Women in Saudi Arabia face flogging, jail for checking husbands' phones
Women in
According to The Independent, the ‘offence’ would be prosecuted as a violation of privacy because it is not covered under the country’s Islamic laws.
A legal adviser who described himself as a "member" of the Saudi government’s Family Security Programme is quoted as saying that women would be brought before the court if a lawsuit was filed against them.
The adviser though attempted to clarify what the law meant. “I would like to clarify that this subject involves the husband and the wife and it is a Ta'zir offence so it is possible that there is a flogging, a fine, imprisonment, just signing a pledge or even nothing. It is a Ta'zir offence not identified legally, so the punishment is dependent on the damage caused from it. If there was no damage caused, there could be no punishment.”
The issue has caused a storm on social media, with 35,000 tweets under a trending Arabic hashtag which translates as “Flogging of A Woman Checking Her Husband’s Phone”. Users have responded in different ways, with many decrying the proposed law.
The Family Security Programme is part of the Health Affairs branch of the Ministry of National Guard, and was established by Royal decree in 2005. This new ‘legal guidance’ runs contrary to King Salman’s much-publicised attempts towards reform in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Under Saudi law, a woman is deprived of several rights, including the right to drive a car and to leave the home without a male chaperone.
