Sydney-based Saudi refugee Nora Al Harbi doubted that women in her homeland would enjoy greater freedoms despite a recent announcement allowing them to .
Royal decrees from early August stated that women over the age of 21 could apply for a passport without authorisation, putting them on an equal footing to men.
The changes come amid criticism of the Kingdom over abuses and discrimination against women, which has given rise to a number of cases over recent years where women fled the Kingdom to seek asylum in western countries.
Ms Al Harbi fled Saudi Arabia in late 2018 after being granted an Australian tourist visa, which she obtained online.
Rahaf Mohammed stands with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (right) after being granted asylum in 2019. Source: AAP
She claimed asylum shortly after arriving in Australia and has since been granted a Subclass 866 protection visa.
Since arriving, she has become an activist for the plight of women in her homeland and assists would-be asylum seekers to flee the country.
She believed that it was the wave of female asylum seekers from the Gulf state that led to the August law changes, but said they were an attempt by the Saudi government to “make it harder for women to get their refugee applications accepted”.
“[Despite the changes] there are still grounds for seeking asylum for Saudi women like not having a law to protect them from violence,” she told SBS Arabic24.
"Nothing changes and they are not serious in applying laws to protect women. If these changes are true, if they allowed any woman who is above 21 years old to travel, I think we will see a lot of women leaving the country."
The new laws were part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman's ‘2030 vision’ for social and economic reforms.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Source: AAP
In 2017, the Kingdom kickstarted the reforms by introducing laws allowing women to drive without a male "guardian".
The latest laws also allowed women to exercise rights previously granted only to men, including registering their child’s birth, marriages and divorces.
A spokesperson from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canberra told SBS Arabic24 that the changes aimed at “increasing the participation of women in the workforce, and to continue in developing her talent and energy, and enabling women to get proper chances to help in pushing the society and the economy forward.”
“The Kingdom is keen to support women's role and enable them to do their duties according to their abilities and occupy effective positions in society,” the spokesperson added.
However, the changes shouldn't be seen as a signal that the Gulf state is softening its hardline stance on women, according to Human Rights Watch researcher Adam Coogle.
(The New York Times) Source: The New York Times
“Discrimination against women is a confluence of government regulations and discriminatory societal practices that the government does not intervene to stop," he said. “There are still areas in which women in Saudi Arabia face discrimination, most notably the requirement that women obtain the approval of a male relative to get married or study abroad.”
Mr Coogle didn't believe that asylum bids by women fleeing the country would be affected by the reforms.
“Asylum cases should be decided on a case by case basis. Any Saudi women who flee the country and have a well-founded fear of harm or persecution if sent back to Saudi Arabia should be permitted the opportunity to make an asylum claim and have the claim judged fairly."
Reforms and prisoners
The reforms came following international condemnation over the Kingdom's detention of several women in relation to their work in promoting women’s rights and calling for an end to the male guardianship system.
Three of them, Loujain al-Hathloul, Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, remained behind bars while several others had been temporarily released but remained on trial.
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canberra said there was no correlation between the detention of the activists and the latest reforms, stating: “I would like to tell you that the judicial system in the Kingdom enjoys full independence, which allows it to provide the highest Judicial guarantees to all defendants in every stage of their case, starting from the first session until sentencing.”
However, Ms Al Harbi believed that the Saudi feminist movement played a major role in securing the latest "rights for women".
“It is a very organised movement and it aims at securing all universal rights of women,” she said. “The women who started the campaign to abolish the guardianship laws are all in prison now.
“I am very saddened by the lack of transparency from the Saudi government. We have all seen how these activists were described on national TV as traitors.”
Social challenges
Mr Coogle said the methods of how the new laws would be implemented were vague.
“We need several months to sort out what has been changed and what has not changed,” he said.
Ms Al Harbi warned that the changes could result in a backlash against women, akin to actions seen after women were allowed to drive without a male "guardian" in 2017.
“Some families burnt women's cars after the law to allow them driving came through,” she said.
“Women in Saudi are in complicated positions within the society, their guardians are not just the fathers, husbands and brothers but also the family and even their tribe.”
When asked whether the changes would impact asylum applications from the Kingdom, a spokesperson from the Australian Department of Home Affairs said: “Australia’s Humanitarian Program is designed primarily to assist people who have left their home country because of persecution or severe human rights abuses, and who have no options for return or for resettlement in another country.”
“Any person who believes they meet the requirements for a humanitarian visa and wishes to seek Australia’s assistance can make an application. Each application is considered on its individual merit using current and comprehensive information on circumstances in the relevant country,” the spokesperson added.
“Australia is one of only a few countries in the world that specifically supports the resettlement of women at risk of victimisation, harassment or serious abuse because of their gender.
“Australia has a dedicated program for this purpose, the Woman at Risk program.”
