Saudi Women to be Electronically Tracked

Women’s rights have always been an issue highly debated in Saudi. Apart from having to leave the house fully veiled, women are also prohibited from driving, making Saudi the only country in the world that bans female drivers. Now the Kingdom has taken it a step further as they introduced a new rule that tracks Saudi women crossing the border.

According to this AFP article published yesterday, “Saudi women’s male guardians began receiving text messages on their phones informing them when women under their custody leave the country, even if they are travelling together.”

Not only is it utterly absurd that Saudi officials think it necessary that their women’s whereabouts need to be tracked 24/7, but the notion itself is outrageously offensive to women all over the world. Do women need permission to travel? Are women under the control of their husbands?

With such archaic notions of female inequality, who can blame the world for having such negative stereotypes about the Mecca capital?