The Saudi app that keeps women oppressed
Absher is a Saudi government-sponsored app that lets men monitor the movement of women and many are demanding Apple and Google help stop it.
The app, which has been downloaded more than 11 million times, allows male guardians to set restrictions on women's travel visas.
US Congresswoman Katherine Clark called it a "patriarchal weapon," in a tweet in which she said it "allows Saudi men to track women, restrict their travel, and enable human rights violations. #Apple and #Google must stop facilitating this dangerous tool of control."
Absher is a patriarchal weapon: it allows Saudi men to track women, restrict their travel, and enable human rights violations. #Apple and #Google must stop facilitating this dangerous tool of control. https://t.co/5pLzKlLrKk
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) February 13, 2019
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote to the CEOs of Apple and Google demanding that the app be removed immediately.
"American companies should not enable or facilitate the Saudi government's patriarchy," he wrote.
