This was written by Thea Lim and originally appeared at Racialicious<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n We are late on picking up the story of Nazia Quazi, a Canadian woman being held against her will in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n The Coast<\/a><\/em> recently ran an interview with Quazi, explaining her situation:<\/p>\n A Canadian woman being held against her will in Saudi Arabia says the Canadian government is not taking her plight seriously.<\/p>\n Nazia Quazi was taken to Saudi Arabia by her father in November 2007. Because of that country\u2019s archaic gender laws, women of any age are subject to male \u201cguardianship.\u201d In the 24-year-old Quazi\u2019s case, her father has taken her passport, and refuses to sign an exit visa allowing her to leave the country\u2026<\/p>\n Her family moved to Canada in 2001, although Quazi says her father has maintained a residence in Saudi Arabia, where he works for a bank, for 25 years. Quazi went to high school in Canada and became a citizen in 2005.<\/p>\n In 2007 she traveled on holiday to Dubai to visit her boyfriend. But when her parents learned of the trip, they flew to Dubai to intervene. Her father took her to India, and then to Saudi Arabia on a three-month visa. But, without her knowledge or consent, Quazi\u2019s father changed the visa to a permanent visa.<\/p>\n Ever since, she says, she has been pleading with the Canadian embassy to intervene, but has gotten next to no response.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I try to contact them, I don\u2019t get a positive response of any kind. They always say, \u2018we\u2019re still trying, we haven\u2019t heard anything yet, but when we do we will let you know.\u2019 There\u2019s never a real straight-up answer to me, to my face. I\u2019m just waiting for them to do something, waiting for something to happen.<\/p>\n \u2026Citing privacy law, a spokesperson with the ministry of foreign affairs declined to comment specifically on Quazi\u2019s case, but said the Canadian consulate in Saudi Arabia is aware of a Canadian citizen\u2019s request for help and is \u201ctaking steps\u201d to provide that help.<\/p>\n But a two-year-plus wait for resolution to Quazi\u2019s case has raised accusations that the Harper government is not supportive of women generally.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Katha Pollitt at The Nation<\/em><\/a> has written about Quazi quite a bit, providing this roundup of media coverage on her case earlier this month:<\/p>\n Little by little, the media is picking up on Nazia\u2019s story. On March 8, International Women\u2019s Day, CBC\u2019s Connect with Mark Kelley featured a terrific interview with Shahla Khan Salter of Muslims for Progressive Values Ottawa<\/a>. Watch it here<\/a> and then leave a comment here<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Shahla makes clear, Nazia\u2019s story is not about Islam or \u201cMuslim values\u201d or multiculturalism or a clash of civilizations or any of those other buzz words floating around. There are plenty of Muslims who support women\u2019s rights. Nazia\u2019s story is about men\u2019s control of women, an unbelievably oppressive government, and Canada\u2019s shameful failure to help one of its own citizens.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019m glad that Pollitt included that quote from Shahla Khan Salter, and it appears to me that this story is not about Islam at all, but rather about two different countries\u2019 grotesque violation of women\u2019s rights, one through direct oppression and the other through incompetence and indifference.<\/p>\n It is horrifying that Quazi has no rights in Saudi Arabia. It is depressing and frustrating that the Canadian government is not helping her.\u00a0\u00a0 Pollitt writes in a different article<\/a>:<\/p>\n How far have women come if a democratic, secular country like Canada permits a father to imprison his adult daughter in the cage of Saudi laws?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While obviously I am very happy (very!) to live in countries where I have a much greater access to basic rights than I would in Saudi Arabia, I don\u2019t believe that democracy or secularism\u00a0 are necessarily guarantors of women\u2019s rights.\u00a0 Especially at this point in time, with the Stephen Harper\u2019s conservative government in power in Canada \u2013 a government which has, since its inception,\u00a0 \u201crun roughshod\u201d over women\u2019s rights<\/a>. (You should also check out Jessica\u2019s older posts for more testimonial on the mess that is the Harper government<\/a>.)\u00a0 Quazi is a woman of color and a first generation immigrant, and this is a Canadian government that has shown itself to care very little\u00a0 about people like Quazi.<\/p>\n We need to advocate for Quazi.\u00a0 Politt offers a number of ways that we can help<\/a>:<\/p>\n What can you do? If you\u2019re Canadian, get involved in this Human Rights Watch campaign<\/a>. If you\u2019re not, you can still write a polite note to the Foreign Secretary to express your concern and urge prompt action:<\/p>\n The Honourable Lawrence Cannon Also, you can write the Saudi ambassador to the US:<\/p>\n Adel A. Al-Jubeir And to the Saudi Ambassador to Canada:<\/p>\n Mr. Asaad Al-Zuhair Join the \u2018Help Nazia Quazi Come Back to Canada\u2019 Facebook page<\/a> to show your support and keep up with the latest developments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And if you are a young woman or trans person who self-identifies as Muslim, I would seriously recommend that you check out AQSAZine<\/a> run by a collective of young Muslim women and trans folks working to resist violence.\u00a0\u00a0 The following is from their website,<\/a> and you can also find them on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>:<\/p>\n AQSAZINE is a grassroots zine open to 16-35 year old women and trans people who self-identify as Muslim. It is a creative avenue for us to express ourselves, share our experiences, and connect with others. In Arabic, \u201caqsa\u201d implies the furthermost, as in reaching out to the furthest possible point. AQSAZINE aims to motivate the utmost resistance to violence in all its forms. 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez, who was murdered on December 10th, 2007, also inspires this zine. It is to honour her and other Muslims who experience and resist violence. We strive to work from a feminist, anti-oppressive, pro-choice, queer and trans positive framework.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs
\nHouse of Commons
\nOttawa, Ontario
\nK1A 0A6
\nEmail: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca<\/p>\n
\nAmbassador
\nRoyal Embassy of Saudi Arabia\u2028601 New Hampshire Avenue
\nNW\u2028Washington, DC 20037
\npress@saudiembassy.net<\/p>\n
\nAmbassador
\nRoyal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
\n99 Bank Street Suite 901, ,br\/> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1P 6B9<\/p>\n