It certainly sounds hypocritical that Saudi Arabia with its abysmal record of subjecting its women population to worst forms of gender discrimination has been chosen as the chair of the UN commission that is supposed to promote gender equality and empower women around the world.
The selection followed an unopposed bid for leadership which has been condemned by human rights groups for the country’s gross abuse of women’s rights. The Saudi ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, was elected as chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the CSW’s recent annual meeting in New York. The selection immediately sparked international condemnation. Among the critics was Sherine Tadros, the head of the New York office of Amnesty International. She rightly asserted that the decision means Saudi Arabia will be in the chair next year, on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration known as a landmark blueprint for advocating women’s rights globally. The objection stems from the fact that the chairperson will be in a key position to influence the planning, the decisions, the stocktaking and future roadmap. As such Saudi Arabia’s own record on women’s rights runs counter to the mandate of the commission. For example, Saudi Arabia’s “personal status” law established in 2022 stipulates that a woman has to obtain a male guardian’s permission to marry. Under the law, a wife has to obey her husband in a “reasonable manner,” while her husband’s financial support is dependent on the wife’s “obedience.” These provisions are not only despicable but an insult to womanhood. What is even worse is that refusal of the wife to have sex with her husband, live in the marital home or travel with him without a “legitimate excuse” can also justify the withdrawal of financial support under the law. Amnesty International claims to have laid its hand on a leaked draft of a forthcoming new penal code of Saudi Arabia that fails to protect women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence.
Also Read
No wonder Louis Charbonneau, UN director at the Human Rights Watch (HRW) dismissed the decision outright calling it a shocking disregard for women’s rights everywhere. It is only natural that there would be fierce criticism as Saudi Arabia jails women simply because they clamour for their rights. Charbonneau tried hard to lobby other countries among the current 45 CSW members such as Netherlands, Japan, Portugal and Switzerland which have better records for protecting human rights. But, unfortunately, as he said, they were all quiet and the proposal to make Saudi Arabia the chair was accepted unopposed.
However, the fate of women striving for equality and justice the world over is precarious indeed. The situation is so depressing that another UN agency – UN Women – has concluded it would take at least 300 years for ensuring gender equality. Countries such as China, Afghanistan, the USA and Gambia cannot boast of an enviable record of treating their women. China, for example, has rolled back women’s rights, asked its women to “uphold family values” and cracked down on feminist campaigners. In the US, the overturning of Roe v Wade after nearly half a century removed women’s constitutional right to abortion. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has just announced that it will resume publicly stoning women to death for adultery. It has already restricted access of women and girls to education, employment and public spaces. In Gambia political leaders are planning to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation.
The inescapable fact is that women have been hard hit by the global hunger crisis which has exacerbated the problems of sexual violence, exploitation and child marriage.
The rise of misogynistic and authoritarian leaders, who are to be found in great numbers in India too, is one of the main reasons for the delay in women emancipation and empowerment. It is a pity that too many governments pay lip service to the message that emanated from the Beijing conference in 1995 that women’s needs are a fundamental component of human rights.
