This article—the first in The Rebelle’s investigative series “Women’s Rights Under Western-Backed Regimes in the Middle East”—exposes the truth behind Saudi Arabia’s carefully crafted image, and the international complicity that keeps its system of oppression intact.
The Myth of Modernization
In May 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump chose Saudi Arabia for the first major foreign trip of his second term. The visit culminated in a $142 billion arms deal and pledges of over $600 billion in Saudi investment in the United States. Trump hailed the trip as a “historic partnership,” while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman smiled for the cameras. Missing from the stage, however, were the imprisoned women’s rights activists, the mothers stripped of custody, the survivors of domestic violence with no recourse to justice, and the countless women still trapped under male guardianship. Not a single word on women’s rights was uttered by U.S. officials.
But this is hardly surprising. Trump himself has a long record of misogyny, from openly bragging about sexual assault to enshrining policies that rolled back women’s rights in the U.S. His silence on Saudi repression is not a diplomatic oversight; it is in fact consistent with the same patriarchal worldview that fuels the global far right. The Rebelle has already written extensively about this in our piece on Trumpism and the Global Far-Right: Misogyny’s New World Order — [read more here].
The United States is hardly alone in propping up the Saudi regime. The United Kingdom has licensed over £33.9 billion in arms sales to Riyadh since 2015, including bombs used in the devastating war in Yemen. France continues to export weapons while deepening military ties with the Kingdom, even as Saudi courts hand out decades-long prison sentences to women for peaceful tweets. Both governments, like Washington, celebrate their “strategic partnership” with Saudi Arabia while ignoring the everyday violence inflicted on Saudi women.
Corporations have joined in the whitewashing. Apple and Google still host the notorious Absher app on their stores, which allows male guardians to control women’s travel. Newcastle United Football Club became a Saudi trophy purchase via the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, normalizing a regime that treats women as second-class citizens. Even the entertainment industry has been complicit: Hollywood studios and luxury brands line up for Saudi cash, the latest glaring example being the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which featured headline performances by big-name comedians such as Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson, and Kevin Hart, effectively lending cultural legitimacy to a government that continues to imprison and silence women for daring to speak out.
These high-profile endorsements and corporate partnerships seamlessly feed into Saudi Arabia’s broader image-making machine. The Kingdom spends billions marketing itself as a nation of reform under Vision 2030, promoting concerts, mega-projects, and incremental “changes” like women driving or attending sporting events. Yet behind this carefully curated façade lies the same brutal reality: male guardianship laws, codified inequality under the Personal Status Law, rampant domestic violence, mass surveillance, and the criminalization of feminist activism.
The Trump-MBS embrace in 2025 simply made explicit what has long been true: Western powers and corporations are not merely bystanders to Saudi Arabia’s gender apartheid—they are enablers of it.
This article—the first in The Rebelle’s investigative series “Women’s Rights Under Western-Backed Regimes in the Middle East”—exposes the truth behind Saudi Arabia’s carefully crafted image, and the international complicity that keeps its system of oppression intact.
Cosmetic Reforms: The Illusion of Change
Saudi Arabia has marketed itself as undergoing a “women’s revolution.” International headlines cheered when women gained the right to drive in 2018. But here is the truth:
- The women who fought for that right were arrested, tortured, and banned from travel.
- Travel rights for women over 21 were loosened, but the state still hands male guardians tools to monitor and restrict them.
- Employment opportunities have opened in new sectors, yet women are still legally bound by laws that force obedience to men and strip them of autonomy in marriage, divorce, and custody.
Every so-called “reform” is paired with brutal repression. Saudi authorities will give women a symbolic right with one hand while criminalizing and punishing female activism with the other. This is not liberation. It is image management.
The Male Guardianship System: Institutionalized Inequality
At the core of Saudi women’s subjugation is the male guardianship system (Wilaya). It is not a relic of the past—it is the spine of Saudi law.
Women are legally treated as perpetual minors, requiring male permission for fundamental life decisions. The 2022 Personal Status Law (PSL), far from being progressive, codified this discrimination into a legal framework that cements male dominance:
- Obligation to Obey: Wives must obey husbands “reasonably.” Refusal of sex, rejection of the husband’s residence, or declining travel without a “legitimate excuse” means losing financial support. This legitimizes marital rape and normalizes abuse.
- Unequal Divorce: Men can divorce instantly; women must petition a court, prove harm, and hope for a favorable ruling.
- Prison and Shelter Entrapment: Women cannot leave state shelters or prisons without a male guardian to “receive” them. Survivors of abuse thus remain trapped in state custody until their abuser or another guardian releases them.
- Digital Surveillance: The government’s Absher app allows men to track women’s movements and approve or deny exit permits. Technology has become a new tool of patriarchal control.
What Saudi authorities call “reform” is, in truth, the bureaucratic streamlining of patriarchal violence.
Crushing Dissent: Women’s Rights Activists as Enemies of the State
The Saudi regime reserves its harshest punishments for those who refuse to stay silent. Peaceful advocacy is criminalized as “terrorism.” International human rights groups have documented how women are routinely subjected to arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, torture, and travel bans.
Recent cases of repression include:
- Manahel al-Otaibi: A fitness instructor sentenced to 11 years for urging an end to guardianship and posting photos without an abaya. Held incommunicado for months.
- Nourah al-Qahtani: Punished with an unbelievable 45-year prison sentence and 45-year travel ban for social media activity.
- Salma al-Shehab: A Leeds University academic sentenced to 27 years in prison plus 27 years of travel restriction for tweets supporting women’s rights.
- Loujain al-Hathloul: The internationally recognized activist who fought for the right to drive was jailed, tortured, and released under a permanent travel ban that still restricts her as of 2025. Even her family remains banned from leaving Saudi Arabia.
These women are not criminals. They are political prisoners. Their persecution exposes the reality behind Saudi Arabia’s PR: reform is permitted only if it is state-controlled; independent feminist voices are destroyed.
The Hidden Pandemic: Domestic Violence in Saudi Arabia
Beyond the walls of prisons, violence against women thrives inside Saudi homes. Despite the 2013 Anti-Abuse Law, research reveals staggering rates of abuse:
- Up to 87% of women report experiencing some form of violence.
- Between 35% and 45% report domestic abuse, depending on the survey.
- Psychological violence affects over 60% of women surveyed, with physical and sexual violence widespread but vastly underreported.
And yet, the legal system offers women little refuge. If an abused woman files a complaint, she may be forced to appear with her abuser—who is also her guardian. If she succeeds in filing, the abuser can retaliate by accusing her of “disobedience,” leading to her imprisonment.
The case of Samar Badawi, jailed in 2010 after fleeing her abusive father, remains emblematic. Fifteen years later, the system that punished her still thrives; backed by laws and social norms that prioritize male control over women’s safety.
Western Complicity: The Cost of Silence
Here lies the heart of hypocrisy. Western leaders claim to champion women’s rights. They condemn Iran’s morality police and the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women. But when it comes to Saudi Arabia, their outrage vanishes.
Why? Because oil, weapons contracts, and investment dollars matter more than women’s lives.
- In 2024, Saudi Arabia was unanimously elected to chair the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)—the very body tasked with advancing global gender equality. This surreal decision was met with outrage, but Western governments remained silent.
- The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) reviewed Saudi Arabia in 2024, urging the abolition of guardianship and the lifting of arbitrary bans. Yet no binding international pressure followed.
- The United States, United Kingdom, and European powers continue to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, knowing full well that the regime criminalizes feminism and tolerates violence against women.
This is not ignorance; it is complicity. By prioritizing geopolitical and economic interests, the West not only normalizes Saudi Arabia’s abuses but rewards them.
The Reality Behind “50 Reforms”
Saudi Arabia claims to have introduced over 50 reforms for women in the last decade. Western media repeats this line endlessly. But what do these reforms mean when:
- A woman can drive, but only under laws that still allow her husband to imprison her at home?
- A woman can work, but cannot marry or divorce without male permission?
- A woman can travel at 21, but is digitally tracked through an app designed by her government?
- A woman can vote in municipal elections, but cannot freely speak, organize, or criticize her government without facing decades in prison?
The “reforms” are not about freedom. They are about control, optics, and the co-optation of women’s visibility for state propaganda.
Conclusion: Breaking the Cycle of Hypocrisy
Saudi Arabia’s oppression of women is deliberate, systematic, and ongoing. It is reinforced by laws like the PSL, by state surveillance tools like Absher, by prisons filled with activists, and by the silence of the international community.
The West cannot continue to lecture the world about women’s rights while arming, funding, and embracing one of the most misogynistic regimes on earth. To do so is to strip “human rights” of all meaning.
For Saudi women, “modernization” without liberation is nothing but another prison; one polished with Western approval.
At The Rebelle, we will not allow this hypocrisy to stand unchallenged. True solidarity with Saudi women means naming both their oppressors at home and their enablers abroad. Until male guardianship is abolished, until feminist activists are freed, and until women can live without fear of abuse sanctioned by the state, the struggle continues.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What are women’s rights like in Saudi Arabia today?
A: Despite government claims of reform, Saudi women still face severe discrimination under laws like the 2022 Personal Status Law. The male guardianship system remains intact, restricting women’s freedom to marry, travel, or make key life decisions without male approval. Activists who demand reform are routinely arrested and silenced.
Q: What is Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system (wilaya)?
A: The male guardianship system treats women as legal minors throughout their lives. A woman’s father, husband, or even son can control decisions related to marriage, travel, work, or education. Though some reforms have loosened restrictions, the system is still embedded in Saudi law and practice, effectively denying women full autonomy.
Q: Has Vision 2030 improved women’s rights in Saudi Arabia?
A: Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 promotes an image of modernization—women driving, attending concerts, or working in new sectors—but these are largely cosmetic reforms. True gender equality remains impossible while male guardianship, discriminatory family laws, and surveillance systems like the Absher app persist.
Q: Why is Western support for Saudi Arabia controversial?
A: Western nations (including the U.S., U.K., and France) continue to arm and invest in Saudi Arabia despite its record of human rights abuses. Major corporations such as Apple, Google, and entertainment brands have also profited from partnerships that help sanitize the Kingdom’s global image, while Saudi women activists are imprisoned for peaceful advocacy.
Q: Who are the imprisoned Saudi women’s rights activists?
A: Prominent activists include:
- Manahel al-Otaibi – sentenced to 11 years for advocating to end guardianship.
- Salma al-Shehab – given 27 years for social media posts.
- Nourah al-Qahtani – sentenced to 45 years for online activism.
- Loujain al-Hathloul – tortured and banned from travel after campaigning for women’s right to drive.
Their cases reflect the government’s zero tolerance for independent feminist voices.
Q: What role do corporations play in Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations?
A: Global corporations have been complicit in whitewashing Saudi repression. Apple and Google still host the Absher app, which enables male guardians to monitor women. Newcastle United was purchased by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, while Western entertainment figures perform in state-sponsored events that boost the regime’s image despite ongoing abuses.
Q: Why is the international community silent on Saudi women’s oppression?
A: Geopolitical interests, oil wealth, and defense contracts drive silence. Western governments criticize gender apartheid in Iran or Afghanistan yet remain mute about Saudi Arabia’s similar restrictions. This selective outrage exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of so-called “Western feminism” in foreign policy.
Q: What can be done to support Saudi women’s rights?
A: True solidarity requires amplifying the voices of Saudi activists, demanding the release of political prisoners, and pressuring Western governments and corporations to end complicity. Feminist movements worldwide must connect struggles by recognizing that the fight for women’s liberation is global, not conditional.
Q: What is “Women’s Rights Under Western-Backed Regimes in the Middle East”?
A: This series by The Rebelle investigates regimes in the Middle East that receive ongoing Western support despite systematic violations of women’s rights. The Saudi Arabia exposé is the first installment, with forthcoming investigations into Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and others.
Submissions
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