WUNRN
Saudi Arabia - Human Rights Assessment of Five Years of
Reforms - Gender
September 27, 2010
Download the full report - 56 Pages
Systematic discrimination against
women persists, Human Rights Watch said. Under the Saudi guardianship system,
women still have the legal status of minors, unable to make basic decisions
without a male guardian's consent, including decisions about marriage,
education, employment, certain types of health care, or travel. The government
has failed to deliver on its promise to abolish this guardianship system......
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This 56-page report assesses five
years of Saudi reforms under King Abdullah from a human rights perspective. It
finds that reform has manifested itself chiefly in greater tolerance for
diverse opinions and an expanded public role for women, but that royal
initiatives have been largely symbolic, with only modest concrete gains or
institutional protection for rights.