Saudi man jailed after calling for end to guardianship system: media

A Saudi woman waits outside a polling centre in Riyadh as she prepares to cast her ballot during municipal elections on December 12, 2015. Khalid Mohammed, File/AP Photo

RIYADH // A Saudi man has been jailed for one year after calling for an end to the kingdom’s guardianship system that gives men wide controls over women, local media said on Tuesday.

The man, who was also fined 30,000 riyals (Dh29,355) by a court in the eastern city of Dammam, was convicted of "inciting to end guardianship of women" in statements he posted on Twitter and in public posters, the daily Okaz newspaper said.

He was arrested while putting up posters in mosques in Al Hasa district calling for an end to the system that subjects women to male control.

During questioning, police found out that the man was also behind a wide online campaign to end guardianship, the paper said.

The defendant admitted putting the posters up in several mosques, saying he solely launched an "awareness campaign" after finding that some "female relatives were facing injustice at the hands of their families", Okaz added.

In September, thousands of Saudis signed a petition urging an end to the guardianship system following a Twitter campaign which the court claims was launched by the defendant.

Under the guardianship system a male family member, normally the father, husband or brother, must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities.

Activists say that even female prisoners have to be received by the guardian upon their release, meaning that some have to languish in jail or a shelter beyond their sentences if the man does not want to accept them.

* Agence France-Presse