THE government’s decision to allow free movement of expatriates in the Kingdom has been welcomed with great relief. I congratulate the entire expat community in the Kingdom on this occasion. They no longer have to get a letter of consent from the sponsor endorsed by the Passports Department if they wish to travel to any place in the Kingdom. Now they can travel from one end of the country to the other with just a valid iqama (residence permit).
Authorities are also said to be considering amendments to the present sponsorship system including the permission for expats to keep their passports with them. I hope that next time it will be Saudi women’s turn to be congratulated when their long-time demand to cancel the restrictions on their journey abroad will be granted. The present regulations stipulate that when a Saudi woman travels alone to a foreign country, her legally approved male guardian should give a letter of consent to the officials at the exit point to prove that she is traveling with his knowledge and approval. Of course I have raised this matter more than once in some local newspapers. Unfortunately, the authorities did not care to respond to my appeals for rights which are within the parameters of the Islamic (Shariah) law.
Whatever may be the reaction to my appeals, I thank Allah for being gracious to me to be a Muslim woman proud of the rights granted to her by the religion. I am also very happy to fulfill all my religious obligations. I have never objected to submitting to the male guardianship as approved by the Islamic law. I don’t worry about those who doubt my knowledge of the religion and criticize me after a superficial reading of my articles. However, my critics should understand that the male guardian has certain responsibilities as well. He should give his womenfolk their rights in full. I will continue struggling for the cause of Saudi women until their rights, which they used to enjoy until over 20 years ago, are reinstated. Or until women, particularly Saudi mothers, grandmothers and adult sisters, regain their respect.
The Islamic law does not give a son the authority to curtail his mother’s freedom. Does the guardianship over woman as envisioned by Shariah give the adult son the right to control her movements even if he is the manager of her affairs? The authorities here approve a woman’s guardian as legal only if he carried a “certificate of support.” The travel authorities do not accept a letter from the legal guardian of a woman unless an official “certificate of support” is enclosed. The irony in the regulation for the official “certificate of support” is that the woman may be supporting herself and her official guardian in most cases. I do repeat and will keep on repeating that our law does not give the male guardian the authority to restrict a woman’s movements, travels, civil dealings such as trade and judicial presentations etc. The guardianship (wilayah) covers only the marriage contract in which a woman’s interests have to be protected against any foul play.
According to the religious law, a woman traveling from one place to another requires a mahram (relative with whom marriage is prohibited) and not a guardian (waliyy al-amr). On the other hand, the regulations in our country permit a woman to travel without a mahram while it makes the permission of her guardian obligatory. The mahram should not be confused with the guardian. The Islamic law says a woman can travel with any of her relatives with whom marriage is prohibited and the mahram’s role is not limited to the guardian.
Let us consider the difficulties faced by an aged woman whose guardians are dead. A judge or anyone designated by the judge would serve as her guardian. Should she get a letter from him everytime she has to set her foot outside her home? Or let us take the case of a woman whose husband is dead and has no relatives in town except her minor children and the children’s guardianship is undertaken by their uncle. He is also looking after her inherited properties. But who will issue her travel permission? The small children or the judge? What would she do if she, in an emergency, needs to travel abroad and the judge is on vacation?
Don’t you feel it is degrading to a mother to seek her son’s permission for her movements? Almighty Allah has placed the status of the mother far above a son’s. Without a mother’s blessing no son will pass through the gates of Paradise. On the other hand, in our country a woman cannot cross the borders without the permission of one of her sons in whose name the official certificate of support has been issued. Even his grandmothers and elder sisters may have to wait for his consent if they want to undertake a journey.
Our demands can be summarized as follows:
The cancellation of the clause for a guardian’s consent for his mother’s, grandmother’s or adult sister’s travel. They should be given the freedom to travel as they used to enjoy over 20 years ago. I don’t think people in those days cared less for religious regulations. Why should all the women in Saudi Arabia continue to suffer throughout their life if some women misused their freedom in the past?
Since the protection and support of a woman is the responsibility of all her close relatives, the issue of the official certificate of support to one of them alone might make others ignore their duty toward her.
I agree with the right of a husband or father to allow or prohibit a woman’s travels. I don’t object to the guardian’s authority over a boy’s or girl’s travels until he or she attains 18. We hope that it will not be long before this unjust regulation is canceled and nullified.
