Country: Saudi Arabia / Georgia
ICHR strongly calls on Saudi Arabia to stop violating the rights of the women in the country, and to start abiding by the UN laws and laws of human rights. They must be held accountable for all their crimes and oppression against women and human rights.
ICHR ask the Georgian government to provide the conditions for their secure and safe transition to a safe state. As they are still at risk in Georgia due to their families reach to the country.
Two Saudi sisters Wafa and Maha whom say they fled their own country Saudi Arabia because of “oppression,” and have applied for asylum in Georgia but still they are afraid that they could be reached by their family and forced back to Saudi Arabia.
Both sisters Wafa al-Subaie and Maha al-Subaie, were offered assistance and protection by the government of Georgia on April 18 after they plead for help in their Twitter. They are currently being held in a shelter in a secret location, according to Georgian authorities.
However, the sisters are still afraid for their life’s and that they would rather move to another country where Saudi citizens cannot enter without a visa. They added that they chose to come Georgia only because Saudis don’t need entry visas to come to Georgia, it was their only option.
The sisters had made their case for international help on Twitter under the account @GeorgiaSisters, posting video appeals and messages seeking “protection” and asylum from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
In one message, one of the women said: “We fled oppression from our family.” She claims that her “father and brothers arrived in Georgia and they are looking for us.”
This is the latest case of Saudi women fleeing the ultraconservative male guardianship system, where women need the permission of their male guardian if they want to work, marry, or travel.
ICHR strongly calls on Saudi Arabia to stop violating the rights of the women in the country, and to start abiding by the UN laws and laws of human rights. They must immediately and unconditionally free all the women activist, and protesters in prison. As well as The authorities must be held accountable for their crimes against human rights and women’s rights.