TRIPOLI, Libya, March 7 (UPI) -- A Libyan newspaper sharply criticized a government decision that bans Libyan women from traveling abroad without a legal male guardian.
The state-controlled al-Jamahiriya daily Wednesday described the decision as "stupid and stains the entire state with backwardness," adding it constitutes a clear violation of the most basic women's and human rights.
In a rare public criticism of an official policy, the paper blasted unnamed officials for having issued instructions that would forbid females from traveling outside the country without a legal male guardian, saying it violates the domestic human rights document which stipulates that every Libyan has the right to free movement in times of peace. The document provides women with equal rights to men and considers gender discrimination as "unjustified blatant injustice."
The paper asked what type of male guardian female journalists, lawyers, businesswomen, pilots and university professors should have. It called for taking legal action against "anyone who permits or forbids a Libyan woman, as if this woman comes from the medieval times."
