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Scottish Sun
28-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Inside Saudi Arabia's ‘hellish' secret prisons for women banished by their cruel husbands to be flogged into ‘obedience'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) "HELLISH" Saudi prisons are housing banished wives in nightmare conditions and subjecting them to floggings so they can be taught "obedience". Several women inmates at the grim jailhouses spoke out about being sent to punishment facilities for "not obeying" sexual abuse at home. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Harrowing footage showed the moment an inmate tried to escape a notorious Dar al-Re'aya prison Credit: Facebook 3 Women are reportedly subject to floggings Credit: Facebook 3 They are hit into 'obedience' if they don't comply with sexual abuse at home Credit: Facebook They are reportedly locked away in isolation cells until they "reconcile" with their cruel abusers. Other harrowing details of the prisons' conditions continue to plague its dreaded reputation. Documented cases show evidence of abuse and neglect, malnutrition, poor health and hygiene, and mistreatment and brutality, according to rights group ALQST. They also accused Dar al-Re'aya prisons of excessive use of solitary confinement and denigration of their inmates. Several cases of suicide attempts in recent years have also been reported The name of the jails, Dar al-Re'aya, literally translates to "care homes". A campaigner fighting to abolish the brutal homes, Sarah Al-Yahia, told the Guardian that her dad threatened to send her to one of the facilities as a child "if I didn't obey his sexual abuse". She bravely explained: "If you are sexually abused or get pregnant by your brother or father you are the one sent to Dar al-Re'aya to protect the family's reputation." She added that often women are put between the impossible choice of enduring horrific abuse at home or living in gruelling conditions inside the camp. The care homes have existed since the 1960s and were initially presented as a rehabilitative "shelter" for women accused or convicted of certain crimes. Inside the hellish prison dubbed 'Indonesia's Alcatraz' which executes death row inmates with a firing squad The infamous cells house women between the ages of just seven years old and 30. But women's rights groups today warn that the notorious prisons serve mainly as detention facilities for young girls and women. And these female inmates are accused of having "become delinquent or have been accused by their male guardians of disobedience". Another Saudi women who fled into exile said that these jails are well-known across the country. She said: "It's like hell. "I tried to end my life when I found out I was going to be taken to one. She added: "I knew what happened to women there and thought 'I can't survive it.'' The 38-year-old said that inmates are subject to strip searches and even virginity tests on arrival. They are also given sedatives to put them to sleep. Inmates are also addressed by numbers, not names, the exile woman said. Women's Aid Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families: Always keep your phone nearby. Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women's Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine. If you are in danger, call 999. Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing '55'. Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare. If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone. Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space. If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity's email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@ Women's Aid provides a live chat service - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm. You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. She recalled that one woman was lashed for shared her family name instead of her number. "If she doesn't pray, she gets lashes. If she is found alone with another woman she gets lashes and is accused of being a lesbian," she explained. "The guards gather and watch when the girls are being lashed." Chilling footage also showed the moment a female inmate appeared to try and escape the hellish cells. They desperately climbed up onto the roof in order to get out of the prisons. In 2015, a woman was found to have hanged herself from the ceiling of her room at one of the Dar al-Re'aya prisons. She left behind a written note saying: "I decided to die to escape hell." A staff member at another shelter was quoted as having said that children suffer the worst kind of psychological and physical torture. According to Arab News, they said: "With my own eyes I saw a worker beating on a child not more than 13 years of age." Women have also reportedly been killed shortly after their release. One woman also told the Guardian that she was taken to Dar al-Re'aya after complaining about her dads and brothers. She was then allegedly abused at the prison and accused of bringing shame upon her family for her social media posts touting women's rights. She was held in the institution until her dad agreed she could be released - despite him being the alleged abuser. Girls and women can only be released from Dar al-Re'aya into the custody of a male relative, ALQST reported. Women have previously been described being made to stand for six hours in one sitting as a punishment for disobedience. Data is rarely released about the facilities. In 2016, there were reportedly 233 girls and women held in seven facilities across the Arab kingdom.
News18
28-05-2025
- News18
Inside Saudi Arabia's 'Care Homes': Weekly Floggings, Forced Confinement For 'Disobedient' Women
Last Updated: The report said that there have also been multiple instances of suicide or attempted suicide due to the severe conditions. Saudi Arabia's secretive 'Dar al-Reaya" or 'care homes" for women- officially described by officials as shelters for 'rehabilitation" of vulnerable women- are being increasingly exposed by testimonies gathered over the past six months. The Guardian reported that the accounts from former inmates and activists describe weekly floggings, forced religious teachings, and complete isolation from the outside world, painting a grim picture of 'hellish" conditions. The report said that there have also been multiple instances of suicide or attempted suicide due to the severe conditions, with women often held for years, unable to leave without the permission of a male guardian or family. Women Lashed For Transgressions In Saudi Care Homes Maryam Aldossari, a London-based Saudi activist, said, 'A young girl or woman will stay in there for as long as it takes for her to accept the rules." Sarah Al-Yahia, who initiated a campaign to abolish these facilities, details harrowing experiences of strip-searches, virginity tests on arrival, and forced sedation. She described them as 'prisons," where women are referred to by numbers, punished for not praying, and lashed for perceived transgressions like associating with other women. Yahia, living in exile, revealed her own father used Dar al-Reaya as a threat, highlighting the impossible choice many women face between abuse at home and confinement. Saudi Regime Punishing Women, Activists Say Activists contend that these facilities, established in the 1960s, serve as a lesser-known tool for the Saudi regime to control and punish women, directly contradicting the country's publicized narrative of women's empowerment, especially as it seeks global recognition like hosting the FIFA Men's World Cup. They emphasize that while some women may have supportive families, many live under strictures and suffer silently, with the state allegedly enabling abuse through these institutions. ALQST, a human rights group, describes Dar al-Reaya facilities as notorious tools for enforcing gender norms. Nadyeen Abdulaziz, their campaigns officer, urged the Saudi authorities to abolish these discriminatory practices and establish genuine shelters that protect rather than punish victims of abuse. What Saudi Government Has Said On Care Homes In response, a Saudi government spokesperson maintained that these are specialized care facilities for vulnerable groups, categorically rejecting claims of enforced confinement, mistreatment, or coercion. The spokesperson stated, 'These are not detention centres, and any allegation of abuse is taken seriously… Women are free to leave at any time… with no need of approval from a guardian or family member." Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 28, 2025, 11:35 IST
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Revealed: Saudi Arabia's secretive rehabilitation ‘prisons' for disobedient women
A young woman wearing a black abaya is pictured in a city in north-west Saudi Arabia standing precariously on a second-floor window ledge. A second photograph shows a group of men escorting her down with the help of a crane. The woman's identity is unknown, but she was allegedly being held at one of Saudi Arabia's notoriously secretive 'jails' for women banished by their families or husbands for disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or being absent from home. It was a rare glimpse of the plight of hundreds or more girls and young women believed to be held in such facilities, where they are 'rehabilitated' so they can return to their families. Speaking out in public or sharing footage of these 'care homes', or Dar al-Reaya, has become impossible in a country where voices on women's rights appear to have been silenced. But over the past six months, the Guardian has gathered testimony about what it is like inside these institutions, described as 'hellish', with weekly floggings, forced religious teachings and no visits or contact with the outside world. Conditions are reported to be so bad that there have been several cases of suicide or attempted suicide. The women can spend years locked up, unable to leave without the permission of their family or a male guardian. 'Every girl growing up in Saudi knows about Dar al-Reaya and how awful it is. It's like hell. I tried to end my life when I found out I was going to be taken to one. I knew what happened to women there and thought 'I can't survive it',' says one young Saudi woman who later managed to flee into exile. Maryam Aldossari, a Saudi activist based in London, says: 'A young girl or woman will stay in there for as long as it takes for her to accept the rules.' While Saudi Arabia celebrates being awarded the Fifa men's World Cup and meticulously promotes itself on the global stage as reformed, women who have dared to publicly call for more rights and freedoms have faced house arrest, jail and exile. Activists say the the country's care homes are one of the regime's lesser-known tools for controlling and punishing women, and want them to be abolished. It is a prison, not a care home, as they like to call it. They call each other by numbers. 'Number 35, come here' Sarah Al-Yahia, campaigner Saudi officials have described the care homes, which were set up across the country in the 1960s, as providing 'shelter for girls accused or convicted of various crimes' and say they are used to 'rehabilitate the female inmates' with the help of psychiatrists 'in order to return them to their family'. But Sarah Al-Yahia, who started a campaign to abolish the care homes, has spoken to a number of girls who describe an abusive regime, with inmates subjected to strip-searches and virginity tests on arrival and given sedatives to put them to sleep. 'It is a prison, not a care home, as they like to call it. They call each other by numbers. 'Number 35, come here.' When one of the girls shared her family name, she got lashes. If she doesn't pray, she gets lashes. If she is found alone with another woman she gets lashes and is accused of being a lesbian. The guards gather and watch when the girls are being lashed.' Related: 'They've destroyed us because of some tweets': why has Saudi Arabia targeted these three sisters? Yahia, who is now 38 and lives in exile, says her parents had threatened to send her to Dar al-Reaya since she was 13. 'My father used it as a threat if I didn't obey his sexual abuse,' she says, adding that girls and women may face the horrifying dilemma of deciding between Dar al-Reaya and staying in an abusive home. 'They make it impossible for others to help women fleeing abuse. I know a woman who was sentenced to six months in jail because she helped a victim of violence. Giving shelter in the case of a woman charged for 'absenteeism' is a crime in Saudi Arabia. '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,' she says. Amina*, 25, says she sought refuge in a 'care home' in Buraydah, a city in central Saudi Arabia, after being beaten by her father. She says the building was 'old, crumbling and unsettling' and the staff 'cold and unhelpful'. They belittled her experience, says Amina, telling her other girls had it 'far worse' and were 'chained at home' and told her to 'thank God my situation wasn't that bad'. The next day, staff summoned her father, says Amina, but did little to protect her. 'They asked both of us to write down our 'conditions'. I requested not to be beaten or forced into marriage, and to be allowed to work. My father demanded that I respect everyone, never leave the house without permission, and always be accompanied by a male escort. I signed out of fear – I didn't feel I had a choice.' Once she returned home, Amina says the beatings continued and in the end she was forced to flee 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. It felt like my life didn't matter, like even if something terrible happened to me, no one would care,' she says. For young girls, learning to fear Dar al-Reaya starts from a young age. Shams* says she was 16 when a woman who had been in one of the care homes was brought to her school. She told the class that she had started a relationship with a boy and was caught by the religious police and made to confess to her father. After she became pregnant her family disowned her and the father refused to allow her to marry, so she was sent to Dar al-Reaya. 'She told us, if a woman has sex or a relationship she becomes a 'cheap woman'. If you are a man you will always be a man, but if a woman makes herself cheap, she will be cheap for life.' Layla*, who still lives in the country, says she was taken to Dar al-Reaya after complaining to the police about her father and brothers. She says they abused her and then accused her of bringing shame on her family after she posted on social media about women's rights. She remained in the care home until her father agreed for her to be released, even though he was her alleged abuser. 'These women have no one. They could be abandoned for years, even without committing a crime,' says a Saudi women's rights activist who wishes to remain anonymous. 'The only way out is through a male guardian, marriage or jumping off the building. Old men or former convicts who did not find a bride would look for a bride in these institutions. Some women would accept this as the only way out.' Related: Saudi fitness instructor stabbed in face while jailed over women's rights posts Some Saudi men will say a woman deserves to be there or that they should be thankful that the government provides facilities to protect them, says Fawzia al-Otaibi, an activist forced to flee the country in 2022. 'No one dares tweet or speak about these places. No one will ask about you when you go there. They make the victims feel ashamed,' Otaibi says. Activists say that if the Saudi regime were serious about women's rights they would reform the care home system and provide proper safe shelters for victims of abuse. 'There are women who have good families who do not abuse or hide them,' says a Saudi activist now living in exile. 'But many live under strict restrictions and suffer abuse silently. The state supports this abuse with these institutions. They only exist to discriminate against women. Why are the Saudi authorities allowing them to stay open?' The human rights group ALQST says Dar al-Reaya facilities are notorious within Saudi Arabia as state tools for enforcing gender norms and 'stand in stark contrast to the Saudi authorities' narrative of women's empowerment'. Campaigns officer, Nadyeen Abdulaziz, says: '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.' A Saudi government spokesperson said there was a network of specialised care facilities that supported vulnerable groups, including women and children affected by domestic violence. It categorically rejected claims of enforced confinement, mistreatment, or coercion. 'These are not detention centres, and any allegation of abuse is taken seriously and subject to thorough investigation … 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.' It also said that reports of domestic violence were received through a dedicated and confidential hotline, and that all cases were addressed swiftly to ensure the safety of those affected.* Names have been changed
