U.N. questions Saudi rules for women

Saudi Arabia, appearing Thursday for the first time before a United Nations women’s rights panel, faced tough questions over restrictions on “virtually every aspect of a woman’s life” in the kingdom.

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors adherence to a 1979 international bill of rights for women. Saudi Arabia ratified that pact in 2000, with the proviso that Islamic Sharia law would prevail if there were any contradiction with its provisions.

The Saudi delegates came under fire during the debate for their country’s system of male guardianship that requires women to seek permission to travel, work or see a doctor.

“Only when women are free to make their own decisions on all aspects of their life are they full citizens,” committee member Maria Regina Tavares da Silva said at the one-day session in Geneva.

“Without a man’s consent, a woman cannot study or get health service, work, marry, conduct business or even get an ambulance service in an emergency,” said Heisoo Shin, another panelist. She said the rules “governed virtually every aspect of a woman’s life.”