Saudi Women Held in 'Hellish' Rehab Centers for Disobedience

Hundreds of Saudi women are being held in “hellish” conditions in secretive care homes, used to “rehabilitate” women banished by their families, according to a report in the Guardian. Over a period of six months, the Guardian collected testimonies about conditions in the care homes, known as Dar al-Reaya.

The homes are where women are sent by their families or husbands for alleged disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or absence from home. Conditions were described to the Guardian as “hellish”, and included weekly floggings, forced religious teaching and a ban on any contact with the outside world.

Sarah al-Yahia, who lives in exile and campaigns for the abolition of the homes, said she had spoken to a number of inmates about life in the homes. The women and girls described several abuses, including being given sedatives to put them to sleep, strip searches and virginity tests.

One woman described getting lashes for not praying, and also getting lashes and being accused of lesbianism for being alone with another woman.

Yahia herself was threatened by her father that she would be sent to one of the facilities when she was 13. “My father used it as a threat if I didn’t obey his sexual abuse,” she said.

“I know a woman who was sentenced to six months in jail because she helped a victim of violence,” Yahia added. “If you are sexually abused or get pregnant by your brother or father you are the one sent to Dar al-Reaya to protect the family’s reputation.”

'Utterly alone and terrified'

There have been reports of women committing or attempting to commit suicide due to the abusive conditions, according to rights group Alqst. Saudi officials describe the institutions as “shelter for girls accused or convicted of various crimes who are aged less than 30”.

It says that they serve to “rehabilitate the female inmates in time of entering the facility in order to return them to their family”.

Amina, whose name was changed for security reasons, said she sought refuge in a care home in Buraydah, central Saudi Arabia, after being beaten by her father. She found staff at the home to be “cold and unhelpful”, and belittling of her experience.

Amina said that the facility asked her and her father to write down “conditions”. Her conditions included not being beaten or forced into marriage. However, she said once she was released, the beatings continued, and she was later forced into exile.

“I remember being utterly alone and terrified. I felt like a prisoner in my own home, with no one to protect me, no one to defend me,” she said.

Another woman told the Guardian that she was held in Dar al-Reaya after she told the police that she had been abused by her father and brothers. She said she was held there until her father agreed for her to be released, despite the fact that her father was the alleged abuser.

“If they are serious about advancing women’s rights, they must abolish these discriminatory practices and allow the establishment of genuine shelters that protect, rather than punish, those who have experienced abuse,” Nadyeen Abdulaziz, of Alqst, said.

Allegations denied

A Saudi spokesperson rejected claims of enforced confinement and mistreatment in the facilities. “These are not detention centers, and any allegation of abuse is taken seriously and subject to thorough investigation,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.

“Women are free to leave at any time, whether to attend school, work, or other personal activities, and may exit permanently whenever they choose with no need of approval from a guardian or family member.”

Since taking de-facto control of the kingdom in 2017, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has overseen a widespread crackdown on dissent, even as he pushed several nominally liberalising reforms.

Those reforms include allowing women to drive, and relaxing restrictions preventing women from travelling without the consent of a male guardian. However in recent years, Saudi Arabia has jailed several women who have spoken out against women's rights and human rights abuses in the country.

In May 2023, Fatima al-Shwarabi was given a 30-year sentence for anonymously tweeting about political prisoners, women's rights and unemployment. Last January, Saudi activist and fitness instructor Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years for promoting women’s rights on social media.

Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University doctoral candidate and women's rights activist who was handed down a decades-long sentence for her tweets in 2022, was released this year.