Why Women Flee Saudi Arabia: Daily Brief

Tibetan classes banned in China; Amnesty calls out booking agencies listing in occupied lands; unity in Sudan protests; Tanzania stifles opposition; and Germany punishes MP for Azerbaijan corruption scandal.
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Living under Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system means that a man controls a Saudi woman’s life from birth until death. Women face employment and healthcare discrimination, they cannot apply for a passport and travel freely, or choose who they want to marry, and face restrictions if they want to study abroad. In marriage, many Saudi women suffer and endure domestic violence because it’s difficult to get justice for these cases. This is why many Saudi women flee.

Chinese authorities in Qinghai province have banned informal classes taught by monks during school holidays. These classes have become popular in Tibetan areas, particularly to teach the Tibetan language.

Amnesty International has slammed online booking agents for promoting tourism in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Last year Airbnb pledged to remove all its listings on disputed land.

Amidst arbitrary arrests and lengthy detentions of protestors, demonstrations against inflation and President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s authoritarian rule in Sudan continue. Youth, religious leaders and opposition groups are unrelenting and uniting even more to make their voices heard. 

Hakeem Al-Araibi is a Bahraini football player and peaceful government critic unjustly detained in Thailand, and might be deported to Bahrain where he faces imprisonment and torture. He should be released back to Australia where he was a refugee athlete. 

Tanzania’s amendments to the Political Parties Act gives sweeping powers to the registrar of political parties who could now de-register parties. Opposition parties are worried that this could further diminishes freedom of association in the country. 

And finally, Karin Strenz, a German MP and ardent defender of Azerbaijancould face a hefty fine for her role in a corruption scandal involving Azerbaijan and over a dozen politicians.