[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 4, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IMPRISONMENT OF SAUDI WOMEN ACTIVISTS

  (Ms. WILD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WILD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three extraordinary 
women: Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan.
  For nearly 2 years, these women have been imprisoned, placed in 
solitary confinement, and tortured by the Saudi Government, all because 
they used their voices to express the need for the government to 
recognize the fundamental rights and dignity of women.
  Under Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system, which requires women 
to obtain permission of their male guardians in healthcare, employment, 
and travel decisions, the very notion of women's rights or, for that 
matter, human rights, is effectively nonexistent.
  Despite the Saudi Government's recent claims of social reform, an 
unacceptably oppressive status quo continues to dominate virtually 
every aspect of life for women in Saudi Arabia.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me as a cosponsor of H. 
Res. 129, a resolution which calls for the immediate release of these 
activists and calls on the administration to impose sanctions on Saudi 
officials responsible for human rights violations.
  Let us come together, Democrats and Republicans alike, in demanding 
the release of these courageous women.

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