Loujain Al-Hathloul - A Brave Activist During Her Struggle For Women’s Rights In Saudi Arabia With The MbS Regime
By
Dimitra Bei
05 JAN 2021
Photo illustration by John Lyma
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“Undermining of national security” and
“attempting to change the political system.” These are the charges that Loujain
al-Hathloul was facing for demanding equal rights for women in Saudi Arabia. On
December 28th, she was sentenced to over five years in prison by the
Specialized Criminal Court.
Following
the sentence, al-Hathloul’s sister, Lina al-Hathloul, posted on Twitter:
“Loujain cried when she heard the sentence today. After nearly 3 years of
arbitrary detention, torture, solitary confinement – they now sentence her and
label her a terrorist. Loujain will appeal the sentence and ask for another
investigation regarding torture.”
Even so,
al-Hathloul’s prison sentence will end in March of 2021, since the court has
suspended 34 months of her sentence and has calculated the prison verdict from
May 2018 onwards, when she was first detained.
Loujain
cried when she heard the sentence today. After nearly 3 years of arbitrary
detention, torture, solitary confinement - they now sentence her and label her
a terrorist. Loujain will appeal the sentence and ask for another investigation
regarding torture #FreeLoujain
Quote Tweet
علياء الهذلولAlia al-Hathloul
@alia_ww
· Dec 28,
2020
كنت ارى ان الحكم هو نوع من حفظ ماء الوجه
للقضاء والحكومة. لكن لم اعرف أن لجين لا ترضى أبدًا بالظلم لذلك من المحتمل ان
تقدم بطلب استئناف ضد الحكم الصادر الذي صنفها كإرهابية رغم انها لم تمد يدها
أبدًا على أحد. وستقوم بعمل استئناف أيضًا ضد الحكم بعدم وجود تعذيب وستطالب
بتحقيق جدي.
Loujain
al-Hathloul was detained in 2018 and was charged under Article 6 of an
anti-cybercrime law that penalizes the production and transmission of material
deemed to impinge on public order, religious values, public morals, and life.
For the over 10 months after she was detained, she was not charged with or
tried for any crime. According to Amnesty International, she was water-boarded,
given electric shocks, sexually harassed, and was threatened with rape and
murder.
From 2018
to 2019, the so-called “Saudi crackdown on feminists” took place. It was a
brutal policy that consisted of waves of arrests of women’s rights activists
involved in the women-to-drive movement and the Saudi anti-male-guardianship
campaign. The detained women and their supporters were tortured, with an
advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saud al-Qahtani, present at some
of the torture sessions.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
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The
crackdown can be considered as the continuation of another wave of arrests in
2017 against intellectuals and moderate clerics. Human Rights Watch interpreted
the arrests as being aimed at frightening the activists, stating, “The message
is clear that anyone expressing skepticism about the crown prince’s [human]
rights agenda faces time in jail.” The arrested campaigners were severely
criticized in state media as “traitors.” Social anthropologist Madawi
al-Rasheed interpreted the arrests as being part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman’s aim to take all the credit for allowing women to drive starting in
June of 2018.
The
silencing of human rights activists like al-Hathloul is being endorsed by the
Specialized Criminal Court, which was created in 2008 to prosecute thousands of
detainees who were kept in detention “without charge” since terrorist attacks
started occurring inside Saudi Arabia in 2003. However, a few years later the
extremist terrorists would be replaced by women trying to make their voices be
heard. Writers, economists, journalists, religious clerics, reformists, and
political activists would also be detained in an attempt by the crown prince to
establish his authority over anyone who campaigned against him.
“The Saudi
Arabian government exploits the SCC to create a false aura of legality around
its abuse of the counter-terror law to silence its critics. Every stage of the
SCC’s judicial process is tainted with human rights abuses, from the denial of
access to a lawyer to incommunicado detention, to convictions based solely on
so-called ‘confessions’ extracted through torture,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty
International’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director.
Loujain
al-Hathloul was brave during her battle with the crown prince’s regime. She
wasn’t afraid to “confess” to taking actions that promote women’s rights in
Saudi Arabia, advocating for those unjustly detained before her, talking to
journalists, diplomats, and representatives of international human rights
organizations, and speaking publicly about the lack of freedom in her country.
The crown
prince continues to market himself as a voice of progress. He is determined to
make Saudi Arabia a regional power and, for that, he needs the support of
powerful Western “friends.” These “friends” however advocate for democratic
ideals. MbS must adapt to the image of the “Western leader” if he wants to be
considered a reliable player and not an unstable oligarch. Also, the new
generation of Saudis are starting to emulate the neoliberal trends the West has
to offer. Saudi Arabia is not a typical isolated Middle Eastern country, due to
its significant trade relations with the rest of the world. And it should act
like a Western country by incorporating the shine of the “liberties are given
as long as they serve the profit” model.
And that’s
why the lifting of the driving ban happened in the first place. It is part of a
plan to boost Saudi Arabia due to low oil prices. Saudi authorities are now
trying to push more Saudis, including women, towards private sector employment
because the state budget can’t support them. This is the political reason
behind the “Vision 2030” MbS is promoting, which aims to have women’s
participation in the workforce reach 30% by 2030.
The regime
wants to give women “rights” only when it fits its agenda. It is just a
distraction from the fact that women in the country will know true equality
only when it is economically profitable. That’s why despite some progress women
are not part of any legislative bodies. That’s why they are still prosecuted.
And that’s why their struggle is far from over.
Original
Headline: Loujain al-Hathloul and the Struggle for Women’s Rights in Saudi
Arabia
Source: International Policy Digest
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/loujain-al-hathloul-brave-activist/d/124002
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