From: dbailey@cix.compulink.co.UK (Diane Bailey)
Subject: Because I Am a Woman
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Reply-To: dbailey@cix.compulink.co.UK
Date: 30 Sep 92 17:25:16 GMT

Reposted from USENET soc.rights.human

Written  9:42 pm  Sep 24, 1992
"BECAUSE I AM A WOMAN"

By Marie-Louise Cote
Special to the ACTivist

Nada is a Saudi Arabian woman who is presently living in extreme
fear.

Nada is in hiding because there is a warrant of arrest against
her. Her life is at risk if she is forcibly returned to Saudi
Arabia, unless the Minister of Immigration allows her to remain
in Canada for compassionate or humanitarian considerations.

She will be persecuted by the Saudi government because she is a
feminist and refuses the constant repression and discrimination
inflicted on Saudi women. Like other women who have publicly
campaigned for their rights in Saudi Arabia, she fears being
imprisoned and tortured for an indefinite period of time. She
also faces a strong possibility of being stoned, flogged and
beaten.

Almost every day of Nada's life has been punctuated with public
and private ridicule and abuse against her, because she is a
woman who dares to demands her rights.

When Nada walked unescorted in the streets of her town, men would
jeer, spit and throw rocks at her.

When Nada challenged the wearing of the veil, she was persecuted
and beaten by the Mutawwi (enforcers of religious and social
precepts).

Peripherally involved with the underground women's movement, she
risked arrest and imprisonment.

Nada's freedom of movement was severely restricted: she needed
the permission of a mahram (a senior male of her family) to leave
her home and she had to be accompanied by a mahram when permitted
to leave her home or leave her country. Like all other women,
Nada was forbidden to drive a car.

Nada was threatened with an "inspection of her virginity" for
violating the dress code (head, face and body must be covered) or
being seen in public with a man who was not her father, brother
or husband.

Segregation of the sexes being an integral part of her society,
Nada's educational and employment opportunities were greatly
limited. Although physical education and sports were her
preferred fields of study, they were totally unacceptable by
Saudi standards.

Nada fled from her country because she could no longer tolerate
these numerous restrictions on her fundamental rights and the
constant humiliation she felt as a second-class citizen. She was
willing to leave everything behind in order to enjoy her basic,
fundamental human rights.

Nada fled from Saudi Arabia and claimed refugee status in Canada
on the basis of her political opinion as a feminist. Despite all
the evidence adduced, the two Refugee Board members who heard her
case decided that she was not a refugee.

The Board members gave two reasons for rejecting her claim.
First, they stated that Nada had not established that the State
was involved in the persecution she feared. This conclusion is
unacceptable, since the Board did acknowledge the existence of
the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of
Vice, responsible for enforcing the fundamentalist-Islamic moral
code, a body which has the legal right to detain suspects for up
to 48 hours before even turning them over to the regular
authorities. This Committee has the legal authority to enforce
the social restrictions on women; the religious police officers
carry sticks to hit women who fail to respect the Islamic dress
code. Nada did present evidence of a specific incident where this
Committee attempted to capture her.

Second, the Board members wrote, "the claimant, like all her
compatriots, would do well to comply with the laws of general
application she criticises ... or to show consideration for the
feelings of her father ..."

Not only is this reasoning drenched with paternalism, it
recognizes the legitimacy of an entire set of laws persecutory
and discriminatory against women. In this instance, the Board
members do not consider serious violations of human rights to be
persecution when they affect women.

Following this decision, her application for leave to appeal to
the federal court was denied, without any reason given.

The Minister of Immigration, Mr. Bernard Valcourt, has now
refused to allow her to stay in Canada, as he feels there are no
'humanitarian or compassionate grounds' that apply to her case.

It would seem that the Minister has forgotten that our country
has agreed to respect gender equality rights. A signatory of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimation
Against Women, this country has an obligation to offer Nada the
protection she needs.

Nada's case has enraged many women and men across Canada.
Numerous letters of support have been sent to the Minister's
office and several articles have been published in the press.
This reaction has not yet swayed Valcourt to change his decision.

Nada desperately needs strong support. If you wish to help, we
encourage you to write to the Minster and express your deep
concern for Nada's future. His address is: Bernard Valcourt,
Minister of Employment and Immigration, 140 Promenade du portage,
Phase IV, 14th Floor, Hull, Quebec, K1A 0J9, fax 613-994-0448.

Marie-Louise Cote is Nada's lawyer.

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