Runaway Saudi sisters urge Apple, Google to pull ‘inhuman’ app
The runaway Saudi sisters who sought asylum in the former Soviet republic of Georgia are pushing for Apple and Google to get rid of an “inhuman” app that allows men to keep tabs on female relatives’ travel, according to a new report.
Maha al-Subaie, 28, and Wafa al-Subaie, 25, say that Absher, a Saudi government e-services app, aids Saudi Arabia’s stringent male guardian system and contributes to trapping girls in abusive families.
“It gives men control over women,” Wafa told Reuters on Wednesday. “They have to remove it.”
Saudi men can download Absher from their ｃountry’s version of the Google and Apple online stores — and use it to ｕpdate or withdraw permissions for women in their family to travel abroad.
They can also receive SMS ｕpdates if the women’s passports are used.
Neither company was immediately available to comment to Reuters, but Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February he hadn’t heard of the app but would “look into it.”
Absher, which is free, allows Saudis to renew their passports, make appointments and view traffic violations.
But Saudi women must have permission from male relatives to work, marry or travel under the ｃountry’s “guardianship” system.
If Absher is removed — or if tech giants insist that it permits women to organize their own travel, which would hamper the guardianship system — it could spark significant change, the sisters said.
“If [they] remove this application, maybe the government will do something,” Wafa said.
Civil rights groups, diplomats and US and European politicians have recently called for the app to be removed from online stores.
“Technology can, and should, be all about progress. But the hugely invasive powers that are being unleashed may do incalculable damage if there are not sufficient checks in place to respect human rights,” United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in a Wednesday statement.
While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has lifted the driving ban for [some] women and last year said he favors an end to the guardian system, he’s not yet called for it to be stopped.
Both Maha and Wafa have appealed for help from Georgia after fleeing Saudi Arabia — launching a Twitter acｃount called “Georgia Sisters” where they say they are in danger and will be killed if they are forcibly returned home.
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Article Source: https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/world-current-events/world-3-runaway-saudi-sisters-urge-apple-google-to-pull-inhuman-app/
Vocabulary:
1. stringent / adjective : rigorously binding or exacting; strict; severe:
2. hamper / verb : to hold back; hinder; impede:
3. unleash / verb : to release from or as if from a leash; set loose to pursue or run at will.
4. sufficient / adjective : adequate for the purpose; enough:
Questions:
1. list the who, what, where and when of the news item
2. What is the Saudi government’s Absher app? – What does it do?
3. Why are Saudi sisters Maha and Wafa asking Apple and Google to shut down the app?
4. How did Apple’s CEO Tim Cook respond to questions about the app?
5. Why do you think Mr. Cook still has taken no action on this app?
6. What would you tell Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai and its founder Sergey Brin, as well as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook about their inaction on an app that enables Saudi men to have state sponsored control over women?
