Saudi Arabia to chair UN forum on women’s rights / Riyadh law requires wife to submit to husband in ‘reasonable manner’

Saudi Arabia has been elected to chair the UN commission that is supposed to promote gender equality and empower women around the world, after an unopposed leadership bid condemned by human rights groups over the kingdom’s “abysmal” record on women’s rights, reports The Guardian.

Saudi UN Ambassador Abdulaziz Alwasil was elected by “acclamation” as chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Wednesday as there were no rival candidates and no dissent at the CSW’s annual meeting in New York.

Alwasil was supported by the commission’s Asia-Pacific group of states. When the outgoing president, Philippine UN envoy Antonio Manuel Lagdameo, asked the 45 members if they had any objections, the room fell silent.

“I hear no objection. That’s how it was decided,” said Lagdameo.

Normally, one country holds the presidency for two years, but the Philippines has been pressured by other members of the Asian group to split its mandate and hand over the post to another country after one year. Bangladesh was expected to take over the post, but late in the process, Saudi Arabia stepped in and lobbied for the chairmanship, in what is widely seen as an attempt to improve the kingdom’s image.

Human rights groups were quick to point out the irony that CSW is led by a country where the gap between men’s and women’s rights, even on paper, is so wide.

Sherine Tadros, head of Amnesty International’s New York office, pointed out that next year, on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, Saudi Arabia will preside over a landmark project to promote women’s rights worldwide.

“Whoever is in the presidency, which is now Saudi Arabia, is in a key position to influence planning, decisions, stocktaking and looking ahead in a critical year for the commission,” Tadros said. “Saudi Arabia is now at the helm, but Saudi Arabia’s own record on women’s rights is abysmal and far from the commission’s mandate.”

The Saudi mission to the UN did not respond to a request for comment, but Saudi officials pointed to a “personal status” law set for 2022 as evidence of progress on women’s rights.

However, the law stipulates that a woman must obtain the permission of a male guardian to marry.

According to the law, a wife must submit to her husband in a “reasonable manner”, while the husband’s financial support depends on the wife’s “submission”.

Refusal to have sexual relations with her husband, live in the matrimonial home or travel with him without a “legitimate excuse” can also justify withdrawal of financial support under the law. Amnesty International said a draft of a future new criminal code that has been unveiled “fails to protect women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence”.

“Saudi Arabia’s election as chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women shows a shocking disregard for the rights of women everywhere,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director of Human Rights Watch (HRW).