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Louise Niehaus

Mr.Phillips

AP English 3

December 14, 2018

Women’s Rights in Saudi Arabia

"​Gender equality​ is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of

reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance." -Kofi Annan.

Gender equality is a constant international issue, and one of the places it is most discusses is in Saudi

Arabia, which is ranked number 50 in 188 countries worldwide on the gender inequality index

(CultureGrams). But why would Saudi Arabia have so many issues with gender equality? The Saudi

Arabian government is wrongly imprisoning and torturing women’s rights activists for simply standing

up for their beliefs about equality and these women desperately need to be protected from these crimes.

Last month, the Saudi Arabian government was accused of torturing several women's rights

activists who had been imprisoned since May and June of 2018. In an article published in late

November, Margherita Stancati reports the allegations made against the government. 2,305 activists

have been arrested throughout 2018, and none of them even received a trial before imprisonment. These

women's rights activists have been wrongfully accused of being traitors and conspirators and making

money deals with Qatar, a neighboring country. Its has been implicated that some of the women have

been associating with terrorist groups. None of the accusations held against these women's rights

activists are true, however, as they simply wanted to peacefully stand up for their rights. “Many of them

were kept in solitary confinement for several months… and some of them have been exposed to bright

light and uncomfortably low temperatures to deprive them of sleep.” (Stancati). This incredibly harsh

mistreatment of women's rights activists is unfair and despicable of the government. Another article by
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Laura Smith-Spark cites many sources regarding the recent allegations. In her article, Lynn Maalouf

from Amnesty International says, “Saudi authorities are directly responsible for the well-being of these

women and men in detention. Not only have they deprived them of their liberty for months now, simply

for peacefully expressing their views, they are also subjecting them to horrendous physical suffering.”

This clearly shows the evil and hatred that governmental leaders of Saudi Arabia possess and express

towards women. This torture of innocent women further oppresses them and takes away their basic

freedoms.