A Saudi Arabian man was jailed for 1 year for raising his voice to end to the Muslim kingdom's guardianship system which gives men wide controls over women, local media said Tuesday.
The Okaz daily said, The man was also fined 30,000 riyals approximately $8,000 by a court in the eastern city of Dammam, and was convicted to "inciting to end the guardianship of women" in the statements which he posted on Twitter and in public posters.
He was arrested when he was putting up posters in mosques in Al-Hasa district, calling for an end to the globally unique system that subjects women in the ultra-conservative kingdom to male control.
The paper said, during questioning the man, police also found out that he was behind a wide online campaign to end the guardianship, .
The defendant admitted that he was pinning up the posters in several mosques, saying he solely launched an "awareness campaign" after finding that some "female relatives were facing injustice at the hands of their families," the daily said.
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Thousands of Saudi citizens signed the petition in September, urging an end to stop the guardianship system following a Twitter campaign which the court now claims was launched by the defendant.
Saudi Arabia government has some of the world's tightest restrictions on women, and is the only country in the world where a women are not allowed to drive.
Under the guardianship system a male family member, usually the father, husband or brother, must grant permission for a woman's study, travel and all other activities.
Activists say that even female prisoners have to be received by the guardian only upon their release, meaning that some are forced to remain in jail or a shelter beyond their sentences if their guardian does not want to accept them.
