July 16, 2020

The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy applauds the Saudi court ruling that allows women to live independently without permission from a male guardian. The ruling stated that “an adult, rational woman living independently is not a crime.”

“This is a crucial milestone for Saudi women,” said AMCD Executive Director Rebecca Bynum. “Women have long been subject to the humiliation of having to obtain permission from male guardians to do the simplest things, and are routinely picked up by police and detained for failing to do so. Now that women can drive and live on their own, a whole new world opens up to them.”

“We want to see women take their rightful place of equality to men in Saudi society,” added John Hajjar, AMCD co-chair. “The equality of women in Islamic societies is one of the major human rights issues of our time. It is unfortunate that this is so often ignored.”

AMCD stands firmly for the rights of women. We encourage the Saudi government to keep moving in the right direction.