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Gaza court revises women’s travel restrictions after backlash

Outrage erupted in the Gaza Strip after a judge issued a ruling banning unmarried women from traveling without the consent of a male guardian, yet a revised ruling doesn't go far enough, activists say.
An Egyptian security officer checks the travel document of a Palestinian woman returning home through the one gate that remained open in the newly erected border fence between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, 03 February 2008. Egyptian and Hamas forces sealed off the border between Gaza and Egypt today after reportedly agreeing to control the frontier, blown open nearly two weeks ago amid an Israeli blockade. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

GAZA CITY — A Hamas-backed court in Gaza has backtracked on its decision requiring women to get permission from a male “guardian” to travel abroad after widespread criticism, yet rights advocates say the changes do not go far enough.

On Feb. 10, the head of the Sharia Supreme Judicial Council in the Gaza Strip, Hassan al-Jojo, issued a ruling banning women from traveling outside of Gaza without the consent of a male guardian.

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