Qahtani, Chairman of the National Society for Human Rights, said inequality between men and women can violate the principles of just and fair litigation. Women cannot appear in court except in the presence of a guardian or “Mahrim,” a member of her family who she is not allowed to marry and views about women can impact legal matters, he said Sunday in a lecture at a symposium, “Dissemination of Human Rights is Whose Responsibility?,” in Riyadh. “A wife is looked at with great suspicion in divorce cases because it is thought she deliberately created problems with her spouse in order to get divorced,” Dr. Al-Qahtani said. “However, this explains why sometimes it takes a long time to issue a finalized divorce. Time-consuming procedures may force her to relinquish some of her rights such as alimony, an outstanding dowry or custody of her children.” Shariah rules and laws should be applied consistently and fairly to eliminate the problem, he said. “One of the reasons for this leniency is the infirm application of the Shariah rules which preserve and govern these rights, he said. “Also, most of today's writings handling this issue are distinguished for being rhetoric. This has been the case despite the need for carrying out a practical scientific study focusing on these rights and defining their boundaries. Penalties against those who violate human rights need to be highlighted and measures defining their protection must be established.” Another factor to be remembered, he said, is the feeling emerging from the misconception that the ones who are responsible for preserving human rights in Islam are not only the governments but also the individuals. Moreover, the absence of specialized institutions, societies and organizations focusing on human rights has resulted in very little attention given to the issue, Al-Qahtani added. While touching on the significant role of the society in disseminating the culture of the human rights in the society, he urged the judiciary to exert more effort in the field through setting up more courts throughout the country and providing them with judges who are well-trained, especially in judiciary procedures. He said those judges would be able to fully inform litigants about procedures for filing cases and their legal rights, which would speed up resolution of the cases. Al-Qahtani stressed that upgrading the legal procedures depends on the King's reform project for the development of the judiciary system. Dr. Bandar Al-Aiban, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, said everyone, most notably families, educational institutions and private societies, is responsible for spreading the culture of human rights. All these institutions should use their platforms to address all the segments of the society in this regard, he said. Haitham Al-Shazali, member of the UN's High Commission, urged participants, particularly the Ministry of Culture and Information, to launch a satellite TV channel to broadcast shows that could help improve human rights situation. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shidi also spoke.
