On September 10, two Indian warships called at the Saudi port of Al-Jubail testifying to deepening bilateral relations. Back in New Delhi, however, the scene was quite different. Women’s groups were protesting outside the Saudi Embassy as details trickled in of two Nepali women held in captivity and abused by a Saudi diplomat - the First Secretary at the Saudi Embassy - and his guests in his upscale Gurgaon residence.
The Saudi ambassador flatly denied the charges. The medical reports - two of them to be doubly sure - of the women have confirmed sexual assault and brutalisation of a degree resulting in injuries and infection in the women’s private parts that will need a long time to heal. The Nepali women, aged 30 and 50 years respectively, were rescued by the NGO Meitei India, after being alerted by a third Nepali woman who had also worked at the diplomat’s residence but left after three months. The duo had come from extremely poor families in quake-hit Nepal lured by the promise of lucrative jobs in India. They were then sold to the diplomat for two lakh rupees.
Immunity Wrangle
The police have been unable to pursue charges against the accused diplomat as the embassy has invoked diplomatic immunity. The diplomat and his family have moved to the Saudi embassy which under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is off limits for Indian law enforcing agencies. The Ministry of External Affairs has asked for the embassy’s cooperation.
India is in a bind now. On one hand is its carefully nurtured relations with the Arab world, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of which Saudi Arabia is the leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to visit the kingdom.
Bilateral Ties in Trouble
More than 2.8 million Indians reside and work there, remitting significant foreign exchange back home. Saudi Arabia is still a major source of crude for India, and the latter is looking forward to much needed investments from the Saudis. The Saudis are also a valuable partner for India’s own war on terror, including cross-border, and have in the past collaborated by extraditing men wanted by India on charges of terrorism. The Saudis also are able to influence decision of other GCC states.
At the same time India shares a special relationship with neighbouring Nepal emanating from cultural and religious affinity. The country figures prominently in Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. It is the only country he has visited twice since taking office as prime minister. India was the first country to rush in much needed emergency and relief aid to quake-hit Nepal. The Nepal embassy has pressed India to take action in this case.
India’s Dilemma
Yet, India’s choices are limited. It had requested the embassy to wave the diplomat’s immunity. Otherwise India can expel him but there is danger that they may invite similar if not greater reprisals from the Saudis.
On the other hand, if Saudi Arabia recalls the diplomat that would tantamount to admitting guilt - something the Saudis are not known for. The embassy is also understood to be annoyed with the media coverage of the case -- understandable, given that the Saudi media is strictly controlled unlike ours.
Yet, this case offers an opportunity to both sides to shore up their reputation in upholding women’s rights.
For India it is to take stern action against the guilty -- there are many non-diplomats involved -- and to step up the fight against trafficking.
Need for Saudi Arabia to Come Clean
- Saudi Arabia, an important source of crude for India as well as a crucial ally in India’s war against terror
- India treasures its relationship with Nepal owing to its cultural and religious affinity
- India needs to take stern action in the diplomat case to step up its fight against trafficking
- Saudi diplomat case, an aberration for a country that has recently granted women the right to vote
- This case gives the Saudis an opportunity to prove their commitment to gender justice
Saudi Arabia and Women Empowerment
Saudi women are known to be strong proponents for a more just and equitable society. They have been working quietly and untiringly. As a result, there are today more women enrolled in Saudi universities than men. Women entrepreneurs are making their mark in the kingdom and there are women in every field of life -- doctors, engineers, lawyers, scientists and teachers. And more women are daring to drive and post photos on Facebook.
Saudi princesses are at the vanguard, appearing in foreign media bare-headed and working to get more women into the decision-making process. As a result, quotas have been introduced in the Saudi parliament and in 2012 then Saudi king Abdullah granted women the right to vote in the next municipal elections due in December this year. Women are now busy preparing for the elections.
But long before this case Saudi women journalists had also spoken up for the rights of migrant workers in the kingdom. A bulk of these workers are from South Asia.
It is in this spirit we expect Saudi Arabia to not sulk and invoke diplomatic immunity, but rather to consider the plight of the Nepali women.
Human Rights Violation
There are strong rumours that the concerned diplomat has left India. If this is true, it could be a face-saver both countries may have been seeking. But it in no way precludes Saudis meting out justice to the diplomat at home and to the Nepali women. For someone who stands accused in crimes as heinous as those recorded in this case can bring no glory to his country, wherever he may be.
In the age of social media the kingdom’s record in human rights has increasingly come under scrutiny. Each time the authorities have been at pains to explain themselves -- whether it was their record in beheading as compared to that of Daesh, or its largesse in receiving Syrian refugees.
This case gives the Saudis an opportunity to prove their commitment to gender justice. In the process, relations between India and Saudi Arabia would only stand to gain because in a world of shifting alliances and changing power structures there is much that India too can offer to the kingdom.
(The author is an award-winning independent journalist and researcher)
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