(MENAFN- Jordan Times) BRUSSELS — The European Parliament urgedSaudiArabiaon Thursday to abolish its male guardianship system, under which women have to seek permission from their guardian on issues such as getting married, saying it and other rules reduce women to second-class citizens.
Parliamentarians also expressed concern over "government web services" that allow male guardians to track women when they cross borders. ASaudiapplication called Absher notifies men when women travel.
Although male guardianship has been chipped away at over the years it remains in force. Under the system, everySaudiwomen is assigned a male relative — often a father or husband but sometimes an uncle, brother or even a son — whose approval is needed if she is to marry, obtain a passport and travel abroad.
In their resolution, approved by more than two thirds of the assembly, EU lawmakers urged theSaudigovernment to immediately abolish the system. Current rules in the kingdom effectively make women "second-class citizens", the document said.
EU states should continue pressuring Riyadh on improving women conditions and human rights, lawmakers said. Resolutions by the Parliament are not binding but can influence decisions made by EU governments and EU institutions.
The resolution passed a day after the EU executive commission addedSaudiArabiato its blacklist of countries that pose a threat because of lax controls on money laundering and terrorism financing.
The bloc's relations withSaudiArabiahave cooled since the murder of Washington-basedSaudijournalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate on October 2.
Despite reforms introduced by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman that have reduced discrimination, such as the lifting of the driving ban for women, lawmakers said "theSaudipolitical and social system remains discriminatory".
They urged the release fromSaudiprisons of women's rights defenders, including some who were arrested after campaigning to end the ban on women driving.
Lawmakers also called for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty inSaudiArabia, where it is still applied to punish non-violent offences, such as drug smuggling, treason, adultery and apostasy, they said.
The EU Parliament passed a resolution in October urging an international investigation into Khashoggi's killing and called on EU states to stop the sale of weapons to the kingdom.
MENAFN1702201900280000ID1098130306
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.