Landmark legislation is aimed at protecting women, children and domestic workers against domestic abuse, official says.
Saudi Arabia has adopted a law that criminalises domestic violence, usually targeting women and children, in a decision hailed by activists. The "Protection from Abuse" law, approved by the cabinet on Monday, is aimed at protecting people from "all forms of abuse" and offering them shelter as well as "social, psychological, and medical aid," according to its text.
The law, approved during a cabinet meeting on August 26, came several months after a local charity launched a nationwide campaign to combat violence against women. Saudi Arabia has often faced international criticism for lacking laws that protect women and domestic workers against abuse. Under the 17-article bill, those found guilty of committing psychological or physical abuse could face prison sentences of up to one year and up to $13,300 in fines.
Women are the main victims of domestic violence with "98 percent of physical violence committed by men against women," it said.
Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict version of Islamic law, imposes many restrictions on women, based on laws and traditions that empower male guardians.
'Good law'
The legislation was hailed by Saudi human rights activists who said they were waiting to see it implemented.
"This is a good law that serves major segments of the society in the kingdom, including women, children, domestic workers and non-domestic workers," Khaled al-Fakher, secretary-general of the National Society for Human Rights, a government-licensed body, told the Reuters news agency.
"We are always in favour of an explicit law that does not need interpretations or personal judgment," said Fakher, whose organisation helped draft the law.
The United Nations urged the kingdom to create laws to protect women as early as 2008. The King Khalid Foundation in April launched an unprecedented campaign to raise awareness about violence against women. The campaign's main poster, which featured a woman wearing a veil that showed one of her eyes blackened, was widely circulated on the Internet.
Underneath the picture, a caption read: "Some things can't be covered - fighting women's abuse together."
Fakher said one reason domestic violence was rampant in Saudi Arabia was because tribal traditions prevented women from reporting abuse for fear of social stigma.
"Women think what the community would say about her if she filed a complaint," he said.
There has also been an increase in reports of cases of domestic abuse in which families mistreat their maids, sometimes resulting in them turning on the children of their employers. The law gives those who report abuse the right to remain anonymous, as well as immunity from litigation should abuse fail to be proven in a court. It also urges witnesses to report abuse without having to disclose their identity, which Fakher said was a significant part of the law.
Rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair said the new law gave women some independence.
"Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint," Abu al-Khair said. This will not now be necessary, he said.
The law could be a step towards changing current regulations which require women to get approval of male guardians - fathers, husbands or sons - to carry out business, apply for jobs or travel outside the country, Abu al-Khair said.
Saudi Arabia is as Muslim as Marx, not surprising coming from the most sycophantic to the USA so called Muslim nation in the world. It is under the thumb of the UN Marxists. Next they will want everybody to be homosexuals and have homosexual marriages. This is one insidious step in the process of emasculating males and the eroding of property rights.
Why don't they have Sharia law? Why does is all the rhetoric sound exactly like the Zionists?
"Women were required to bring in a male relative if they showed up at a police station to file a complaint," Abu al-Khair said. This will not now be necessary, he said.
The law could be a step towards changing current regulations which require women to get approval of male guardians - fathers, husbands or sons - to carry out business, apply for jobs or travel outside the country, Abu al-Khair said.
That law will not protect women, it's designed to take out the man from the house. The children will be raised without a father and that will result in a lot of serious loss in the nurturing of the next generation. Because the family does not have a backbone any more (the father is gone), corruption will be more likely to happen. Zina and violence will increase. The concept of marriage will be fading away and parallel to this the woman will be less respected just like in the western society. This will destroy the muslim family of Saudi Arabia. And that's one of many plans to corrupt the muslims.
The government of Saudi Arabia is not Islamic at all. It's just a cover. And this case proves it, because they choose a non-Islamic solution rather than solving it Islamicaly which their lazy government should have done a long time ago. Now when they decide to finally "do something", the choose to implement feminism.
Islam already forbids the oppression of women and encourages the society to help the people who are victims of domestic violence. If domestic violence is a problem then we should solve it Islamically. Actually, the fact that domestic violence exists is an indication of weakness in our understanding of Islam. Islam is not just about praying, fasting and having a long beard.
People, the more we go back to Islam, the more we get rid of our problems.
Wasn't the prophet Muhammad (saws) good to his wives?
Muhammad (saws) said: “The best of you are those who are the best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3895; Ibn Maajah, 1977;
format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
Saudi Arabia is as Muslim as Marx, not surprising coming from the most sycophantic to the USA so called Muslim nation in the world. It is under the thumb of the UN Marxists. Next they will want everybody to be homosexuals and have homosexual marriages. This is one insidious step in the process of emasculating males and the eroding of property rights.
Why don't they have Sharia law? Why does is all the rhetoric sound exactly like the Zionists?
Exactly. And as you said it doesn't stop here, it's one step after another. Tomorrow Saudi Arabia will be a full-blown secular society, and only then will they be globally accepted.
That law will not protect women, it's designed to take out the man from the house. The children will be raised without a father and that will result in a lot of serious loss in the nurturing of the next generation. Because the family does not have a backbone any more (the father is gone), corruption will be more likely to happen. Zina and violence will increase. The concept of marriage will be fading away and parallel to this the woman will be less respected just like in the western society. This will destroy the muslim family of Saudi Arabia. And that's one of many plans to corrupt the muslims.
The government of Saudi Arabia is not Islamic at all. It's just a cover. And this case proves it, because they choose a non-Islamic solution rather than solving it Islamicaly which their lazy government should have done a long time ago. Now when they decide to finally "do something", the choose to implement feminism.
Islam already forbids the oppression of women and encourages the society to help the people who are victims of domestic violence. If domestic violence is a problem then we should solve it Islamically. Actually, the fact that domestic violence exists is an indication of weakness in our understanding of Islam. Islam is not just about praying, fasting and having a long beard.
People, the more we go back to Islam, the more we get rid of our problems.
Wasn't the prophet Muhammad (saws) good to his wives?
Muhammad (saws) said: “The best of you are those who are the best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3895; Ibn Maajah, 1977;
Exactly. And as you said it doesn't stop here, it's one step after another. Tomorrow Saudi Arabia will be a full-blown secular society, and only then will they be globally accepted.
I agree, as far as I am concerned a mans house is his castle. The state has no right to trespass on his domestic affairs and usurp his God given authority as head of the household.
I agree, as far as I am concerned a mans house is his castle. The state has no right to trespass on his domestic affairs and usurp his God given authority as head of the household.
The father is very important in a child's life. He, together with the mother have both a respected and dignified position and we should acknowledge that.
The question does have to be though WHY in the first place is Saudi Arabia becoming Westernised and imposing Western matriarchalist Marxist mentalitied laws that are in their essence anti-paternalistic, anti-parental sovereignty, anti-property rights and also anti-family? Most Asian and African countries that do bend to such intrusive totalitarianism are most often POOR and so the corrupt politicians of those countries usually SELL OUT to American cultural imperialism. They accept bribes from the Zionist Empire to implement such vile laws that interlope on domestic affairs. But in the case of Saudi Arabia, because it is SO WEALTHY, one would think that it doesn't really NEED to accept bribes because it has more than enough money anyway. The ruling powers that be could simply DEAL with such anti-Islamic trouble making "activists" and also say to the West "We simply don't NEED your despicable culture. GO AWAY, we want nothing to do with you". So then, is it really more a case of Saudi Arabia APING American/Zionist/misandrist culture? Is it more about simple mindedness and "wannabe American" syndrome that is the problem here? Is it sycophancy for the sake of sycophancy due to some kind of dumbing down of the general population? Do modern Arabs no longer have any pride in who they are and in their traditional cultural and religious roots? Do modern Arabs think that Arabic culture is somehow inferior to Zionist/Marxist culture? Because I for one certainly don't think so. No ideology in the world that I can think of can be possibly more despicable than the Zionism and cultural Marxism that the USA is fanatical in wanting to spread worldwide.
Assalamu alaikum. I am certainly no expert on the affairs of KSA as I have never set foot there. The article clearly has its agenda due to its overall tone indicating a disdain for Islam. For instance, the parts about veiled women and opinions on sharia that had a negative overtone could have been left out. Simply put, articles having anything to do with Islam or Muslim states when they are written either by non-Muslims, secularist "Muslims," or non-traditional "Muslims" who have created sects all sound the same. They all have the same general tone and same general message and that is that there is something wrong with Islam and that the only good and proper Islam is a reformed Islam. Essentially they want to turn traditional Islam (that which is based on Qur'an and Sunnah) into something similar to Liberal Protestantism or Reform Judaism. Diet Islam or Islam Lite is what they want.
Surely there are sensible ways of preventing anti-female abuse in Islam? I am not very familiar with the fiqh on these issues. It is my understanding that spousal abuse is not allowed in Islam. What are the remedies that wives can take if an abusive husband is violent to her and her children, refuses her and them food, shelter, water, meds, etc.? Islam is a perfect deen so there is no reason for Western secularization to be needed to give Muslim women solutions to deal with mahrams who do wrong.
Saudi traffic law must be have rule that forbid the driver drive their cars on the street in dangerous way. But, Saudi youth still drive their cars zig zag in high speed.
So, not the law that can reduce the rate of domestic violence in Saudi, but willingness of Saudi men to respect and treat the women better.
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