If pirates were holding Nathalie Morin and her three children hostage would the Canadian government rescue her?
Morin, 24, is the Canadian woman who claims her Saudi husband Samir Said Ramthi Al-Bishi — whom she met in Canada — is holding her against her will in the kingdom, infamous for its appalling women’s rights record. Morin’s mother has threatened to sue the Canadian government for negligence if it doesn’t do more to help her daughter.
Morin moved to Saudi Arabia in 2005, taking the Canadian-born child she had with Bishi with her. The couple has since had two more children, one of whom — according to Morin’s mother — was conceived after rape.
Morin, who complained to her mother Bishi beats her and will not let her leave their apartment alone, visited Canada in 2006, but returned to Saudi Arabia saying she couldn’t be without her children. Since then, Bishi has apparently refused to give her permission to travel, a requirement in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
Alleged marital rape? No leaving the house or travel without your husband’s permission? Sound familiar?
Surely questions that should trouble Canada where horrified headlines recently chastised Afghan President Hamid Karzai for signing a law that allowed marital rape and barred women from leaving home without a husband’s permission.
Where are the horrified headlines over women’s rights in Saudi Arabia? Morin admitted it was a mistake to move to Saudi Arabia, so those who want her to lie in the bed she made of her own naiveté can move on.
But it is precisely those shouting “she should’ve known better” who should answer my pirate question.
Did they blame U.S. Capt. Richard Philips and his crew for sailing along a stretch of water where Somali pirates had taken dozens of hostages?
I don’t believe invasions can liberate women. Laws that guarantee equality and protect women’s rights are more important than guns and tanks.
