CORNWALL, Ontario – Katrina Douglas of Cornwall is in her fourth year of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University. Alongside six fellow students, the 22-year-old is petitioning the federal government to take responsibility regarding an international human rights violation.
As a part of her LAWS4908 Academia and Activism class, lead by Dr. Melanie Adrian, Douglas has the opportunity to work directly with Scholars at Risk (SAR) and advocate on behalf of Dr. Hatoon Al-Fassi.
“Our intention is to raise awareness about this human rights violation and advocate for her immediate release,” explained Douglas in a press release.
Dr. Al-Fassi, a women’s right activist and professor of women’s history at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia was arrested in June after advocating and fighting for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Her whereabouts and wellbeing remain unknown. “Our professor introduced us to three different scholars who are at risk,” said Douglas.
Douglas chose to advocate for Dr. Al-Fassi because she is passionate about women’s rights activism and has taken other courses on the subject at her university. After the completion of her undergraduate degree program, Douglas hopes to attend law school to continue learning about the subject and stories like Dr. Al-Fassi’s.
“Human rights law and feminist government, and international feminist assistance (are) definitely areas I would like to work in; just in general, women’s rights law is something that interests me,” said Douglas.
According to Douglas, her group has worked tirelessly to communicate their platform since September. The students have advocated through social media and in-person meetings, often working outside of classroom hours.
“Canada signed the treaty,” said Douglas, referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “It is our responsibility as Canadians to help her (Dr. Al-Fassi) as best as we can and hold them (the Saudi Arabian Government) accountable to enact an immediate release and excuse the charges laid against her.”
Douglas is feeling optimistic that the federal government will take some action. The group has already received a sponsorship for their petition from Gary Anandasangaree, the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Scarborough — Rouge Park.
The recognized petition currently has 64 signatures and can be signed until Feb. 28, 2019.
To sign or find out more about the petition, visit https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1894&fbclid=IwAR1-FIk5qhIloIc1halvUCkIj0yiCBjKnwLEbcyDHpGqH91K4eegA92R4K8.
To find out more about the student’s efforts to advocate for Dr. Al-Fassi, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CUForAlFassi/.
