CAIRO: Twenty-seven-year-old Heba Najeeb is calling on the Egyptian foreign ministry to secure her return to Egypt, claiming she is being held by force in Saudi Arabia by her father.
Najeeb’s father, who is also her guarantor, took her passport and residence visa three years ago to keep her from traveling, she said.
Under Saudi jurisdiction, a permit is required for anyone seeking departure from the country; however, for women, an approval is needed from their male sponsor, who, in Najeeb’s case, is her father.
In 2008, Najeeb contacted the Egyptian embassy, but they told her they had to respect Saudi law. They offered to send someone to mediate between her and her father.
She then filed a complaint to a human rights organization in Saudi Arabia who transferred her case to the Ministry of Interior. However, they were not of help.
Najeeb then contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office as well as foreign embassies but to no avail.
“One doesn’t have to have reasons to return home, it is one of my basic rights, Najeeb told Daily News Egypt in a phone interview from Saudi Arabia.
Najeeb, born in Sohag, moved with her family to Saudi Arabia after her father, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, deemed Egypt “an infidel society to live in.
He hasn’t returned to Egypt since 1992.
However, Najeeb came to Egypt in 2006 to study at the faculty of science at Ain Shams University but did not pass her exams so her father brought her back to Saudi Arabia.
“Life in Egypt is so different and I changed a lot during my stay there; I wore different clothes, I thought differently, Najeeb said.
“In Saudi Arabia, I am not allowed to do anything without my father’s approval; everyone pretends that they are perfect although when my brother does anything wrong no one questions him because he is a boy, she said.
Najeeb said that she is a victim of oppression by her father and that she can’t live with him anymore.
“I tried to negotiate with him and with the Brotherhood in Jeddah but they have the mentality of medieval centuries and they don’t wish to talk, she said.
She contacted the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt who contacted the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah to issue her travel documents to replace her passport in 2009. Still she was still unable to obtain a departure permit.
Officials in Saudi Arabia told her that the Egyptian embassy is the only body that can help her. However, Ambassador Mohamed Ouf refused to intervene, saying that this is a family issue and urged her to resolve the matter with her father.
“Saudi officials and the Egyptian embassy kept sending me on a wild goose chase; I believe the embassy can do a lot if it pressures the Ministry of Interior to allow me to leave the country, Najeeb said.
Although Najeeb is staying with her family, she said they haven’t been speaking for almost two years.
Najeeb said she will keep trying to leave, even though her parents are shocked at her behavior.
“I don’t know anyone in Egypt and I don’t want to contact my relatives, I just want to return to my homeland, she said.
“I don’t like this hype and the situation is really tough for me but this is the only option I have, Najeeb said.
