Generally speaking, Saudi Arabia is not known as a beacon of women’s rights, perhaps most notable in the fact that women cannot drive in the Kingdom. But some on Twitter are trying to change that. The hashtags #TogetherToEndMaleGuardianship and #StopEnslavingSaudiWomen are currently trending on Twitter, and aim to bring awareness to the lack of rights Saudi women have.
The hashtag first and foremost takes aim at the fact that women need the consent of their husband or male family members to make a variety of personal decisions.
"rooted in belief of men’s physiological & emotional superiority" #TogetherToEndMaleGardianshiphttps://t.co/UFzCFaskl9 via @ForeignAffairs
— Nadia Burger (@nadiaburger2) September 4, 2016
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Saudi women need a male’s permission to marry, leave the country, get ou of prison and even possibly work or receive health care.
The criticisms in the hashtag are often harsh too, going beyond polite discourse to fight fire with fire.
The "Dangers" Muslim women face, according to Saudi Arabia#StopEnslavingSaudiWomen#سعوديات_نطالب_باسقاط_الولايه57 pic.twitter.com/DLQ7B5hEHk
— Habeeb (@FocusBreak) September 5, 2016
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the hashtag was actually originally promoted by HRW, and also spawned an Arabic version.
The hashtag has been trending for at least several days. Some accounts claim it is 57 days old.
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