The cynicism of Saudi Arabia towards women has been evident in a number of episodes in the past. But a new story which has recently unfolded, shows that there are no ends to its medieval mentality. According to reports, Saudi government monitors women’s movements and notifies their male guardians about them.
The notification is sent to the husband or the father of the women, whoever the state recognizes as her guardian, through a text message. This happens even if the woman is accompanied by the very guardian himself.
Apparently, this is Saudi government’s attempt to keep the male population informed of what their female counterparts are up to. The notifications are sent whenever a woman leaves Saudi Arabia or arrives in the country.
Saudi government recently implemented an electronic method through which a male guardian can permit his woman to leave the country. The method naturally made things somewhat easier for women since earlier, they had to be accompanied by a male guardian to seek permission from the authorities.
It is during this process of electronically granting permission by the male persons that the Saudi government gathers their mobile numbers and starts sending text messages about the cross-country movement of their wives or daughters.
Naturally, the practice goes on to show the plight of the women in the country which is conservative to the point that it wouldn’t allow women to drive cars on their own. The new monitoring tactics go on to show that Saudi government is growing more fanatic in curbing women’s rights with time rather than improving on that front.
Courtesy: Riyadh Bureau
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