In June 2013, Saudi women's rights activists Wajeha Al-Huweidar and Fawzia Al-'Uyouni were sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment and banned from leaving the country for two years after they were found guilty of inciting a wife against her husband.
Their crime was responding to the woman's request to bring her and her children food and water, after they were imprisoned in their home and abused by the woman's husband; they were also subsequently accused of attempting to smuggle the woman and her children out of Saudi Arabia.[1]
In a column titled "A Nobel Prize for Wajeha and Her Comrades" in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas, Kuwaiti columnist Ahmad Al-Saraf argued that the activists deserved a Nobel Prize for their struggle for women's rights.
Below is a translation of the column:[2]
"Wajeha Al-Huweidar is considered a Saudi writer who is quite active in human rights in general and in the rights of Saudi women in particular. According to the most current information, she works for ARAMCO. Due to her activity, in 2003 she was forbidden to write in newspapers, and in 2006 she was arrested for carrying a sign demanding rights for women at King Fahd Bridge, which connects Saudi Arabia with Bahrain,[3] and was released [only] after she pledged not to repeat her actions.
"That same year, she was summoned for questioning; there they made her sign an additional pledge to refrain from all activity of any kind in the field or online pertaining to human rights; for a while, she was prohibited from travelling [abroad].
"Since 2004, Wajeha has been writing weekly articles, most of them dealing with the rights of Saudi women and with their role in life; these articles are published on several websites, including ahewar.org…
"I believe that shortly we will hear that the Saudi [woman] Wajeha Al-Huweidar is a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize!... I sense that this will definitely happen! The years-long struggle led by this woman and her comrades to secure rights for members of their sex, using nonviolent means and [newspaper] ink… is not something to be ridiculed or ignored. Although she is hated by a particular sector in her homeland, she arouses admiration and excitement in another segment of the population. Her activity definitely honors her homeland, and her protracted struggle against repression, sexual discrimination, and exaggerated religious extremism is worthy of outright praise!
"The Lebanese [journalist and women's rights activist] Joumana Haddad says [that Ms. Al-Huweidar] is disliked in her homeland because she uses her pen to inflict disgrace [on the Saudi authorities], and to assail and criticize… How can they love her when she holds her head high in a culture of ostriches who bury their heads in the desert sands and deny reality, modernity, and liberty? They say she is unloved because she cannot growing a beard that will attest to religious orthodoxy, and because she is not intoxicated by the scent of petroleum, and has no sense of fear. They don't like her because they fear her.
"[It is] the fear that she arouses that prompted the sentence against her and the other activist, Fawzia Al-'Uyouni, a few days ago – 10 months' imprisonment and no leaving the country for two years [after her release] for the crime of 'inciting' a Canadian woman [against her husband]. The word 'takhbib' [in her sentence] means incitement of a wife against her husband."[4]
"We wish Wajeha and Saudi women success in their struggle, [and hope] that a Saudi woman will attain the status that she deserves. We are pinning great hopes on the efforts of [Saudi] King 'Abdallah."
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5338 "Saudi Women's Rights Activists Wajeha Al-Huweidar, Fawzia Al-'Uyouni Sentenced To Prison For Trying To Help Canadian Woman Living In Saudi Arabia," June 17, 2013.
[2] Al-Qabas (Kuwait), July 2, 2013.
[3] At the time, Ms. Al-Huweidar called for the abolition of the mahram obligation, that is, the male guardianship imposed on Saudi women. A Saudi woman requires a male guardian for every step that she takes in life, including leaving the country.
[4] Takhbib is a term that under the shari'a means inciting a wife against her husband. The verdict said that Al-Huweidar and Al-'Uyouni were accused of takhbib, as they had attempted to aid the woman, a Canadian, and smuggle her out of Saudi Arabia without her husband's knowledge. An7a.com, June 15, 2013.
