bahrain

5.1. Recommendations
46. The UK government should urge Saudi Arabia to abolish all corporal
punishments which amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, such as flogging and amputations, in accordance with
Saudi Arabia’s obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
47. The UK government should also call for planned amputations and floggings
to be halted and sentences to corporal punishment to be commuted.
6. Violence and Discrimination Against Women
48. Women in Saudi Arabia remain subjected to severe discrimination in both law
and practice. They must obtain the permission of a male guardian before they can
travel, take paid work, enrol in higher education, or marry. In addition, Saudi
Arabian women married to foreign nationals cannot pass on their nationality to their
children, unlike the case for Saudi Arabian men in a similar situation.
49. Discrimination has fuelled violence against women, with foreign domestic
workers particularly at risk of abuses such as beatings, rape and even murder, in
addition to non‐payment of their salaries. The rates of domestic violence in Saudi
Arabia are high, with little judicial recourse for victims, and often accompanied by
impunity for perpetrators. There has been concern that discriminatory rules relating
to marriage have caused women to be trapped in violent and abusive relationships
from which they have no legal recourse.
50. Women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia petitioned the King to allow women to
drive vehicles. The ban on women driving has been challenged by a campaign called
“Women2Drive”, which made online appeals to women who hold international
driving licences to start driving on Saudi Arabian roads from 17 June 2011 onwards.
Scores of women have taken to the roads and some have been arrested. Most have
been released without charge shortly afterwards after pledging not to drive again,
but several are reported to be facing charges as a result. At least one was sentenced,
but the sentence has recently been commuted.
6.1. Recommendation
51. The UK government should raise with the Saudi Arabian government the ban
on driving with a view to it being overturned. Saudi Arabia must also ensure that
women are protected from violence and that discrimination against them is
lifted.
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