UN elects Saudi Arabia to women's rights commission.

When I first read this story I had to check the date to see if it was April 1st, but sadly it's not a joke. This has actually happened ... the United Nations has elected Saudi Arabia to their women's rights commission.¹

As UN Watch chief, Hillel Neuer, pointed out:

“Electing Saudi Arabia to protect women’s rights is like making an arsonist into the town fire chief. It’s absurd.”²

Neuer added:

“Today the UN sent a message that women’s rights can be sold out for petro-dollars and politics, and it let down millions of female victims worldwide who look to the world body for protection.”

Here are some facts about women's right's, or lack thereof, in Saudi Arabia:³

* Under Saudi law, every adult female requires the permission of a male relative in order to travel, study, or work.

* In Saudi courts, the testimony of one man equals that of two women in family and inheritance law.

* Men are permitted multiple wives.

* Men have a unilateral right to divorce their wives without needing any legal justification.

Saudi Arabia recently celebrated the launch of the Qassim Girls Council...
with a panel of 13 men!
Women who were present were kept out of sight
in a different room watching via video.⁶

* In the law of inheritance, female heirs generally receive half the portion of male heirs.

* Women in Saudi Arabia cannot open a bank account without a male relative's permission.

* The religious police impose restrictions forcing women to sit in separate specially designated family sections in restaurants.

* The religious police also impose a strict dress code on women, forcing them to wear a black abaya.⁴

* Women are not allowed to drive.

* According to Amnesty International, Saudi authorities have "harassed, arrested and prosecuted critics, including women’s rights activists."⁵

As Amnesty International summed up in their Saudi Arabia 2016/17 report:⁵

"Women remained legally subordinate and inferior in status to men in relation to marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance, and could not access higher education, take paid employment or travel abroad without the approval of their male guardian."

And yet thanks to the UN, Saudi Arabia will now play an instrumental role in “promoting women’s rights ... and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.”⁷

The United Nations have now last any last shred of credibility that they ever had.

Saudi Arabia being elected to a women's right commission is like something you would see in a ridiculously over-the-top comedy movie. But sadly, it has now become reality.

What next? An atheist becoming Pope?

What were the United Nations thinking when they appointed Saudi Arabia to the women's rights commission?

Or perhaps the real question should be, how many petro-dollars were they paid to think it?

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Sources:
1 https://www.unwatch.org/no-joke-u-n-elects-saudi-arabia-womens-rights-commission/
2 https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/855970430628376576
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia#Women
4 The only exception to this is female anchors for Al-Arabia news network who are prohibited from wearing a veil and are encouraged to adopt a Western dress code. Al-Arabia is partly owned by Prince Abdulaziz, the son of the late King Fahad.
5 https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/6 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4312580/Officials-mocked-launching-girl-free-girls-council.html
7 http://www.unwomen.org/ru/csw

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Related story:
A Day Without Women: Starbucks Saudi Arabia Style.