Absher, which means “good tidings”, is a smartphone app that was released by the Saudi Ministry of Interior in 2015, available both in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app can be used to renew passports, apply for Hajj-permits and to make appointments and all sorts of other government errands. However, the app has also been the topic of some controversy, particularly in English-speaking media. There are mainly two features that have elicited criticism: the ability for men to file for divorce, after which their now ex-wife will receive a text message informing her of her new marital status, and the ability to grant and revoke travel permits for female dependants, and to get notifications when she uses her passport.

Senators Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), both called on Apple and Google to remove Absher from their app stores. In a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Wyden wrote:

It is hardly news that the Saudi monarchy seeks to restrict and repress Saudi women, but American companies should not enable or facilitate the Saudi government’s patriarchy. By permitting the app in your respective stores, your companies are making it easier for Saudi men to control their family members from the convenience of their smartphones and restrict their movement.

International human rights organisations like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch also called on the American companies to investigate the issue and potentially take down the app. Google then announced that they would look into it, but did not find the app to be in violation of their terms and conditions, and therefore did not remove it.

The critique against Absher led the Saudi authorities to launch a social media campaign aimed at gathering support for the app, using the hashtag “#i_support_ABSHER”. They also posted infographics, emphasising the aspect that they wished Absher to be associated with, such as how it may help the elderly, disabled people, or those who otherwise have difficulty physically going to a government office (see below).

Interestingly, the backlash against Absher only reached English-speaking media in January 2019, despite that fact that many of the features that were criticised, such as the possibility to file for divorce, had been announced almost six months prior. The feature to issue and revoke travel permits had been around even longer, at least since 2016, when the stories of the “Saudi Wife-Tracking App” started circulating in early 2019.

Perhaps even more interesting, in 2016, Saudi journalist Rym Ghazal wrote about how the app offered Saudi women more mobility compared to before, and used it as an example of women’s rights improving in the country:

If a Saudi woman wants to travel, it is quite easily arranged via Absher, an e-service from the interior ministry listed under “travel permits for dependents”. A few of my Saudi relatives and friends said that their male guardians even gave them the login and password so they could set it up themselves.

Similarly, some have argued that the divorce-feature solves an issue of women having been divorced without their knowledge. There had up until then been a number of cases in which men withheld alimony support by simply not informing their ex-wife that they had divorce. One particular case was a woman who lived with the same man for 15 years after he had divorced her, only finding out after his death because she went to collect the inheritance and was told that she had no right to inherit him.

Now, this obviously does not mean that everything is right and well in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The critique against the guardianship system is valid, and it is not without reason that young women, like Rahaf Mohammed al-Qanun or the sisters Wafa and Maha al-Subaie, decided to flee the country. However, the guardianship system (although it has been somewhat reformed since the debates of 2019) exists with or without Absher. Furthermore, in many of the cases of women fleeing the kingdom, the app has actually been a tool for them to grant themselves travel permits. As such, if the calls for Google and Apple to remove the app from their stores are heard, how likely is it that it will lead to an improvement of women’s lives in Saudi Arabia?