A young woman is standing dangerously on the window ledge of a two-story building and is apparently helped down by a group of men on a crane. This image, clicked in a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia, has triggered a sensation across the globe. The building is basically one of the secretive rehabilitation prisons, popularly known as Dar al-Reaya, for disobedient Saudi women. The woman, seen in the image, was trying to escape from the rehabilitation or care centre as she was unable to tolerate care given to her!

The woman is allegedly being held in the notorious care centre where she is confined with other women who are also disobedient as they have either engaged in extramarital physical relationship or neglected household chores. As they experience brutal torture at the centre, the lady made an attempt to flee. Unfortunately, members of her own family sent the woman to that centre in order to experience the torments of hell.

According to an article published by The Guardian on May 28, 2025, women and staff who have spent a long time at Dar al-Reaya recently revealed that women are subjected to brutal torture at these care centres. They have described these institutions as “hellish, with weekly floggings, forced religious teachings and no visits or contact with the outside world“. They have stated that the concerned Saudi authorities teach these women how to live properly in a civilised society. Many committed suicides at those centre as they were unable to bear the years of confinement and torture by the authorities of Dar al-Reaya. The British daily reported that “women can spend years locked up, unable to leave without the permission of their family or a male guardian“.

It is almost impossible to talk publicly about Dar al-Reaya or to share photos and videos of these centres. However, The Guardian has managed to gather testimony about what it is like inside these institutions for the past six months. A young Saudi woman, who has managed to flee into exile, stressed: “Every girl growing up in Saudi knows about Dar al-Reaya and how awful it is. It’s like hell. I tried to end my life when I found out I was going to be taken to one. I knew what happened to women there and thought ‘I can’t survive it’.” Maryam Aldossari, a Saudi activist based in London, told the daily: “A young girl or woman will stay in there for as long as it takes for her to accept the rules.”

Meanwhile, Sarah Al-Yahia, who launched a campaign to abolish the care homes, has talked to a number of girls who described “an abusive regime, with inmates subjected to strip-searches and virginity tests on arrival and given sedatives to put them to sleep“. She told The Guardian: “It is a prison, not a care home, as they like to call it. They call each other by numbers. ‘Number 35, come here.’ When one of the girls shared her family name, she got lashes. If she doesn’t pray, she gets lashes. If she is found alone with another woman, she gets lashes and is accused of being a lesbian. The guards gather and watch when the girls are being lashed.” Sarah added: “My father used it as a threat if I didn’t obey his sexual abuse. They make it impossible for others to help women fleeing abuse. I know a woman who was sentenced to six months in jail because she helped a victim of violence. Giving shelter in the case of a woman charged for ‘absenteeism’ is a crime in Saudi Arabia. If you are sexually abused or get pregnant by your brother or father you are the one sent to Dar al-Reaya to protect the family’s reputation.”

Saudi social activists are of the opinion that the concerned authorities in Riyadh use these care centres, originally created in the 1960s, as an unconventional tool to control, as well as punish, women. Some believe that the issue is a direct threat to the campaign for Women’s Empowerment in the Kingdom. ALQST, a Human Rights group, has stated that Dar al-Reaya “facilities are notorious within Saudi Arabia as state tools for enforcing gender norms and stand in stark contrast to the Saudi authorities’ narrative of women’s empowerment”. The Guardian quoted ALQST Campaigns Officer Nadyeen Abdulaziz as saying: “If they are serious about advancing Women’s Rights, they must abolish these discriminatory practices and allow the establishment of genuine shelters that protect, rather than punish, those who have experienced abuse.”

As expected, the Saudi Government has rejected the allegations of enforced confinement, mistreatment or coercion. A government spokesperson has mentioned that Dar al-Reaya is basically a network of specialised care facilities that supports vulnerable groups, including women and children, affected by domestic violence. He stressed: “These are not detention centres, and any allegation of abuse is taken seriously and subject to thorough investigation… Women are free to leave at any time, whether to attend school, work or other personal activities, and may exit permanently whenever they choose with no need of approval from a guardian or family member.”

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das