THE GUARDIAN: Rules restricting a woman’s freedom to live, work and study persist in countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, says a Human Rights Watch report
She may be nearly 30, but Aya* is forbidden from leaving her home in Amman, Jordan. She can’t go for lunch with her friends and has no legal right to decide where to live, work or study
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Aya’s story is common across the Middle East and north Africa, where countries including Jordan, Iran and Saudi Arabia still have laws requiring women to either “obey” their husbands, live with them or seek their permission to leave the marital home, work or travel.
“I am a prisoner at home,” says Aya. “If I go out without my family’s knowledge, they’ll lock me in my room and beat me so hard that I’ll feel pain for months. I’m threatened with death. There are so many girls like me.”
While most governments in the region say they allow women to obtain passports and travel abroad without requiring guardian permission, legislation regarding married women offers sanctions if they do so. » | Sarah Little and Tom Levitt | Tuesday, July 18, 2023
