JEDDAH-BASED SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, ONE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000346

SIPDIS

NEA/ARP, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2019
TAGS: KWMN PGOV PHUM SA SOCI
SUBJECT: JEDDAH-BASED SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, ONE OF
NEW FEMALE ADVISORS TO MAJLIS AL-SHURA, PLANS TO PROPOSE
LEGISLATION TO PROTECT DIVORCED WOMEN AND ABUSED CHILDREN

REF: A. 09 RIYADH 598

B. 09 JEDDAH 070

C. 06 JEDDAH 446

JEDDAH 00000346 001.2 OF 002



1. (C) SUMMARY. Jawhara Al-Angari, co-founder of the
non-governmental National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and
one of the women recently appointed advisors to the all-male
Majlis Al-Shura (Consultative Council),said that she planned
to propose legislation to protect divorced women, and
requested examples of US law as models. She also asked for
help financing the NSHR's media campaign against child abuse
and examples of American laws requiring police, teachers, and
doctors to report suspected instances of child abuse. Noting
that the NSHR depends on royal decrees to authorize its work,
Al-Angari explained that NSHR assists individuals who seek
its help. She criticized women's rights activists at the
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) for ignoring
casework and focusing on changing Saudi laws. END SUMMARY.


Female advisor to all-male Shura Council
--------------


2. (C) In an August 14 meeting at the NSHR's Jeddah office,
Jawhara Al-Angari volunteered that she was going to be
appointed to the 150-member Majlis Al-Shura (ref A). A
handful of women serve as part-time, non-voting advisors to
the all-male Consultative Council, focusing primarily on
women's issues. Once appointed, Al-Angari told us she
planned to propose legislation guaranteeing the rights of
divorced women to the council, and requested that post
provide her with texts of US laws that protect divorcees. A
September 14 article in Al-Riyadh newspaper reported that
Al-Angari -- as well as 9 other women -- had been appointed
advisors to the council, and the number of female advisors
might reach 12 (the number originally announced by the King
in February, up from 6 in the previous session). The article
claimed that these female advisors would have the same role
as male members of the council, except for being able to
vote, and asserted that the mandates of the female advisors
had been expanded to include representing the Kingdom at
international women's meetings and meeting visiting women's
delegations. According to the article, the female advisors
are: Jawhara Al-Angari, Asya Al Ashaikh (who confirmed her
appointment on her company website),Maha Al-Menif, May
Al-Aisa, Nora Al Ashaikh, Fatma Jamjoom, Jawhara Bubsheet,
Mhasn Felemban, Nora Alasqh, Alham Hsain.


Seeking US help to aid abused Saudi children
--------------


3. (C) Al-Angari requested USG help financing the NSHR's new
media campaign against child abuse (ref B),but agreed that
approaching companies that sell children's products might be
an option. According to Al-Angari, the NSHR aims to have
Saudis acknowledge the problem of child abuse, and enact a
law requiring educators, doctors, and police officers to
report suspected cases, as in the United States. She asked
for examples of instructions given to US professionals about
identifying and reporting child abuse. NSHR staff are now
translating this information, which post forwarded from the
federal Child Welfare Information Gateway website. Al-Angari
added that the NSHR plans to push for legislation requiring
abusive parents or spouses to move out of the family home,
complaining that currently abuse victims must move out of
their houses and often wind up returning to their abusers
because they have nowhere else to go.


Aiding individuals through the system
--------------


4. (C) The NSHR monitors deviations from human rights
agreements that the Saudi government has signed and suggests
legal reforms to Saudi officials. The NSHR also advises
individuals who approach the organization for help, guiding
clients if they don't know what to do, often with the help of
volunteer lawyers. After accepting a case, the NSHR writes
to the appropriate government minister, and if there is no
answer within two weeks, NSHR petitions the king. The NSHR
has solved 70 percent of the 30,000 cases it has handled,
Al-Angari stated proudly. Asked if the organization would be
willing to assist foreign workers or Saudi Shia, Al-Angari
claimed that the NSHR does not discriminate in accepting

JEDDAH 00000346 002.2 OF 002


cases. The NSHR has assisted many foreigners, women, and
children -- including child brides -- and visited many
prisons. The only case involving a Shia that she could
recall in the Jeddah district involved the NSHR assisting a
Sunni woman to obtain a divorce from a Shia man who hid his
religion from her before marriage. Al-Angari had sharp words
for foreign consulates that do not pay, or provide air
tickets, to repatriate their citizens, leaving workers
stranded in the Kingdom. She also criticized the JCCI for
focusing on changing laws and regulations rather than aiding
individuals with particular cases.


Continued improvements?
--------------


5. (C) COMMENT: Al-Angari seemed committed to working
through the existing system. She emphasized that the NSHR
has depended upon decrees from the late King Fahd and current
King Abdullah to authorize its activities, and stressed that
she is fighting for rights guaranteed to women by Islam.
Contacts disagreed about the significance of appointing these
women, with critics noting their limited role and others
complaining that these wealthy and well-connected women are
out of touch with the needs of typical Saudi women. Looking
to a possible future in which women were appointed full
members of the Majlis Al-Shura, women's rights activist
Basmah Omair (ref C) of the JCCI said her experience at the
Chamber with a handful of female board members had confirmed
the findings of a Harvard Study that it takes at least three
female board members pushing for women's rights to make a
difference. Post will continue to engage with Ms. Al-Angari.
END COMMENT.
QUINN