, with the trending slogan, "Remove guardianship and we won't all migrate".

Moves toward equality

In August 2019, a

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

was published in the Saudi

official gazette A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establis ...

''Um al-Qura'' that would allow Saudi women over 21 to obtain passports and travel abroad without male guardian permission. The decree also gave women the rights to register a marriage, divorce or birth or obtain official family documents; and gave the mother the right to be a legal guardian of a child. The date of the measures officially come into force was not stated in the decree. Madawi al-Rasheed interpreted the weakening of the guardianship system as an effect (a "second victory") of the Saudi feminist movement, following the 2018 lifting of the women driving ban. She referred to remaining guardianship restrictions including the need for male guardian permission to marry, leave prison or a domestic violence shelter, and to work, study or seek medical care. Al-Rasheed argued that many of the anti male-guardianship campaigners wouldn't be "able to celebrate" the new announcement, due to imprisonment, travel bans or exile.

References

{{reflist, 31em, refs= {{cite news , first1 = Mohammed , last1 = Jamjoom , first2 = Tricia , last2 = Escobedo , title= Saudi woman activist demands right to travel , date= 10 July 2009 , publisher=

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, url= http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/10/women.saudi/index.html , access-date=15 February 2009 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180527120650/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/10/women.saudi/index.html , archive-date=27 May 2018 , url-status=live {{cite web , last = Dankowitz , first = Aluma , title =Saudi Writer and Journalist Wajeha Al-Huwaider Fights for Women's Rights , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180816162136/https://www.memri.org/reports/saudi-writer-and-journalist-wajeha-al-huwaider-fights-womens-rights , archive-date= 16 August 2018 , url-status=live , url=http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA31206 , publisher=

Middle East Media Research Institute The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI; officially the "Middle East Media and Research Institute") is a nonprofit press monitoring and analysis organization co-founded by former Israeli military intelligence officer Yigal Carmon and ...

, date=28 December 2006 , access-date=19 June 2011 {{cite news , first=Sharifa , last=Ghanem , title=Saudi women battle male guardianship laws, push for rights , date=17 January 2012 , publisher= Bikya Masr , url=http://bikyamasr.com/53916/saudi-women-battle-male-guardianship-laws-push-for-rights/ , access-date=25 January 2012 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123223525/http://bikyamasr.com/53916/saudi-women-battle-male-guardianship-laws-push-for-rights/ , archive-date=23 January 2012 , url-status=live {{cite news , first=Walaa , last=Hawari , title=Women intensify campaign against legal guardian , date=14 November 2011 , newspaper=

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...

, url=http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article533282.ece , access-date=25 January 2012 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117020859/http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article533282.ece , archive-date=17 January 2012 , url-status=live {{cite news , first=Andrew , last=Hammond , author2=Sara Ledwith , title=Saudi scholar finds ancient women's rights , date=30 April 2008 , publisher=

, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-women-idUSL136115520080501 , access-date=29 May 2011 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810125832/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/05/01/us-saudi-women-idUSL136115520080501 , archive-date=10 August 2013 , url-status=live {{cite book , title=Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia: Nabataea , last=al-Fassi , first=Hatoon , author-link=Hatoon al-Fassi , date=15 July 2007 , publisher=British Archaeological Reports , series= British Archaeological Reports International Series , isbn=978-1-4073-0095-5 , pages=129 {{cite book, last=Lacey, first=Robert, title=Inside the Kingdom : Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia, url=https://archive.org/details/insidekingdomkin00lace_0, url-access=registration, date=2009, publisher=Viking , pag
48
, isbn=9780670021185 , quote=Those old men actually believed that the Mosque disaster was God's punishment to us because we were publishing women's photographs in the newspapers, says a princess, one of Khaled's nieces. The worrying thing is that the king haledprobably believed that as well ... Khaled had come to agree with the sheikhs. Foreign influences and bida'a were the problem. The solution to the religious upheaval was simple--more religion. {{cite web, title =Boxed In — Women and Saudi Arabia's Male Guardianship System, publisher =

, date =16 July 2016, url =https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system , access-date =22 May 2018 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826080422/https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/16/boxed/women-and-saudi-arabias-male-guardianship-system , archive-date=26 August 2016 , url-status=live {{cite news , title=Thousands of Saudis sign petition to end male guardianship of women , date=26 September 2016 , newspaper=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/26/saudi-arabia-protest-petition-end-guardianship-law-women , access-date=22 May 2018 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010600/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/26/saudi-arabia-protest-petition-end-guardianship-law-women , archive-date=24 June 2018 , url-status=live {{cite news, first=Josie , last=Ensor , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/26/saudis-file-first-ever-petition-to-end-male-guardianship/ , title=Saudis file first-ever petition to end male guardianship , newspaper=

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

, date=26 September 2016 , access-date=13 October 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927134601/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/26/saudis-file-first-ever-petition-to-end-male-guardianship/ , archive-date= 27 September 2016 {{cite web , title =Saudi Arabia: Women's Rights Advocates Arrested — Jumping Ahead of Crown Prince's Reforms Risks Jail Time , publisher =

, date = 18 May 2018 , url = https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/18/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-advocates-arrested , access-date = 19 May 2018 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180521053409/https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/18/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-advocates-arrested , archive-date= 21 May 2018 , url-status=live {{cite news , first= Bethan , last= McKernan , title= Saudi police arrest three more women's rights activists , date= 23 May 2018 , newspaper=

, url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-activists-arrests-driving-a8364941.html , access-date=23 May 2018 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180524083758/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-womens-rights-activists-arrests-driving-a8364941.html , archive-date=24 May 2018 , url-status=live {{cite news , first= Sarah , last= Dadouch , title= Saudi Arabia expands crackdown on women's rights activists , date= 22 May 2018 , publisher= CompuServe/

, url= https://www.compuserve.com/news/story/0002/20180522/KCN1IN21V_1 , access-date=22 May 2018 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180523193922/https://www.compuserve.com/news/story/0002/20180522/KCN1IN21V_1 , archive-date=23 May 2018 , url-status=live {{cite news , title= Saudi Arabia must immediately free women human rights defenders held in crackdown, say UN experts , date= 2018-06-27 , publisher=

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

, url= https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23270&LangID=E , access-date=2018-10-28 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181028233647/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23270&LangID=E , archive-date= 2018-10-28 , url-status=live {{cite news , title= Alqst and Over 160 groups call for accountability following murder of journalist and widespread arrest of women's rights defenders , date= 2018-10-26 , publisher=

ALQST ALQST or Al Qst ( ar, منظمة القسط) is a human rights organisation that documents and promotes human rights in Saudi Arabia, with a team in Saudi Arabia that researches cases and a team in London that publishes reports and news. Aims an ...

, url= https://alqst.org/eng/over-160-groups-call-for-accountability-following-murder-of-journalist-and-widespread-arrest-of-womens-rights-defenders/ , access-date=2018-10-28 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181028231142/https://alqst.org/eng/over-160-groups-call-for-accountability-following-murder-of-journalist-and-widespread-arrest-of-womens-rights-defenders/ , archive-date= 2018-10-28 , url-status=live {{cite news , last1= Kalin , first1= Stephen , title= Saudi woman's flight rallies opposition to male guardianship , date= 2019-01-10 , publisher=

, url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-women-guardianship/saudi-womans-flight-rallies-opposition-to-male-guardianship-idUSKCN1P427Y , access-date=2019-01-10 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190110221655/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-women-guardianship/saudi-womans-flight-rallies-opposition-to-male-guardianship-idUSKCN1P427Y , archive-date= 2019-01-10 , url-status=live {{cite news, first1=Jamie , last1=Fullerton , first2=Helen , last2=Davidson , access-date=7 January 2019 , title='He wants to kill her': friend confirms fears of Saudi woman held in Bangkok , url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/06/saudi-woman-held-bangkok-fears-will-be-killed-repatriated , newspaper=

, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109031136/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/06/saudi-woman-held-bangkok-fears-will-be-killed-repatriated , archive-date=9 January 2019 , url-status=live , date=7 January 2019 {{cite web , title = ALQST Confirms New Details of Torture of Saudi Women Activists as British MPs Seek Access to Prisons to Investigate , publisher =

, date = 2019-01-03 , url = https://alqst.org/eng/confirms-new-details-of-torture-of-saudi-women-activists-as-british-mps-seek-access-to-prisons-to-investigate/ , access-date = 2019-01-12 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190112223002/https://alqst.org/eng/confirms-new-details-of-torture-of-saudi-women-activists-as-british-mps-seek-access-to-prisons-to-investigate/ , archive-date= 2019-01-12 , url-status=live {{cite web , title=Saudi Arabia: Reports of torture and sexual harassment of detained activists , url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/11/saudi-arabia-reports-of-torture-and-sexual-harassment-of-detained-activists/ , website=www.amnesty.org , date=20 November 2018 , publisher=

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113154234/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/11/saudi-arabia-reports-of-torture-and-sexual-harassment-of-detained-activists/ , archive-date=2019-01-13 , url-status=live , access-date=21 November 2018 , language=en {{cite news , last1= Moine , first1= Anais , language = fr , title= Tout juste reconnue réfugiée, Rahaf Mohammed témoigne de son bonheur , trans-title = Just after receiving asylum, Rahaf Mohammed describes her happiness , date= 2019-01-12 , publisher= Aufeminin , url= https://www.aufeminin.com/news-societe/declaree-refugiee-rahaf-mohammed-al-qunun-confie-son-bonheur-s2993886.html , access-date=2019-01-12 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190113063117/https://www.aufeminin.com/news-societe/declaree-refugiee-rahaf-mohammed-al-qunun-confie-son-bonheur-s2993886.html , archive-date= 2019-01-13 , url-status=live {{Cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/01/saudi-women-can-now-travel-without-a-male-guardian-reports-say, title=Saudi Arabia allows women to travel without male guardian's approval, last1=Graham-Harrison, first1=Emma, date=2019-08-02, work=The Guardian, access-date=2019-08-02, last2=agencies, language=en-GB, issn=0261-3077, url-status=live , archive-date=2019-08-02 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802074943/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/01/saudi-women-can-now-travel-without-a-male-guardian-reports-say {{cite news , last1= al-Rasheed , first1= Madawi , author1-link = Madawi al-Rasheed , title= Saudi women can now travel without consent – but this progress is fragile , date= 2019-08-02 , newspaper=

, url= https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/02/saudi-arabia-women-travel-consent-rights-feminist-movement , access-date= 2019-08-02 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190802195503/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/02/saudi-arabia-women-travel-consent-rights-feminist-movement , archive-date= 2019-08-02 , url-status=live {{cite news , last1= Batrawy , first1= Aya , title= Saudi Arabia arrests eight supporters of women's-rights activists , date= 2019-04-05 , newspaper=

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

/ AP , url= https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-saudi-arabia-arrests-eight-supporters-of-womens-rights-activists/ , access-date= 2019-08-02 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190802212349/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-saudi-arabia-arrests-eight-supporters-of-womens-rights-activists/ , archive-date= 2019-08-02 , url-status=live {{cite news , newspaper=

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

, author=

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, date=December 7, 2018 , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/07/aide-mohammed-bin-salman-supervised-torture-female-prisoner/ , title=Aide to Mohammed bin Salman 'supervised torture of female prisoner' , archive-url=https://archive.today/20181210175840/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/07/aide-mohammed-bin-salman-supervised-torture-female-prisoner/ , archive-date=December 10, 2018 , url-status=live Feminism in Saudi Arabia Women's rights in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian women's rights activists