GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – An Hamas-led Islamic court in the Gaza Strip has ruled that women need a guardian’s permission to travel, further restricting entry and exit from territory that has been blocked by Israel and Egypt since the militant group took power.
The setback in women’s rights could trigger a backlash in Gaza at a time when Palestinians plan to hold elections later this year. It could also solidify Hamas’ support among its conservative base at a time when it faces criticism about living conditions in the territory it has governed since 2007.
The Sharia Judicial Council’s decision, issued on Sunday, says that a single woman cannot travel without the permission of her “guardian”, which generally refers to her father or another older male relative. Permission would need to be registered with the court, but the man would not be required to accompany the woman on the trip.
The language of the decision strongly implied that a married woman could not travel without her husband’s approval.
The announcement also said that a man could be prevented from traveling by his father or grandfather if it caused “serious damage”. But the man would not have to ask for prior permission and the relative would have to take legal action to prevent him from traveling.
The decision resembles so-called guardianship laws that have long existed in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, where women were treated as minors, requiring permission from their husband, father or even son to apply for a passport and travel abroad. The kingdom loosened these restrictions in 2019.
Hassan al-Jojo, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, told the Associated Press that the decision was “balanced” and consistent with Islamic and civil laws. He rejected what he called “artificial and unjustified noise” on social media about the announcement.
He justified the move by citing previous cases in which girls traveled without their parents’ knowledge and men left their wives and children without a breadwinner.
Israel and Egypt have largely closed Gaza’s borders since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says restrictions are needed to isolate the militant group, which has waged three wars with Israel, and prevent it from acquiring weapons.
The territory is home to about 2 million Palestinians. All the inhabitants of Gaza must go through a long authorization process to travel abroad and depend to a large extent on the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which only opens sporadically. Restrictions make it difficult to seek medical care or higher education outside the narrow coastal strip.
The decision sparked criticism on social media, where many accused Hamas of reversing women’s rights, even as Saudi Arabia eased its restrictions, including allowing women to drive. The Palestinian People’s Party, a small left-wing group, asked Hamas to reverse the decision.
Zainab al-Ghunaimi, an activist who leads a Gaza-based group focused on women’s rights, said the decision violates the Basic Palestinian Law, which guarantees equal rights for adults, and means that the authorities are “stepping back in protecting human rights. “.
She noted that the same legal body allows a woman to marry at age 16 and obtain travel documents on her own.
Hamas did not impose the kind of strict interpretation of Islamic law advocated by other armed groups, such as the Islamic State group and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But it took some limited steps to enforce the territory’s conservative customs, including the imposition of an Islamic dress code for lawyers and high school students.