RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s cabinet agreed Aug. 21 to join a United Nations-sponsored women’s rights agreement but rejected any clause that contradicts Islamic sharia law.
The cabinet specifically rejected a clause of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women that urged countries to “grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.”
Saudi Arabian leaders have long insisted that steps are being taken to make sure all Saudi Arabian women take advantage of rights granted them under the nation’s laws, such as access to health care and free education.
Still, women in the country are required to abide by strict rules that mandate gender-segregated schools and prohibit women from traveling without written permission from a male relative.
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