The secret 'prisons' for disobedient women

Daughters and wives describe facing floggings and abuse in 'care homes' after arguing with fathers or husbands

- Tom Levitt and Deepa Parent

A young woman wearing a black abaya is pictured in a city in north-west Saudi Arabia standing precariously on a second-floor window ledge.

A second photograph shows a group of men escorting her down with the help of a crane.

The woman's identity is unknown, but she was allegedly being held at one of Saudi Arabia's notoriously secretive "jails" for women banished by their families or husbands for disobedience, extramarital sexual relations or being absent from home.

It was a rare glimpse of the plight of hundreds or more girls and young women believed to be held in such facilities, where they are "rehabilitated" so they can return to their families.

Speaking out in public or sharing footage of these "care homes", or Dar al-Reaya, has become impossible in a country where voices on women's rights appear to have been silenced. But over the past six months, the Guardian has gathered testimony about what it is like inside these institutions, described as "hellish", with weekly floggings, forced religious teachings and no visits or contact with the outside world.

Conditions are reported to be so bad that there have been several cases of suicide or attempted suicide. The women can spend years locked up, unable to leave without the permission of their family or a male guardian.

"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," said one young Saudi woman who later managed to flee into exile.

Maryam Aldossari, a Saudi activist based in London, said: "A young girl or woman will stay in there for as long as it takes for her to accept the rules."

Sarah Al-Yahia, who started a campaign to abolish the care homes, has spoken to a number of girls who describe an abusive regime, with inmates subjected to strip-searches and virginity tests on arrival and given sedatives to put them to sleep.