Saudi Princesses Held as Prisoners in Royal Palace

Two Saudi princesses who are daughters of King Abdullah have been held as prisoners in the royal palace in Jeddah. They let the UN know about their plight through various emails.

The news has caused a furor. Two Saudi princesses, Sahar and Jawahar have sent emails to the UN human rights commission to help them escape from the trap they find themselves stuck in. 

They are daughters of King Abdullah from his marriage with Alanoud Alfayez who is currently in London. The mother has also taken the side of her daughters who are 42 and 38 respectively. 

The two have further named two other sisters of theirs who are being held captive in the royal palace in Jeddah. They have been isolated from the rest of the Arab society. The reason for this given by King 

Abdullah is that they were partying women who were becoming corrupt due to their errant ways. In a male-oriented society such as Saudi Arabia, women are often protected from any outside influence. This can sometimes go too far as is evident in the case of these sisters. 

The country has a poor record as far as human rights go. And women are not allowed to drive either. The two sisters sent emails in which they clearly stated that their sisters Hala and Maha were also being held in quarantine. 

One of the sisters has gone on record to say that she feels like she is slowly fading away into nothingness. She just wished she could die. Such blatant abuse of human rights reeks of the extreme conservatism found in the kingdom. 

The sisters are not allowed to go outside without a male chaperone such as a brother and that too only for shopping purposes. Furthermore, they can’t even get a job. 

The only real crime the sisters had committed was to speak out against the poverty still found in Saudi society. This was taken as political activism by the King who has banned them from appearing in public ever since.

And it’s almost been a decade and a half since the curfew was instituted. Their lives have been wasted thanks to their father’s strict ways. King Abdullah has 40 children from many wives whom he married one after the other. His oil-rich country is a key ally of the United States.