RantCrush Top 5: April 25, 2017

Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia just became the 45th country elected to the United Nations’ women’s rights commission. The decision has sparked outrage from human rights groups and women’s advocates, as the country doesn’t exactly have a great record on gender equality. “Every Saudi woman must have a male guardian who makes all critical decisions on her behalf, controlling a woman’s life from her birth until death,” said Hillel Neuer, director of U.N. Watch. “Saudi Arabia also bans women from driving cars.” He compared letting Saudi Arabia have a say on women’s rights to making an arsonist the fire chief. At least five EU countries voted on a secret ballot for Saudi Arabia to be included. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark said that even though things are not great for women in the country yet, it is important to support those who want to inspire change.

Imagine being an abused woman in Saudi Arabia & finding out that your abusive,oppressive country was elected to UN women’s rights committee

— Lexi Alexander ‎ (@Lexialex) April 24, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.