US Gov’t Silent As Ally Saudi Arabia Kidnaps and Cages Women for Wanting to Drive

By Rachel Blevins

 When Saudi Arabia announced last year that 2018 would be the year  women were finally allowed to drive, the United States treated its close  ally as if it was setting the standard for women’s rights. However, now  that several of the women who were at the forefront of the movement  have been mysteriously arrested before the new law goes into effect, the  U.S. has refused to call out the Saudi government. While the ban on women driving is set to be lifted next month, a report  from Reuters revealed that seven activists who supported the legal  changes that are set to take place were mysteriously arrested by the  Saudi government last week.   

Saudi Arabia has a history of arresting and charging individuals who  have been accused of criticizing or protesting the government—even when  little evidence exists to support the claims—and the kingdom released a  statement claiming that the seven individuals “had suspicious  contacts with foreign entities to support their activities, recruited  people working in sensitive government sites and offered financial  support of hostile elements overseas.” Saudi women’s rights activist and author, Manal al-Sharif, said three  of the women who were arrested are her close friends, and she noted that all seven Saudi activists were “detained in their homes without a warrant or an explanation.” 

“On June 24, the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia will  finally be lifted. And yet, the arrests do not augur well for the  so-called progressive changes in the country,” al-Sharif said. 

“Understandably,  I was in a state of disbelief about these developments. I contacted the  women’s families to confirm the news before I tweeted about it. But the  families I spoke to have been left in complete darkness about why the  activists were detained on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, a  month of forgiveness and mercy.” 

A report  from the Associated Press noted that the activists who were targeted in  the recent crackdown have been vocal for several years about securing  basic rights for women in Saudi Arabia: 

“Among those detained since Tuesday is Loujain  al-Hathloul, who was arrested in late 2014 and held for more than 70  days for criticizing the government online and pushing for the right to  drive. Others arrested include Eman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Yousef, two  of the most well-known women’s rights activists in the kingdom who for  years had campaigned for the right to drive and were involved in human  rights issues in the kingdom. Al-Nafjan and al-Yousef have both taught  at state-run universities and are mothers, with al-Yousef also a  grandmother. The three women had also called for an end to other less  visible forms of discrimination in Saudi Arabia, such as guardianship  laws that give male relatives final say on whether a woman can travel  abroad, obtain a passport or marry.”

Al-Sharif called to the government’s response to the arrests as “vague and alarming, much like the arrests themselves,”  and noted that the mysterious charges against the activists have  created fear for many women like herself who have been vocal in their  opposition of the kingdom’s strict male guardianship laws, which ban  women from making major decisions without the consent of a husband or  male relative.   

While the Saudi government has attempted to claim that the activists were “forming a cell”  that posed a threat to state security, Amnesty International criticized  the lack of transparency surrounding the sudden arrests. 

In a statement, AI Middle East Director of Campaigns Samah Hadid said, “This  chilling smear campaign is an extremely worrying development for women  human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia. Such blatant  intimidation tactics are entirely unjustifiable.” 

Although Saudi Arabia seemed to be making progress with the  announcement that it would finally allow women to drive cars, it appears  that the news was mainly meant for political purposes to create  positive PR for the country, as it is still persecuting activists who  dare to question the government. Unfortunately, this treatment is not uncommon. 

As The Free Thought Project has reported,  last year Munir Al Adam, a 23-year-old deaf and blind man, was  sentenced to death after he was convicted of peacefully protesting  during a wave of anti-government protests in 2012. While he initially  confessed to the accusations, human rights advocates insisted that he  was tortured, his disabilities were ignored, and his conviction was  based solely on the confession he made under duress. 

Another man sentenced to execution was Mujtaba al-Sweikat, who was also charged with  protesting in 2012 when he was 17 years old. He was arrested as he was  boarding a plane to fly to the U.S. to attend Western Michigan  University. Manal al-Sharif also noted that the recent detentions are the latest  in a string of vague arrests targeting social media personalities,  college professors, businessmen, and officials since Crown Prince  Mohammed bin Salman came to power last year. 

“This is the third wave of arrests after the new  crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, came to power last June. The first  wave occurred last September, when more than 80 clerics, social media  influencers, and university professors were jailed for undeclared  reasons. Officials have declined to say much about the arrests, noting  only that “it’s to protect the privacy of those imprisoned.” The second  wave of arrests followed in November when hundreds of businessmen and  officials were detained in a supposed push against corruption. The  arrests are a complete turnaround from the recent fresh and uplifting  changes that Saudi Arabia has experienced, especially the restrictions  imposed on the religious police and the improvement in the status of  women.”

The United States refused to call out its close ally, and U.S. State  Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert summarized the ordeal by simply  saying, “We support space for civil society and also free speech.  But overall, we’re concerned about it and we’re keeping a close eye on  it.” 

The United States’ response is ironic, given the fact that if another  country in the Middle East that was not considered a close ally—such as  Syria or Iran—was arresting activists for supporting basic women’s  rights, the U.S. would be calling for a full-scale invasion to  bring that country the “freedom and democracy” it clearly needed, and to  overthrow the dictator who was oppressing his people. 

However, because Saudi Arabia is a friend of the United States—and it is partnered in the “single largest arms deal in U.S. history,” which guarantees the kingdom $350 billion in weapons over  the next 10 years—the U.S. has apparently chosen to turn a blind eye to  egregious human rights violations committed by the Saudi government. 

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